Exciting new bar and restaurant announced in Devon

The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham is undergoing renovation
-Credit:The Smuggler’s Haunt


A historic Brixham hotel famed for being the residence of a notorious smuggler is to reopen next month following a major refurbishment that will include an exciting new restaurant and bar.

For the past eight-and-a-half years, The Smuggler's Haunt has been run as solely a bed and breakfast hotel with 14 rooms across three storeys. Last November it closed and was bought by new owners Mark and Emily Bury who run historic award-winning 17th-century pub The Dartmoor Inn in Merrivale.

Their vision is to carry on running it as a hotel but to also bring back its one hugely popular public restaurant and bar, offering something completely new to Brixham. Just like at its Dartmoor pub, The Smuggler's Haunt will showcase the theatre and drama of live cooking by having a grill to cook steaks and fish on in front of diners.

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The reopening date has been confirmed as being on February 28. The 60-covers restaurant will only employ Brixham residents so that stories from the town can be shared and enjoyed by those who visit.

The old sitting room at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham
The old sitting room at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham -Credit:The Smuggler’s Haunt

It will host themed nights such as weekly curry nights but the real stars of the show will be its grass-fed beef and lamb which comes from traditional farms across Devon and Cornwall, and locally caught fish, including from the town's fishermen.

Revealing the experience that's in store, Mark said: "We don't want it to be poncy. Instead it will be a different experience.

"In Brixham there is a lot of competition with people selling fish so we have bought an Argentinian double grill. One side will be for fish and the other for meat.

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"I think we will sell more steak than fish as it's really hard to get a decent steak in Brixham, but it will be exciting to see how it goes with the fish. One of our inspirations behind the grill is from when I visited the Algarve in Portugal.

Oak flooring for the new bar at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham
Oak flooring for the new bar at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham -Credit:The Smuggler’s Haunt

"You see drums full of charcoal where people can choose the fish they want and see it cooked for them there and then. The grill we have bought is a great big stand up one with an extractor to take away the smoke.

"It will be located right in front of customers, just like it is at The Dartmoor Inn. The major appeal of this place is seeing the food cooked. It's quite unique to be immersed in the kitchen.

"Although we use the best produce, we also try to make it affordable as much as possible so that people don't come just once a year for a treat. We want people coming regularly."

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The Smuggler's Haunt will become part of Mark and Emily's new business brand called Soil and Sea to showcase and promote how the sea and land work together.

The kitchen being renovated at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham
The kitchen being renovated at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham -Credit:The Smuggler’s Haunt

Mark, a farmer who previously ran Eversfield Organic, said: "I spent six months looking for a new venture by the sea. We stayed in Brixham for three days but couldn't find anything to buy and then suddenly we got a call from an agent who said they thought they had found just what we were looking for.

"It was The Smuggler's Haunt and it was going to be sold at auction but we managed to buy it before it did. It's a very historical and iconic building that is hundreds and hundreds of years old.

"People think that as it's called The Smuggler's Haunt it is haunted, but haunt actually refers to it being a place of rest. Bob Elliot was a notorious Devonshire smuggler and he used to come here as his place of rest to hide from what would have been the equivalent of HMRC in those days.

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"I am trying to find out more about the history of the building."

Dating back to the 17th century, The Smuggler’s Haunt was originally two cottages. It is said to have been the residence of Bob Elliot in 1851. Following a large find of tobacco, it is believed he escaped revenue men by being placed in a large coffin built in the carpenter shop, which is now the hotel’s reception area.

The reception area at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham
The reception area at The Smugglers Haunt in Brixham -Credit:The Smuggler’s Haunt

The new chapter in its history will hopefully see it return back to its once busy heyday.

Mark enthused: "The community will love it. Before the restaurant closed eight years ago it was very busy with queues out of the door on Sundays.

"The rooms are all fine so we are not doing anything to them right now and they will continue to be available. Instead we have been focusing on the downstairs which is being given a full make-over. It is being decorated in our brand sea colours and we want to make it cosy.

"If people want to come early or want a drink after their meal they can sit in the bar, or people can just come in for a drink. The bar will have a baby grand piano in it and the plan is to have music some evenings.

"As it has a bar I am hoping there will be lots of laughter and stories going on."

The Smuggler's Haunt will be open seven days a week. Its restaurant menu will vary according to the seasons and local produce available.

Mark said: "I am lucky to be so excited about this new venture and think I am finally getting to fulfill my dreams. I have done farming and really enjoyed it. My father was an Olympian standard sailor so I was brought up with the sea.

"My aim was always to retire by the sea. Sailing is in my blood as is being by the sea. When The Smuggler’s Haunt opens our sea and soil vision will then be done."