THESE are Devon and Cornwall’s Michelin Star Restaurants
When you think of Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK, your mind might jump to London – but some of the country’s most impressive kitchens are in the South West!
Devon and Cornwall now boast nine Michelin-starred restaurants between them, each offering something different: harbourside seafood spots, countryside manor houses, and low-key pubs serving serious food.
This list covers every Michelin-starred restaurant in both counties, including what to expect, what they’re known for, and how to plan a visit.
Some offer affordable set lunches; others serve multi-course tasting menus worth saving up for.
Whether you’re looking for a special occasion or a destination meal on your next trip, here’s where to start.
The Masons Arms, Knowstone
This thatched inn on Exmoor’s south-eastern fringe has more than meets the eye.
Push open the dark-wood door of The Masons Arms and you’ll find scrubbed pine tables, low ceilings and the faint smell of log fires.
Chef-owner Mark Dodson—previously head chef at Le Gavroche—works a concise menu that moves with the West Country seasons.
Expect buttery local scallops seared to a caramel edge, Devon Red beef crowned with chanterelles, and a raspberry soufflé that rises like soft meringue.
Book well ahead for Friday or Saturday evenings; mid-week tables are easier. Parking sits opposite the pub, but phone reception drops on the lanes, so pin directions before you set out.
Gidleigh Park, Chagford
The final mile to Gidleigh Park, an Edwardian manor threads through oak woodland beside the River Teign, rewarding you with manicured lawns, a croquet set, and Dartmoor tors on the skyline.
Inside, chandelier-lit rooms frame crisp linen and Dartmoor slate plates. Chef Chris Eden builds tasting menus around venison from the moor, day-boat turbot, and vegetables pulled that morning from the walled garden.
Sauces are reduced to glossy intensity—a red-wine jus for the loin of fallow deer, shellfish butter for line-caught bass.
If you stay overnight, ask for a room overlooking the North Teign valley for dawn mist views.
Lympstone Manor, Exmouth
At Lympstone Manor, Michael Caines turned a Grade II-listed Georgian house above the Exe estuary into a restaurant-with-rooms where every dining seat faces water or vineyard.
Pre-dinner, wander the sculpture-dotted lawns, then settle into a dove-grey dining room where staff glide rather than walk.
Dishes lean modern French: Sladesdown duck glazed with mead, Lyme Bay lobster with fennel pollen, and a dessert of Exmouth strawberries layered with basil cream. Pair them with estate wines—pinot noir and chardonnay grown on the south-facing slope below the terrace.
Dress smart-casual; jackets welcome but not required.
Trains from Exeter St Davids reach Lympstone Village in 20 minutes, and the hotel will arrange a two-minute taxi if you call ahead.
The Elephant, Torquay
Across the road from Torquay’s inner harbour, The Elephant is a turquoise-fronted townhouse hides a light-filled room with sea-glimpses through Georgian sash windows.
Simon Hulstone runs his own farm a few miles inland, so lunch might start with his beetroot-fed pork, followed by line-caught Brixham hake over crab bisque.
The vibe stays relaxed – jeans fine, football shirts not. Time your visit for early evening and walk the Princess Pier afterwards for a pastel sky over the bay.
Àclèaf, Boringdon Hall, Plymouth
Hidden inside a moated Tudor manor on Plymouth’s northern edge, Àclèaf at Boringdon Hall blends oak-panel drama with the quiet precision of chef Scott Paton.
An amuse-bouche procession lands quickly: oyster emulsion in a nori tartlet, chicken liver parfait on malt cracker.
Signature dishes include barbecued Dartmoor lamb with smoked aubergine and a pre-dessert of Granny Smith sorbet misted tableside with cider spirit.
Wine pairings draw heavily on organic European growers. Stay for the night and you’ll wake to deer grazing the parkland—rooms are discounted mid-week for diners, so ask when reserving.
Michelin-starred restaurants in Cornwall
Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, Padstow
A Georgian townhouse on Middle Street holds this flagship of the Ainsworth group.
At No.6, Padstow, you ring a brass bell; staff usher you past an open pastry kitchen where praline mille-feuille layers rise with military neatness.
Paul’s menu tells Cornish stories: ‘A Trip to Porthilly’ pairs oyster, crab, and seaweed; ‘Just Ducky’ features roast duck with barbecued heart and turnip.
Reserve two months out for summer weekends – Padstow’s food pilgrims plan early. Street parking is tight; you’ll likely use the harbour car park and walk five minutes uphill.
Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, Port Isaac
Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen, located in a crooked 15th-century fisherman’s cottage beside the harbour slipway, low beams force taller guests to duck.
The reward is a rolling menu of small seafood plates: crisp Porthilly oyster with cucumber relish, cured mackerel glazed with soy, and hake wings fried until the edges crackle.
Book the counter seats for a view straight into the tiny kitchen where fillets hit the plancha seconds after landing.
Outlaw’s New Road, Port Isaac
A short climb from the harbour, the bright dining room at Outlaw’s New Road looks over slate roofs to the Atlantic. Nathan Outlaw focuses on a single tasting menu, five fish courses that change daily with the boats.
Expect turbot collar braised in seaweed butter, brill roasted on the bone, and a final course of warm ginger parkin with clotted-cream ice cream.
Service moves briskly yet stays informal – servers carry encyclopaedic knowledge of the day’s catch and which cove it came from.
Crocadon, St Mellion
Chef-farmer Dan Cox stewards 120 acres of organic fields, woodland, and livestock at Crocadon; the restaurant stands inside a converted stone barn overlooking the market garden.
Wooden tables are left bare, centrepieces replaced by freshly picked herbs you might spot again on the plate. Menus – omnivore or plant-led – shift with the micro-seasons: heritage beetroot baked in spent hay, Dexter beef grilled over oak, fermented blackcurrant sorbet. It also carries a MICHELIN Green Star for sustainability.
Tours of the farm run at 3 p.m. for evening diners; boots are provided if the ground is wet. Finish with a coffee roasted onsite and walk back to your car under some of Cornwall’s darkest skies.
