The Smugglers Inn — Restaurant in Teignbridge

Food itself was good (though overpriced a little) but otherwise very chaotic on what didn't appear to be a massively busy evening.

Our starters took 35 minutes to arrive after ordering, they were decent when they did but overpriced for the portion sizes. Main meals weren't too long after we finished our starters. A side order was forgotten and then didn't appear until 15 minutes into the meal, the waitress having said "it'll just be a minute". I refused the onion rings and this was accepted politely by the waitress.

In between starters and main we ordered a second round of drinks. When these arrived it was clearly an order for another table, but instead of taking the whole order back the waitress still gave us what she thought was correct and passed us a Pepsi and a lager (should've been cider). In the meantime a second Pepsi was missing. The lager was sent back and a few mins later a second drinks order turned up, this was completely wrong and sent back. In the end it took 20 minutes to get the correct drinks delivered to the table.

We noticed other people getting wrong drinks orders in this time, it seemed very disorganised.

The staff themselves were friendly and understanding but were making A LOT of mistakes. There seemed to be no real happiness to work there and no banter between staff, we were told some of the waiting staff were new and this may explain that. I noted nearly all tables around us had apologies of some kind and drinks orders in particular seemed prone to errors, also you had to wave down waitresses rather than have them come to you. There was a serious lack of cohesion with 3 waiting staff asking the same things within a couple of minutes of each other, clearly not assigned to tables.

Overall I would only recommend the carvery, I didn't eat this as we ate off the main menu (the brunt of most of the mistakes) but those around us who did eat the carvery seemed generally pleased bar the drinks issues and minor problems. Clearly management need to spend time properly training their waiting staff as they are currently getting placed into an unfair environment poorly trained and equipped to carry out their role, no doubt affecting their confidence. Management themselves were understanding and accepted the issues and took the onion rings off the bill when I refused to pay for them. I'd clarify that all staff and service is good but it lacks polish and cohesion.

There seems to be a lack of cleanliness in some areas too, our table had a chip left under it, as did another, the walls were also dirty with gravy(?) Splashed up them.

Atmosphere was a final point, it seemed lacking, as If a number of customers were unhappy, it didn't seem jovial and was quiet considering the room was reasonably filled. A lot of customers were getting apologies.

Finally I would say the food is overpriced...

We went here as per usual the first night of our annual May 14 day break in Dawlish on Friday the 17th. When we pulled up on the carpark we wondered why it was so easy to get a space. The carpark had very few cars on which was highly unlike the way we know the Smugglers to be. This should have been a warning to us. Once inside we could not believe it, Friday night the bar was empty and there was only about 5 tables in the restaurant with people sat at them. The drinks order was done quite quickly, then came the food order, my partners was dealt with straight away, a carvery. I asked for the Hake but was told "we do not do hake!" When I said it was on the menu I was told "we aint got any". So then I asked what the catch of the day was. I was told pork madrass!!! I tried to explain to the waitress that catch of the day was a species of fish I was told again Pork madrass!!. So I gave up and ordered the steak and ale pie. About 5 mins later another waitress came out to let me know the steak and ale pie was off, could I pick something else. So I had the ham egg and chips which was greasy and fatty. Like I said my partner had the carvery like she does when ever we are down. The meat was plentiful but dry, the veggies (what few there was) were dried and unpleasant, the gravey was a congealed blob. It was blooming awful. It now comes to dessert, the dessert showcase was completely empty which was never known, so I had a look at the menu and had the sticky toffee pud and my partner had the messy one. My dish had all the life nuked out of it in the microwave and was nothing like it should be light and fluffy. The partners icecream turned up full of overly sweet tinned strawberries and overly syrup like sauce. We found out about half way through our meal that the people that ran it had sold it and another company had took over. All I can say is that the company now in charge has killed the place, it is absolutely diabolical. We come from the midlands and I was a area manager for a large pub chain and brewery company, and would wielding the axe if a pub had gone downhill like this. The person who came out to clean the carvery down was in dirtier clothes than the state of place he was cleaning was. Some serious training of staff is needed urgently. We usually eat there every night we are down there, but never again unless it changes hands, before I used to give the place 10/10, now it is 1/10 and that is for the drink. I used to tell everyone to come to the Smugglers if they were down this way, now I will warn them to stay...

I came here on a Sunday 6 weeks ago, and the carvey was decent, to the point of crispy roast pots with fluffy centres, well puffed up Yorkshire puds, well cooked but juicy meats and veg not over cooked. I Can cook well so I've no complaints at all on the Carvey .

However, I went today at 2 ish, and my partner fancied a burger. They sell a signature burger ( check how they list it on their menu) The youngish chap on the bar with a moustache was just a bit rude. I said, "we are sitting out there on the round table and pointed at it as it was less than 5 mtrs and no obstructions in the way. He barked, "You will have to get a table No. !" Again, I said that 1 right there.. & pointed to it"

He told me to go out and get it for him ( hes not new staff )

Now I assumed ppl who worked there would know the table plan ?

The burger: my partner asked for no pickles on ordering. We sent it back, and they just scrapped it off, which still left the flavour she didn't like and she could have been allergic.

The meat was garbage cheap processed low end pattie meat like ya get at a cheap venue not £16.99 which you would naturally expect scratch made. The patties were curled up at the edges, as they had been deep fried. I could be wrong, tho. Mid warm chips soft like they had been sat under a heat lamp for time. The lettuce in the burger was oversized and not trimmed, and the burger fell apart when you took the little wooden skewer out... The bap was crispy and soft and seemed slightly toasted and potentially brioche so 1 ☆ there ...

A very disappointing experience considering we had just drove from Bridport to come mine in Dawlish and wanted somewhere nice to have lunch...

Ive read to my partner and she said she had gristle in her burger..

Now you may ask why we did not complain there and then, no 1 came to ask if the meal was OK and we sat for several mins after and just left ...

I like to support local businesses, I really do but this was a dire...