Royal Seven Stars, Totnes — Restaurant in South Hams

I am writing this not as a criticism, but as information, which you may chose to acknowledge or not. My visits were between 11.30am and 1.30pm. weekdays. What is going on at The Seven Stars!!!. After my fifth visit I thought I had to write this review. It’s like someone has all the gear and no idea, as they say. Under the previous ownership, I had met friends here, eaten and had drinks here, it had always been an enjoyable experience.hospitality second to none. Now, I have no idea what’s going on. Firstly the opening hours have shortened, sad but true for those who are up and about early in the town, to meet friends and maybe get breakfast. 10am coffee breakfast or drink is not an option any longer. Coffee outlets do not always suit everyone as some in a group may want a beer. All five visits there’s been no beer or larger available, but if the beer( on tap) is available, there’s no larger( on tap). A pub without tap beer or larger a new concept maybe!! If so please make the customer aware before they enter. Please, please do not blame supplies. I have used other pubs and there have been no issues.

Then payment has to be made only by card ( I use a card) or you are not able to be served, as the company apparently, is unable to get change for use in serving customers with cash. This has been for weeks now. I saw a group of customers walk out as they did not want to use a card. A new concept maybe, trialling how to get rid of customers!! I think it has more to do with the fact that the company does not wish to use cash. If so put a notice on the front door stating cards only, it’s not unusual these days.

Next, my real dislike, as I am sure is the same with many other people, being told where to sit!!! Being herded. Not being able to sit where you feel comfortable, relaxed and able to enjoy your visit. There is now have a certain area to sit in if you just want a drink, the lower area in the bar by the fire. In my case, on two visits, this was full, so I either joined another table or they couldn’t serve me!! When I asked about the higher area, near the kitchen, it was only for eating, even though it was empty I couldn’t sit there!! Even though after having had a drink and met my friends we could have decided to eat!!! So half the pub remains empty and the company let customers walk out, just in case a coach load may arrive to definitely eat!!!

And as for staff, or lack of staff, well that’s a whole new issue. I sat for roughly an hour and had drinks, I saw one member of staff that whole time in the main bar area area.That member of staff was doing everything and struggling. There were long periods when customers were waiting and the member of staff was not there as they had gone elsewhere to do a job!!! This is perhaps also a factor as to why there is no cash in the till !!!The staff look uninterested, demoralised, fed up, overwhelmed by work load and I am sure underpaid. Please, please don’t give the excuses of no one wants to work in hospitality or Covid. If they were paid a lot more, from the companies profits, the company could achieve its staffing levels. A company has to invest to prosper and staff are an absolute investment in hospitality, not a disposable product, when money gets tight.If a company doesn’t have good staff, the end product is customers walks away from a bad experience they have paid good money for and some do not let you know how they are feeling, but they sure do tell their friend and family of their experiences, for their future...

We held our wedding reception and weekend at the Seven Stars. We cannot stress enough how incredible Kiren, Darryl and the team were at making our big day special. Nothing was too much effort, and Kiren always treated any challenges with a sense of humour - you are an amazing human and St Austell are lucky to have you! Thank you for all of your help, especially when we were facing challenges with our ceremony venue, and you immediately just brought me a glass of cold white wine to calm me down! You are a legend!

The food at the Seven Stars is second to none. I already know the venue well, and that the food is great, we've never had a bad meal here! We ate here with our wedding guests over the course of the weekend, and were blown away with the quality of the food. It's locally sourced where possible, and Darryl makes incredible home made soups and fresh cheesecake! I also had curry and fish and chips, calamari too over the course of the weekend and everything was perfect. Our wedding breakfast was a 3 course meal, everything was beautiful. Canapes extremely filling, and evening buffet was not your standard 'iceland' frozen affair - home made scotch eggs, home made slaw, houmous etc - really top quality. All guests commented on how good it was and how generous the portions were.

Breakfast is beautiful - freshly baked croissants, juices and milk in ice, fresh fruits, breads etc, and a great cooked menu including pancakes and the best breakfast bap you'll ever eat! Coffee also always fab.

One of the reasons we wanted to have our reception here was the beautiful ballroom which has been modernised with beautiful lighting and glitter ball, which made the evening so sparkly!

Staff helped us decorate the venue too which I was not expecting as we booked the venue to do our own decor, and we were so grateful for the help and expertise in setting up the room!

In addition to this, the assembly room at the front of the venue upstairs was incredible to get ready in, and bridal party were able to have breakfast privately up here whilst getting ready. There is beautiful natural light at the front of the room.

Parking is easily available for the weekend booked in advance over the road at Morrisons very cheaply. It's located close to the river and bridge which is great for photos.

The staircase looks very grand as you walk up to the ballroom. Ballroom also has a private terraced area and own bar upstairs.

We had Agatha Christie room as our bridal suite which has a jacuzzi bath, stunning four poster bed with tapestry, and seated area by the window to overlook Totnes. There is also another seating area which was very handy to open wedding gifts, and the lovely housekeeping ladies decorated our bed with fresh rose petals which was such a beautiful touch. Thank you, so much!

We'll definitely book again to celebrate our anniversaries, enjoy the venue and relieve our day. THANK YOU!

We just want to say thank you to St Austell and all of the staff who helped make our wedding day so beautiful. We really can't wait to drop in soon.

Kelly &...

There are limited parking spaces but its very easy to park across the road in Morrisons for a small fee. We have an EV so happy that they also have a charger at Morrisons. We stayed in room 14 which is on the top floor over the main entrance on Fore Street. Nicely appointed room with window banquets and nice bathroom, spotlessly clean thanks to the lovely Sharon. Not a speck of dust anywhere. Great range of teas and Nespresso coffee machine. Nice products in the bathroom. The hair dryer was actually good with enough power which hotels generally get wrong (for women) so big plus for that. Plenty of plugs about the room. Good to have both a bath and standing shower although the latter is a bit small and, like the toilet, tucked in the corner. Understandable perhaps as this is obviously a listed building. The weather was hot so we had to open the windows and use the fan thankfully provided in the room. Expect to hear voices and laughter outside from the hotel bar directly below but they fade around 11pm. But again it's a town centre pub on a busy street so it was to be expected and the location is great to access everything in the town easily. The restaurant staff were all terrific and worked hard and with care. The food is good but mixed quality depending on what you choose. A disappointing salty roasted red pepper soup but the arancini was lovely. Fish and chips generally good, the fish was fresh, but my husband complained that the batter and chips were soggy. Breakfast is very good. Plenty of cereal choices, juice, yoghourt and fresh fruit. I saw bread and a toaster and I think other baked goods. There is a decent range of cooked options including vegetarian and various versions of eggs benedict. The overall feeling was that it was a good stay in a cosy friendly place where the staff...