THE PIG at Combe - 德文

I was given a voucher for a birthday present and we kept looking at the menu online and found it difficult to decide. We knew the voucher was due to expire so booked a date for February, the whole experience was awful, the service and the food. The duty manager after the lunch was very apologetic despite being given wrong menus, items not on the menu, items not as described and just generally awful. They kindly agreed to extend the voucher so we went for a second visit last weekend. So our second visit….to realise this place is not cheap it is nearing price band of Michelin starred restaurants so you expect the service to go with it. You cannot argue the location is stunning but that’s about it. We enter the hallway and have to wait for someone to greet us, dressed in jeans and a shirt, we were sat at a very small table and given food menus, we were asked then what we would like to drink, we had not been given a drinks menu. We ordered our food nibbles of crisps with a scallop mayonnaise and vegetables with a beetroot hummus. The crisps and scallop mayo very uninspiring kettle chips with what could have been a thousand island mayo. The vegetables and hummus just average. Main course we ordered rump of lamb with wild garlic mash and skate wing. To say both main courses were not far off £30 each, awful. The lamb was tough with a sinue running through it and the skate wing we have never seen cut into such a small portion. Dessert, we opted for the sweet treats, not particularly nice other than the coconut ice, the piggy shape plain chocolate with orange filling definitely not everyone’s choice. So then presented with a bill for £116 and you walk away very deflated…

We have just returned from 2 nights at the Pig - one of their midweek Winter special deals and had a fantastic break. It was our first visit to a Pig and having heard many great things we wondered if it would live up to expectations. It certainly did. The hotel is warm and inviting ( especially on a wet February day), super comfy rooms, excellent food and first class staff. It is all very chilled and relaxed but run with great professionalism and attention to detail. We were only in one of the smallest rooms but it wasn’t by any means cramped and had a 6 ft bed still leaving ample room . Lovely shower room too with fantastic shower. Excellent spa treatments too. We will definitely return.