The Market Inn — Restaurant in West Devon

I’m not from Tavistock but our friends are and as a result none us will return to eat here.

All of the below is the interaction with the manager/owner, the other two waitresses were super friendly and helpful.

I could go into a lot more detail but the main points are:

One of the main dishes on the menu was chicken breast. I don’t like bones but am fully aware boneless chicken farms don’t exist (🤣) so always check whether the breast still has the bone in and was advised the bone was still in this dish. As a result I asked if it could be removed before being served (never having been refused this anywhere else) only to be categorically told “no”. I can’t remember why this was a no & in hindsight wish I’d remembered exactly why! So the mains were very average but one thing to note, one of my friends had the Chicken Thali which contained bones, so obviously the chicken hadn’t been very well prepared plus the sauce tasted like a ‘curried’ barbecue sauce…..very strange! We’re quite accustomed to curries so can’t work out where this ‘good proper curry’ originates. So then we moved onto pudding, I wanted the chocolate torte but it was served with pouring cream….. I don’t like cream……..ok I’m fussy but don’t judge me, I can’t help what I don’t like! Anyway I explained that I don’t like cream so could I have salted caramel ice cream instead of pouring cream but was categorically told “no”, followed by “This is a grownup dish, if you understand what I’m saying, so has to have the pouring cream to cut through”……yes, that’s pretty much verbatim! This was then repeated to me after I reiterated that I don’t like cream. After this “fabulous” customer service I gave up and said ‘no problem, I’ll have nothing’; only to then be told ‘we can do this for you’! My response would have been forget it, but my gorgeous husband, ever the diplomat, said ‘yes, that would be great’…..it arrived…..with vanilla ice cream 😆. To summarise, I feel the bone could have been removed. If by removing it, it affected the look of the dish, that’s my issue. If replacing the pouring cream with ice cream was a cost issue (we felt this was the real issue rather than me being unable to be a grownup!!) why not just say ‘of course we can do that, but we will have to add £0.50/£1.00 or whatever...

We, an ageing party of four, spotted some empty tables on wandering by the pub and decided to stop in for a drink. Half our party occupied a single table, while two of us ordered some drinks, remarking that we would not be having food. Nothing was said to suggest this would be a problem, and the bartender was happy to serve us our drinks in full view of the rest of our party sitting at one of four empty tables. Five minutes later, the bartender told us we couldn't stay on the table we had occupied and that there was nowhere else to sit, despite all of the other said tables still being vacant and there being no markings to suggest any were reserved. I found her tone rude on approach. She then made some aggressive remark when I pointed out, on finishing our drinks standing at the bar 15 minutes later, that all of the said tables were still empty and still had no markings to indicate they were reserved for diners. Really poor form, I think, and could have been handled without the overt hostility, and with clearer...

Another fantastic visit to The Market Inn in Tavistock.

The chicken enchiladas were absolutely superb, cooked to perfection with a generous portion size that left me happily full. We’ve been here a fair few times now, and the food consistently hits the mark.

Service is always spot-on: friendly, fast, and genuinely welcoming. Both landlords were working this evening and, as always, were full of great conversation. It’s got that cosy, country pub vibe despite being so close to the town centre. And the other staff on duty for other evenings are exactly the same! So it’s clearly the pubs usual atmosphere.

The atmosphere is one of my favourite things about the place: super dog-friendly (they know my pup by name!), with soft background music that makes for easy conversation. There’s a calm, relaxed feel that keeps us coming back.

Great value for money, and next time we’ll definitely be giving the Sunday roast a try.

A true local gem....