Branscombe is a small village in a quiet corner of East Devon, but the area around it has a surprisingly good restaurant scene. Within twenty minutes' drive of Hole Mill you can eat anything from a beach café cone of chips to a proper Devon fine-dining tasting menu. This is the practical guide to where we send guests, organised by what kind of evening you want.

A summary by occasion

| Occasion | Where we send people | | --- | --- | | Beach lunch with kids | The Sea Shanty (Branscombe Mouth) | | Big family Sunday lunch | The Hare & Hounds (Putts Corner) | | Walking lunch in Beer | The Anchor Inn | | Smart sit-down dinner | The Salty Monk (Sidford) | | Special occasion / wow factor | The Pig at Combe | | Long lunch on a sunny day | The Pig at Combe terrace | | Dinner without driving | The Mason's Arms (Branscombe village) | | Wine list and ambition | The Pea Green Boat (Sidmouth) or Hix Oyster & Fish House (Lyme Regis) | | Casual brunch | Pea Green Boat (Sidmouth) |

In Branscombe village

The Mason's Arms

The default option for a sit-down dinner without driving — a 12-minute walk down the valley. Twelfth-century thatched pub, gastropub menu, log fires, walled courtyard. Booking essential at weekends. See our pubs guide for more.

The Fountain Head

The other Branscombe pub, simpler, half a mile uphill. Best for a long pub lunch rather than a smart dinner.

On Branscombe Beach

The Sea Shanty

The beach café at Branscombe Mouth, ten minutes' walk from Hole Mill down the lane. Casual, family-friendly, with outdoor seating directly above the pebble beach. Decent fish and chips, hot dogs, sandwiches, soups, ice creams, beers. Open daily through summer, weekends through winter. Dogs allowed in the outside seating area.

Best for: post-walk lunch with sandy children, a beer with sea views.

The Old Bakery (National Trust)

Set in Branscombe village (10 minutes' walk from Hole Mill), the Old Bakery is the last working bakery in Britain to use a faggot-fuelled oven (now ceremonial). The on-site tea rooms serve cream teas, soup, sandwiches and cake in a thatched building with a small garden. National Trust members get free entry; non-members pay nothing for the café. Easter to October, daytime only.

Best for: cream teas, gentle pre-walk breakfast.

In Beer (10 minutes by car)

The Anchor Inn

Halfway up Beer's village street, beer garden with sea views over the cove. Reliably good pub food, often featuring fish from the Beer boats. Standard pub menu plus weekly fish specials.

Best for: lunch after a coastal walk.

Steamers

The smartest sit-down restaurant in Beer — small, family-run, on Fore Street near the seafront. Modern British menu with a strong fish element, decent wine list, gentle prices.

Best for: a slightly smarter dinner without driving far.

Eat from the Beach (kiosk at Beer slipway)

Fish and chips made from that morning's catch, eaten standing on the slipway with seagulls watching. £10 a head, will live in your memory longer than dinners costing five times as much.

In Sidmouth (15 minutes by car)

The Pea Green Boat

A long-standing local favourite for brunch, lunch and casual dinner. Currently in a relocated site in the town centre — check their current address before going. Proper coffee, smart menu, decent wine list.

Best for: brunch, casual lunch, wine on a warm evening.

Dukes

On the Sidmouth Esplanade. Smart bar with sea views, decent food, well-poured pints. Strong on fish.

Best for: lunch with a view.

The Salty Monk (Sidford, technically just outside Sidmouth)

Probably the best restaurant within easy reach of Hole Mill. A 16th-century salt-house in Sidford, run as a smart Devon restaurant with rooms by an owner-couple who care visibly about both food and service. Small fixed seasonal menu — three or four starters, three or four mains, all sourced locally. Booking essential, often a few weeks ahead at weekends.

Best for: a serious anniversary or birthday dinner.

Sidmouth Trawlers (fishmonger)

Not a restaurant — a fishmonger directly opposite the seafront — but worth knowing about if you want to cook seafood at Hole Mill. They land their own fish at the Sidmouth Cove. Crab, lobster, Lyme Bay scallops, plaice, mackerel, day-boat hake.

Inland (15-20 minutes by car)

The Pig at Combe (Gittisham)

The local outpost of the Pig hotel group, set in a 16th-century Devon manor house. Wood-fired grill in an open kitchen, "25-mile menu" sourced locally, expensive but properly memorable. Bar menu (pizzas, sharing plates, charcuterie) is more accessible than the dining room. Drinks on the terrace on a sunny evening are one of the loveliest things you can do near here.

Best for: a special-occasion dinner, drinks on the terrace, a wood-fired pizza in the bar without booking.

The Hare & Hounds (Putts Corner)

A big country pub between Sidmouth and Honiton. Excellent Sunday roasts (book ahead), big fires in winter, garden in summer. Reliable, generous and well-priced. The kind of place big Devon families take grandparents to.

Best for: Sunday lunch for a group, hearty winter dinners.

The Holt (Honiton)

Honiton's smartest pub-restaurant. Gastropub menu, good craft beer list, wood-fired pizzas at the bar.

Best for: dinner in Honiton.

Further afield (30+ minutes by car)

Hix Oyster & Fish House (Lyme Regis)

Above the Cobb at Lyme Regis. Excellent simple fish — oysters, mackerel, hake, cod cheeks — terrific sea views from the dining room. Mark Hix's original restaurant; even after his departure from the wider Hix group, the kitchen here continues to deliver.

Best for: a special-occasion seafood lunch on a sunny day.

Otterton Mill (Otterton)

A working watermill on the River Otter, 18 miles west. Café and shop in the old mill buildings, with bread baked on site, excellent cream teas, and a courtyard for warm-weather lunches.

Best for: a destination cream tea, a long Devon Sunday lunch.

Practical tips

  • Always book. East Devon restaurants are small, busy in summer, and not always open in winter. Even the casual ones expect a phone call.
  • Most kitchens close at 9 pm. A few close at 8.30 pm. Don't expect a 10 pm dinner anywhere except the chains.
  • Sunday roast is the local main event. Book at least 24 hours ahead for any pub serving Sunday lunch.
  • Bring cash for the smaller places. Most accept cards, but the Sea Shanty kiosk and a few of the village cafés still prefer cash for smaller orders.
  • Drink-driving. If you are driving back to Hole Mill from any of the further-afield restaurants, plan for a designated driver. Local taxis are limited and need booking well in advance — see Mike's Taxis (Beer) or the Sidmouth taxi rank for current numbers.

You will eat well from Hole Mill, in any direction. Most guests do a mix — a couple of cooked-at-home dinners on the big farmhouse table, a few pub lunches, one or two smart dinners out. Check our availability for your dates.