Start Bay Inn, Torcrossback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Firstly, Dylarolla, the Cricket inn at Beesands must have been much renovated since this posting, as it is now a large pub with a lovely bar and real 'pubby' feel. I visited the Start bay inn on Wed 8th July 2020, so this post is 'post' Corona virus lockdown. I say this, as in these early days the ways pubs re-open need to be reported on this site. Whilst safety first, all reviews must state whether it is a nice experience and anything like the what we knew before.. We also climbed over the hill from Beesands, but timed it with low tide to clamber back over the rocks on the beach. I appreciate its early days, but on our visit The start bay inn was still effectively closed except for take out.. Only real ale was st.austell Tribute, and there was a nice cider called Sheppey.. I won't mark the pub down, because this is early days, and drinking beer on the sea wall on a nice day was still appreciated, but unlike the Cricket at Beesands which felt more 'normal'. I had to pay through a Perspex screen and the glass collector looked like he was prepared for a nerve agent attack, but hey, like I say, too early to judge... If you are in this area, do try the cricket at Beesands for beer and the Britannia on the beach (again Beesands) for seafood...
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Friendly guy behind the bar and Otter beers plus others in good condition. Nice place to sit outside of enjoying a lovely day and a beer.
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Much has been said before about this place, fantastic location and mega fish and chips.
It's a pleasant place inside and I have visited twice both out of season and the place was still busy.
If I had to pick a negative it can feel a bit like a café and the tables are very close together but to be fair to them they are only trying to get as many in a possible.
7/10 Would like to visit on a winters stormy night the place would feel fantastic!
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We walked up and over the steep ridge from Beesands to Torcross to find this pub. It was an excellent decision having come from The Cricket Inn in Beesands which although pertaining to be a pub is really a posh restaurant with a small bar.
Stary Bay Inn is an excellent, lively pub. Nothing special to look at inside or out but it's reasonably big, has an excellent atmosphere and it's cosy and warm. The bar staff were pleasant and full of smiles and the food was very good value.
4 real ales on tap, Otter ale, Otter Bitter, Bass and Tribute. All were excellent, hic...
Alan the barman was having his 40th birthday bash there and they were a very friendly bunch of folk indeed, plying us with vodka jelly. Spot on.
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Great fish and chips if you don't mind the bun fight, boring beer choice, otter bitter or otter ale!!! whats that all about could come out of the same barrell.
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Revisited just before Easter.
Ate there, this time.
Good fresh fish - well cooked, and much enjoyed.
Warning - the 'Large' portion really is Large.
[There is a 'Jumbo' portion, too - but even I wa snot hungry enough and brave enough to go for that.]
The flowers was reorted to be good.
The rst of us had a bottle of a loval white wine - Lyme Bay Winery - and very good it was, too. I'm more of a red man - but this was lightly chilled and excellent.
Still an eight for me.
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Why this awful place has such a good reputation is a mystery. The food was inedible (undercooked meat and something described as 'onion rings' which seemed to be deep-fried onion skins), the service was lousy beyond belief and the whole place was packed full of howling children. I'm usually pretty tolerant and forgiving but this is one place I will not be revisiting.
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Great pub in historic setting. Bit of a pile 'em high place but a great place to stop for a pint and a bite. Monkfish in garlic butter is one of the best fish dishes I've ever head. Simple but executed brilliantly and straight off the boat.
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Much is promised by the exterior of this delightful Inn. However, I only stopped for 1 pint as it flat and not as clean tasting as I expect. The food served is mainly fresh fish, but was over cooked and uninspiring.
anonymous - 30 Sep 2007 18:47 |
Previous comments are agreed with.
We visited yesterday, Sunday, afternoon, between showers.
Lovely place - food looks excellent, but we had eaten at the Ship in Noss Mayo so didn't need to even fill up corners. Menu appears to be very good value, too.
Woderful location on the beachfront, with seating outside and in.
If visiting, call in to see the Slapton Sands Memorial for those who died when a 1944 D-Day practice - Exercise Tiger - went disastrously wrong, and 946 men had died. They gave their lives for our freedom.
Good eight.
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This is definitely a TOP RATE pub. Excellent range of real ales including local micros. The wine too is incredibly reasonable. The previous night we ate at the Old Chapel Inn at St Anne's Chapel njust up the road at Bigbury, and their price for a bottle of Sharpham's reserve Sauv Blanc from the local Totnes vineyard was �5 more expensive than the Start Bay Inn. We were here in mid May on a Monday evening and it was v busy so don't expect things to be easy in the summer. But go out of season and its great. I gather that the local landlord passed the business over to his kids to run about a year ago and just spends the time now fishing. The kids in that case have got a great success on their hands. Do visit. The monkfish in garlic butter is something to die for!
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My wife has been going here all her life and I've been going fot the past 10 years. We are regular vistors to the area as her parents live in Salcombe and if we visit them for a week we make sure of at least 2 visits to the pub!
The food is fresh and well cooked. The batter is light, yet crunchy. I will admit to having 1 thing from the menu....jumbo haddock and chips which are the best I have ever tasted. Jumbo generally means 2 large fish so you better have a big apetite.
My wife almost always goes for the crab sandwiches which contains just the amount of white and dark meat.
I agree that sometimes it's a pain to get served at the bar because it's so small, but it's worth the wait. The house wine prices are incredibly cheap and the farmhouse Cider, which they don't have on show, is to die for...DON'T DRIVE ON IT!!
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Yes, this is a great pub for food, and in a superb location on Start Bay. Some of the best fish and chips I've ever had anywhere, and also some real delicacies like fried battered scallops (allegedly) caught by the pub's owner on daily diving expeditions.
The only downside? It's tremendously popular in the summer tourist season, and the scrabble to get a table outside on the beach front is fierce, so you either need to get there early or late - between 6.00pm and 8.00pm, it's a nightmare. But the food is worth the wait if you like fresh seafood.
The other problem I suffered from was a dozy barmaid who managed to not see me for all of 10 minutes in the packed bar, serving a succession of others (locals?) who visibly arrived at the bar after I did. Now normally, I never have a problem getting served, so this almost felt premeditated, and in the end I lost my temper and had a go at her. In fairness, she was very apologetic. Hmmm...
Dozy? Useless? Or simply serving faces she recognised first? Who knows. I went back there a few nights later and it was fine. But not getting served in your fair turn really stinks.
Still probably the best fish and chips in the West though. I'd recommend it, particularly out of the height of the tourist season.
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this is a really great pub for food.Their speciality is fresh fish (and it really is fresh) Its in a lovely location and theres plenty of room to eat outside if the weather is good. We would recommend this pub to anyone young or old,with children or not.
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