The Hare & Hounds — Restaurant in Teignbridge

This is another one of those places that don't need to try too hard so they don't bother. Not even organised chaos. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The team look like they've been told Santa is not visiting this year and all of them apart from one young lady (who we found out had only just started so hadn't been ground down by the others yet and the reason they didn't get 1 star for service) were rude and dismissive. The Chef on the Carvery was moaning about having been in since 9am and it was now 7pm (I remember my first part time job) to anyone that would listen in between being sarcastic and catty to diners. I personally chose the Carvery because the Roast Potatoes looked yummy but alas that was the only thing about this experience that was decent hence 2 stars for food. The beef was drier than the mountains of southern Spain in July and we can now tell why they insist on putting Gravy over the meat for you but it is the only Gravy you are allowed. There were so many contrasting flavours with absolutely nothing binding them together and not being allowed any Gravy for our Vegetables or Potatoes was the strangest thing I have ever witnessed at a Carvery. The Swede mash was sp strong and the Red Cabbage very bitter. The Cauliflower Cheese was missing cheese. The Yorkshire Pudding’s were more like rock cakes and were not at all edible. We were struggling to swallow so ordered a Gravy jug which was not only a different type of Gravy but was chalky like an instant kind. A good 20 minutes after we had finished eating we asked that the plates be removed from the table where we were asked to stack them all up and pass them down rather than them walk to each end of the table and collect. So now what do we do with anything on our fingers!?! Drinks were incredibly slow and one drink was repeatedly wrong which was finally corrected on the third occasion. Bringing the bill to the table was an issue. When we left and passed all the team having their chit chat not at any point were we bid farewell or thanked which is absolutely the first time this has happened. Overall we felt very uncomfortable hence the 1 star for atmosphere. It reminded me very much of a high school mean girls mentality. The eating with her hands behind the Carvery station by the bar maid and then returning to the bar to pour drinks and the lady in the stripey shirt putting dog bowls on the side behind the Carvery unit and picking bits of meat with her hands and sharing it between the bowls was all a bit stomach churning and one wonders who is actually in control of this place if anyone. The upside is, it appeared quite clean, I would not know about sanitary but it was surface...

This place came highly recommended. Service was slow with a VERY long wait for food but the place was very busy...the downside was this seemed to affect the quality. I had a salt and pepper squid starter which sadly was lacking the salt and pepper elements, daughter had a camembert which was only melted on the top and rest was solid and cold....we had waited so long for that food we didn't ask for it to be taken back and redone, but did mention it to table waiter. A further wait for mains....2 of our party recieved theirs and were half way through their meals by the time the rest of the table arrived, the medium steak was more like well done and the rare steak is what I would consider medium, I had the steak burger which had no flavour/seasoning at all and was very bland they had also run out of stilton sauce so had to change my order to peppercorn, but the worst thing was the 2 peppercorn sauces with the steaks and the extra sauce ordered for my chips were all inedible.....they were so peppery hot they were awful like trying to ingest lava, we called the waiter over and mentioned this....he dipped a chip at our request and stated it was fine.....so 6 people at the table couldn't eat it but the waiter said it's fine... He did say he would mention it to the chef......cheers for that.....so we ended up paying over £200 for a less than enjoyable meal and we were pretty much branded liars regarding the peppercorn sauce. The other serving staff were lovely and we have no issues with that, they also very kindly served up the birthday cake they had been supplied with by us luckily this was towards the end of the evening when things had quietened down. So my 2 stars are for the lack of quality of food, sadly it means we won't be back or be...

We had our wedding reception here and everything was just beyond perfect. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Planning it was made so easy, we went in twice to chat about what we wanted, and the team just got it done - they checked in with us a week before to ensure everything was in order. We were accommodated in the garden room for a casual gathering of 25 adults and 10 children. When I couldn't get my playlist to play on the TV, the chefs lent us their Bluetooth speaker!!! All chefs will know a bluetooth speaker is an integral member of the BOH team so this was a HUGELY kind thing to do and I will never forget this gesture of kindness.

It is clearly a very well run establishment. Staff are well presented, polite, attentive but not overbearing, and everything was done in a professional and streamlined manner. We were given white tablecloths and little confetti bits and everything! Nothing was too much trouble.

The carvery was absolutely stunning, the crackling is literally the best I've had anywhere. Writing about it is making me hungry! Such a good meal!

I want to live the day over and over again. It felt like a dream and I honestly don't think we could have had such a joyful day anywhere else. There was a park for all the kids, staff amazing, gorgeous venue, stunning food, everything just 10/10 perfect.

Whether you're after a meal or a bigger family gathering or celebration, this is the place to come. We are so so grateful to all management and all FOH and BOH staff. From the food, to the service, to the gorgeous flowers outside, it was PERFECT.

THANK YOU...