Located in the heart of Dartmoor is the 5 Star country house Bovey Castle Hotel and Spa cushioned in amongst 275 acres of magnificent countryside and undulating valleys.
The Bovey Experience starts as soon as you approach the hotel along the mile – long drive, which parts the last couple of holes of an impressive golf course.
The Hotel reveals itself to you from behind ancient trees with the rising hills of Dartmoor as a backdrop.
When you come down the drive, you definitely get that WoW factor!
The Bovey boasts 60 magnificent individually designed bedrooms and 22 self-catering country lodges, scattered across the estate.


It also has two stunning restaurants which offers a wide selection of dining choices. Guests can choose fine dining in the Great Western Grill or select their meals from the classic British menu offered in the Smith’s Brasserie.

The two restaurants have very different personalities, but I was looking forward to enjoying some of the most recent developments to have taken place at the hotel, which is a £1.2m refurbishment of the Great Western Grill, which recently reopened in June 2023 after a hiatus of three years. The newly refurbished 3AA Rosette restaurant also includes a new Champagne and Oyster Bar.

The hotel is enormously proud of its history and heritage, and this is reflected in the names of its two restaurants.
Bovey Castle began life as a private house in 1890 when William Henry Smith (W H Smith – the High Street retailer) purchased 5,000 acres of land from the Earl of Devon, who had owned the estate for the previous five centuries. Smith’s Brasserie is named in honour of its famous past owner.
Once upon a time Bovey Castle was also owned by the glorious Great Western Railway, who were the first owners to open Bovey Castle as a golfing hotel in 1930.
In August 2016 Bovey Castle was awarded 5 stars by the AA for its culinary excellence. The Great Western Grill is both formal & sophisticated yet relaxed & comfortable. The Smith’s Brasserie is a lot more informal and brighter with large windows looking out across the terraces towards the golf course & the rolling hills of Dartmoor.

Devonshire born Mark Budd has been Head Chef at Bovey Castle since April 2015. Mark has worked as Head Chef at some of the finest hotel restaurants in the world & has even cooked for the Royal Family & superstar singer Elton John!


Mark has overseen & managed the installation of a brand-new restaurant kitchen including a top of the range Charvet cooking suite with full-induction multi-pan zones, steel planchas, ovens, fryers & chargrills. Assistant Head Chef Simon Parnell and his kitchen team were providing the food delights during the period of my stay.


As I sat in the lounge bar waiting for our evening meal in the Great Western Grill, I could hear a pianist playing a whole host of tunes, which continued throughout our meal, setting the tone for a wonderful evening. All of the dishes served to our table were beautifully presented, using whenever possible locally sourced ingredients. The food, wine and exclusive service made for a glorious evening to remember.
The Great Western Grill comes complete with glass chandeliers, freshly ironed table cloths and a waiter to offer advice, explain the detail within the menu and ensure our wine glasses were topped up! I found the service and hospitality to be exceptional.

Amuse Bouche: Truffle & Parmesan cheese puff rolls
A delightful way in which to start our meal with a couple of savoury bites.

Starters:
Feuillette of braised ceps and poached quail eggs, herb butter sauce & summer truffle
The layers of puff pastry which made up the Feuillette combined well with the penny bun ceps & herb butter & truffle sauce. A gastronomic delight!

Plymouth gin cured Chalk Farm sea trout, horseradish, fennel & celeriac
A beautifully delicate starter complemented by the slight liquorice of the Fennel & spicy heat of the horseradish.

Mains:
Half grilled native lobster, Chardonnay hollandaise, saffron linguini & bitter leaf salad
The luxury of freshly cooked lobster accompanied with Chardonnay hollandaise & saffron linguini is simply a lobster dish made in heaven. It looked great too!

Rare breed pork belly, Bramley apple, young vegetables & pigs tail sauce
The rolled rare breed pork belly was superb! The pigs tail sauce made the meal, it was simply delicious!

Desserts:

Warm Valrhona Guanaja dark chocolate fondant with white chocolate sorbet
I could not decide on a dessert, so I went with our table waiter’s recommendation & I did not regret that decision. Valrhona is simply the best quality chocolate, warmed up & served with a white chocolate fondant and I was in Chocolate heaven. Divine!

A selection of French & British cheeses & bread rolls paired with chutney, grapes, celery, Eccles cakes & truffle honey – Neufchâtel, Swiss Mountain Cheese, Goats cheese, Pont-l’Évêque & Bordeaux Bleu. The restaurant manager recommended the cheese board & pairings which my wife & I loved. I would usually be thinking about pairing wines with cheese but from now on will be considering my cheese pairings with small fruits & vegetables. My dinner parties will never be the same again!

Breakfast included a wide selection of juices, toast & pastries, yogurts, continental meats, porridge, poached apricots, croissants, fruit salad, berries & pineapple! Eggs benedict, Smoked salmon, crushed avocado, English muffin & French toasts & lots more! And as much Tea & Coffee as you can manage!

My wife & I chose carefully from the very extensive breakfast menu. I opted for the Full English traditional breakfast. Grilled back bacon, Old English sausage, hash browns, vine tomatoes & two William`s Farm free range eggs, cooked to your liking, poached for me! My wife opted for the American pancakes, smoked streaky bacon, & maple syrup.

The restaurant setting is outstanding and the Hotel itself ticks all of the boxes for grandeur, opulence & splendour. The quality of the food, drink and table service were of an exceptional standard, what you would expect from a five star hotel & restaurant. Our dining experience in both restaurants was excellent with highly trained serving staff who were attentive but not obtrusive!

The Great Western Grill must rank as one of the finest hotel restaurants in the country & deserves the increasing number of positive accolades it has received. I am already looking forward to my next visit!

Disclosure: My stay was courtesy of Bovey Castle

The views and comments expressed are as usual my own

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