Kings Arms Otterton

We stopped in to eat a couple of times and the food was excellent. The roast beef was lean, tasty and a very generous serving, with plenty of vegetables. My wife’s chicken was just as good and came in a hearty portion. A few pints of Sharpes fury went down nicely with it.

For Mothering Sunday we booked a table for six in advance. The pub was lively, with a lovely family feel, and the staff were attentive and cheerful throughout. We had a huge Sunday roast followed by a great dessert. It’s a welcoming local in a picture postcard village.

The beer was fresh and there was a good wine selection, and the menu looked promising after our walk. We ordered from the specials: game stew, steak and ale pie, and cod parmesan. The stew was basically rabbit, with dumplings so hard they were difficult to eat. The pie needed real force to open and was very dry inside, while the cod was bland and basic. The boiled cabbage and green beans offered as fresh seasonal veg were a letdown too. It felt like the food had been sitting under lights for hours by the time we arrived at 1:30pm, and there was a clear lack of care. Our local host was very disappointed, and we’re in no hurry to return.

We’ve been coming to Otterton and Ladram Bay as a family for years, and this time wanted pizza back at our accommodation. The Kings Arms website still showed a takeaway option, so I called and left my details. After 20 minutes with no reply, I went down, and the staff seemed bewildered when I asked about the pizza order. Apparently takeaway hadn’t been available since sometime in 2025. They offered fish and chips instead, but it cost more and was awful. The staff were friendly and seemed embarrassed the website was out of date. Maybe this was a one-off, but we won’t eat there again for a while and will try somewhere else first.