The Ness — Restaurant in Teignbridge

I went to The Ness for a celebration with my partners family. The location is beautiful and that is undeniable, scencerly stunning views. Now as we arrive I was looking forward to dining here, i previewed the menu online but had a look at the specials. The lady that seated us had very messy unkempt hair and looked genuinely terrified. We were handed a menu each and one drinks menu for the table. The waitress came back to take a drinks order in a timely fashion and took a drinks order from us. Unfortunately my beverage was completely missed off. When the drinks were being given out the waitress kept reaching over myself and other members of the table which was unprofessional as I dont desire a face full of armpit when out for a celebratory meal. Eventually my drink was brought over. We then ordered our food with the waitress the starters took a while to arrive to the table but it was not overly long, unfortunately when they did arrive there was a delay between receiving the first on and the rest of them. Not only was there this delay but again my food was wrong. The waitress (to her credit) did offer to correct it which I politely declined. We finished the small starters happily then things went downhill seriously. There was genuinely over an hours wait for the mains to arrive out two meals eventually arrived then again there was a delay in the next 3 meals arriving. Leaving one guest without food, we decided to make a start most people being almost done eating before the chicken arrived. The food was mediocre specifically the chicken was dry as a bone. We had to ask for drinks the waitress didnt ask if we wanted more drinks. When handing the food out another waitress again kept reaching over me to hand out food, cutlery and drinks etc. There were other small niggles for example the candle on the table wasnt lit even though other tables even empty tables had been. There were no condiments on the table nor did a waitress offer to get them. In the end one of our party had to go and find the salt and pepper off another table. The waitress cleared the glasses off the table on to the side of the bar, however she did this by sticking her fingers in the glasses. I thought these would have been washed however I saw a bartender then use one of these glasses for service which is beyond discusting and finally the waitress with the dark roots and orange/brown hair tips had her iPhone in her back pocket. This kept swapping and changing pocket sides so she was clearly more interested in checking her phone than looking after the guests. Nobody checked on us mid meal when there were quality issues. We were going to order many more drinks and certainly deserts however down to the sheer ineptitude and shocking service we decided to leave and go somewhere else. To be fair I have had better service in McDonalds and much better food in wetherspoons. I dont reccomend this place at all which really is a shame as it's a...

This was our 2nd visit to the Ness and we chose to make it the destination for our New Year break.

This time we were in a downstairs room in the Annexe, with a garden view. Having our small dog with us they have a couple of rooms to cater for us. There is limited free parking for residents but also a very large car park just above the hotel.

The room was huge and had a Super king bed (2 singles together) which was very comfy, a bathroom with shower and all the amenities you would expect. A dog bed and bowls were also welcome touches.

My wife would have liked a mirror closer to a plug socket. The chest at the end of the bed (that we put our case on) could easily be a small sofa. Of course, normally why would you want to stay in the room however, due to the ongoing pandemic affecting staffing, the main bar closed earlier on New Years Eve/Day.

The hotel itself is great! Amazing location with views across to Teignmouth. A short walk to a tunnel leads you to a secluded beach and is also right next to Shaldon zoo.

Being an old private house, the bar boasts open fireplace, wooden floors, and feels very homely.

There is a small long conservatory that was set aside for Residents during our stay for eating (normally available for lunch and dinner for non-residents but restricted due to forementioned pandemic!)

There are a good number of tables and also comfy chairs. The bar is large and well stocked. A menu lists the most popular options but there are many others available too. There are 6-8 cocktails and a varied wine list. Pricing is as you would expect for this type of establishment.

The staff we met were very friendly and attentive. The food was delicious !!! There was one poor chef working every breakfast, lunch and dinner due to the others having Covid-19. As mentioned the hotel had to cancel a load of bookings due to this and it was only as we were residents that we were still able to eat there . There was a Christmas menu and all the food we ate was of a high quality, lovely taste and presented beautifully. The breakfast was a choice of hot or cold options. I have to say I believe it was the best breakfast I can remember having anywhere during my travels. It just ticked all the boxes, was flavoursome and plenty of it!

All in all we both enjoyed our stay very much, even given the restrictions/closures in place. We would definitely stay again and thank all those involved in making our stay...

Well, for a place that used to be great - its gone down hill a lot since its become part of a chain! Same great location, but everything else is shocking, and gone down hill and we wont be returning. To start with on arrival we were left standing whilst 3 staff behind the bar faffed around over ONE order, eventually another server came over to welcome and seat us - although she couldnt find the booking! After speaking to what i assume was the restaurant manager he knew what was what and we were taken to one table, only for the manager to say no, this one over hear. Then the girl brought us one menu, muttered something went away and came back with another one. - Nothing smooth or professional so far. So we mused the menu and then placed our order, got our drinks - all good. Though to later find out a bottle of water for the table was £4.45 is rather exspensive. Not even a local brand/spring either. Anyway... the food came, main first! ?? confused I told the young lad that starters normally come first, he was very apologetic and took it back to the kitchen. A few minutes later our starters came. Pea Tart - Looked like something a 5 year old made, was tasted and then left. Soup - ok, but an abnormal amount of butter supplied in a dish for a small piece of bread. Later the main came, again, and im pretty sure it was the same dish just reheated. I didnt say anything as I was hungry, but it was nothing special. would not order again - ( butternut squash ravioli - which the server thought was risotto ). The menu and food is not a tough on what it used to be like when privately owned and we certainly wont be returning.

The restaurant manager was polite, dressed smart, but all other staff certainly have not had any training, and im sure the chefs hands are tied by the menu setters higher up.

For food I would suggest the owners/managers/chef and potential customers try The Cary Arms at Babbacombe and Also Oreston Manor for Food, cant be recommended enough.. For simple good soup with baguette try the cafe at...