I ate Devon's 'poshest' Sunday dinner in gorgeous castle and felt like royalty

The roast beef dinner
-Credit: (Image: Bovey Castle)


DevonLive reporter Anita Merritt gave arguably Devon's 'poshest' Sunday dinner a whirl last year at the idyllic Bovey Castle. Here is her first hand account of the experience.

If I've ever experienced two more extremes it would have to be tucking into my last roast dinner at Toby Carvery and then heading off for Sunday lunch the following week at Bovey Castle. For the first time in four years, its award-winning fine-dining restaurant has reintroduced a new Sunday lunch menu due to popular demand.

It is served up in its luxurious Art Deco Great Western Grill restaurant with live music from the hotel’s house pianist. The restaurant reopened in June 2023 following a £1.2 million refurbishment into the kitchen and new guest areas.

READ MORE:Major BBC Nightsleeper role for Devon man with iconic voice

READ MORE:Devon businessman outraged as people ‘wreck’ countryside

What possibly Devon's poshest roast doesn't come with though is a luxury price tag. The three-course set menu, with mains ranging from traditional roasts to fish dishes as well as vegetarian options, costs just £49 per person (as of November 2023).

Bovey Castle can be found nestled in the rolling green valleys of North Bovey in Dartmoor National Park. The beautiful autumnal drive to get there for our booking became even more jaw-dropping as soon as I entered the long sweeping drive of Bovey Castle with stunning views as far as the eye can see.

Despite the venue's name, the road doesn't actually lead to a castle but a huge and impressive Grade II listed manor house. It was built by the WH Smith family in 1907 as a country retreat and later launched as a hotel by the Great Western Railway in 1930.

In June 2014, it was bought by the award-winning Eden Hotel Collection as part of their portfolio of luxury UK hotels and they have since carried out a multi-million refurbishment of the building. It boasts 60 individually designed bedrooms in the hotel and 22 self-catering country lodges nearby.

The Great Western Grill is found by entering the imposing front door of the hotel and taking a left down a long passageway. Everywhere you look you are greeted with English mansion grandeur at its very best.

The distant sound of piano playing was an indication that we were at least heading in the right direction. For me, Sunday lunches are about family so I was joined by my two food-obsessed teenage sons. As soon as we entered the restaurant, my youngest son looked around in awe and said: "It's like walking into a film set."

He's right because the decor does make it feel like stepping back in time. We were promptly taken to our table and the menu had more varied choices than I was expecting. Starters range from oak smoked salmon to poached quail egg and wild mushroom Feuillette.

The Great Western Grill restaurant at Bovey Castle
The Great Western Grill restaurant at Bovey Castle -Credit:DevonLive

As you would expect, traditional roasts are on the menu with a classy twist. It offers a slow roast sirloin of Devonshire beef, fresh horseradish, dripping roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding served with new season vegetables and red wine jus. The other roast alternative is roast Devon white chicken with stuffing and bread sauce with the other trimmings.

Its choice of desserts includes a dark chocolate mousse, treacle tart with clotted cream Devonshire ice cream, or cheese and crackers.

I was tempted by the oak smoked terrine for starter which had been so popular that I was instead served with an alternative of generous layers of beautifully smoked salmon served and deliciously light cream cheese, garnished with watercress and accompanied by black treacle soda bread.

My youngest son had the same while my eldest opted for a warming bowl of homemade roasted vine tomato soup which was rich, tangy and flavoursome but not overly sweet. The mains were then served after just the right amount of time to have let the starters go down.

Roast fillet of sea bream
Roast fillet of sea bream -Credit:DevonLive

On a huge stylish black plate, I was presented with a delicately presented roast fillet of sea bream with wine cream sauce, parsley potatoes and steamed tender stem broccoli. The chunky bream was cooked to perfection and the sauce added a subtle but not overpowering flavour to it. The broccoli had just the right of crunch but I wasn't so taken by the potatoes which I would have preferred more crispy than a bit mushy.

My eldest had the roast beef dinner which was a tasty plateful of goodness and much more of a hearty-sized dinner. He described the beef as being tender with the potatoes crispy on the outside and fluffy on the outside, and the Yorkshire pudding having just the right amount of 'crunch'. He even ate his parsnips and green beans which isn't a sight I usually see!

My youngest opted for the black truffled macaroni cheese with cave-aged cheddar and sourdough crust and bitter leaf salad. Although the portion size was very small, the tubes of macaroni were super duper long and it received a big thumbs up as being one of the most tasty macaroni cheeses he had eaten.

Black truffled macaroni cheese
Black truffled macaroni cheese -Credit:DevonLive

Luckily our attentive and friendly waiter had been topping us with freshly made white and brown bread rolls so his belly was full, but still with room for pudding. I had the creme caramel, orange and sultana sauce and shortbread. It was a light and refreshing end to the meal and even though I'm not a big fan of sultanas it surprisingly worked very well all together.

My eldest son had the dark chocolate mousse with white chocolate sorbet and salted caramel. It came out looking like a work of art, adorned with edible gold leaf. Apparently, it also tasted like one with him declaring it was the best dessert he had ever tasted.

My youngest son, who doesn't have a sweet tooth, chose the selection of British and French cheeses with homemade crackers and condiments. He was fascinated by how they had made his celery stringless but wasn't so impressed by the chutney that came with the cheeses.

Dark chocolate mousse with white chocolate sorbet and salted caramel
Dark chocolate mousse with white chocolate sorbet and salted caramel -Credit:DevonLive

By the time our plates were swiftly taken away, I was amazed to look at my watch and see two hours had passed by so quickly. It was one of the most relaxing Sunday meals I have had in a very long time, helped by the backdrop of the piano and tranquil surroundings. It was also one of the tastiest.

Although the portion sizes of all the mains weren't huge, the meal in its entirety did fill me up. For a three-course meal in such a luxurious setting, I thought it was very good value for money for those wanting to escape to the countryside and feel like royalty being served a taste sensation fit for a king.

Sunday Lunch is served at Great Western Grill between 12.30pm and 2.30pm.