If you’re heading from Exeter, Dartmoor is deceptively close – as the crow flies it’s five miles to the east border of Dartmoor National Park from Ide. You can head down the M5, along to Bovey Tracey as many do – up across past Haytor along the B3387 and down to Widdicome-on-the-moor, but as most locals know, this can get busy with day trippers and is worth avoiding. The best way to arrive on Dartmoor is via Moretonhampstead or Chagford – in no time at all you are on open moorland.
The true expanse of Dartmoor (West Dartmoor) lies beyond Haytor and Hound Tor (East Dartmoor), expanding into the distance like giant undulating waves of heather and dry stone walled fields on a static stone ocean.
As we drove up through Moretonhampstead, our plans for a sunset walk before dinner quickly evaporated as the fog became thick and unrelenting. The rugged terrain of this outcrop of wilderness sits amongst the patchwork of tended, farmed Devon fields which makes the backdrop of our visit to the Eversfield Organics very own pub, the Dartmoor Inn all the moor (geddit…?) exciting. Coincidentally our last visit to Dartmoor in December was to Froggintor Quarry which is less than a mile from our destination tonight where we witnessed an incredible winter sunset. West Dartmoor does sunsets pretty well.
We drove past the turning to Froggintor Quarry, the road descending into the valley that the Dartmoor Inn lies, and out of the thick fog the clear air revealed the 16th Century pub with rooms, perched on the side of the valley just off from the B3357.
Eversfield Organic is a family-run business that specialises in organic food delivery. Established in 2002, the company has a strong focus on ethical and sustainable farming practices. They provide an extensive range of organic produce, including fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, meat, and pantry essentials, all of which are delivered directly to customers’ doors. The company also have a number of shops and delis (including a counter in Selfridges of London) which supply the pub with fresh veg.
The seasonality is strong in their menu, along with the simple fact that everything produced by Eversfield is organic; they have their own herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle that roam amongst lush verdant Devon farmland which produces some of the finest Soil Association organic certified meat.
Eversfield Organic took the pub on a couple of years ago, and ever since they’ve served up diners with delicious organic, sustainable meat and veg from Ellacott Farm in Bratton Clovelly on the edge of Dartmoor, where Eversfield grow their produce and rear cattle. Their meat is also butchered and prepared on the farm too with by their traditional master butchers.
Dining Devon was invited along to see for ourselves what this little pub on Dartmoor has been doing so well for the last couple of years that a huge number all of the reviews left on Trip Advisor are five star, saying stuff like “overwhelmed by the friendly welcome and exceptional steaks” and “Exceptional meat, very well cooked, flavours were incredible plus an excellent wine selection” to quote just a few. Was it going to be as good as many previous diners had said?
As we tentatively opened the door, the smells and warmth oozed out. After announcing our presence, we met Frank who is Head Chef and Manager. Behind him, laid out a wonderful sight – a vast platter of meat resting at room temperature, steaks of all different sizes, deep reds and incredible marbling. Within the chimney place was The Ox Grill, and it was here, right in front of us diners in the dining area, no less, that our steaks were to be cooked.
Meat is prepped and stored in a fridge within the dining room – it happens all within arms reach of the diners and for the special guests there is a chefs table where chef will chat and interact with guests throughout the night. The transparency and pride that Eversfield Organic have in their meat was on full show, and why would you not be proud? This meat was reared fifteen miles away, it is award winning and that in itself was going to be evident in the eating.
As many of the Tripadvisor reviews stated, this is a meat-eaters paradise. There are some options for vegetarian and vegan diners, but the menu is focused towards using the organic meat that Eversfield produce, with a fish of the day option. The kids menu is also very well thought out, all using the same great organic ingredients.
Our menu for tonight looked like this:
Starter:
Sharing Baked Brie – served with cranberry compote, olives, hummus and charcuterie – £20
Mains:
Chateaubriand shared between two with triple cooked chips and a market garden salad – £69
Dessert:
Crème Brûlée (£8) with a chocolate shortbread & Sticky Toffee Pudding (£8)
Tori took the recommendation matched her steak with a glass of Argentinian Domaine Bousquet Malbec which was a perfect accompaniment.
We kicked off the evening with a Baked Brie – not always a common baked cheese, from my experience baking a brie can be tricky as it doesn’t always hold its shape. Thankfully we had a little shallow bowl to hold the gooey cheesy contents, breaking through the rind like prospectors hunting for cheese gold is almost as satisfying as cracking and egg or shattering the glass topping of a Crème brûlée. Served with olives and sourdough bread and toast for dipping, this was good strong start. It’s easy for baked cheese to curdle or not goo quite enough, and the balance was well achieved and perfectly executed.
The main course was a Chateaubriand, a super tender cut taken from the a centre cut fillet. Chef recommended that we go for this option, so it was only polite to take the advice, and I am glad we did. Roasted on The Ox Grill, the transition between starter and main was swift – with chips following behind and a flavourful market garden salad.
The meat was perfectly medium rare as we had requested with a lightly. It was now that I realised why there were no steak knives set out, as the meat did not need anything more than a gentle press to cut it. As I loaded my first forkful, the tender umami-filled buttery meatful mouthgasm was enough for me to put my cutlery down and utter in my best Owen Wilson-esque way, “wow” (If you don’t get the reference, google ‘Owen Wilson wow’). The meat had been masterfully cooked with a delicate and well executed maillard crumb sealing the deal.
An exceptional steak is about the taste of the meat and the way it was cooked. Cooked over an open fire with an expert hand, fed and reared in verdant sustainable farmland, aged 28 days all led to a moment of meaty magic which I will one day, hopefully soon, repeat. There were audible comments from our fellow diners about how good their steaks were, it was hard not to eavesdrop.
We finished off the evening with some classic desserts. Being a massive fan of Crème brûlée Tori went for this option. The cracking was satisfying, the dessert itself was smooth and sweet, everything a brulee should be and I was completely taken with my Sticky Toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce which brought proceedings to a close after some coffee.
Beyond steak, the Dartmoor Inn serves Breakfast (their full English is catchily called The Great Staple Eversfield Organic Full English at £11) and Sunday lunch with different meats available as well as their steaks. Also to complement everything else they do there is a Light Bites menu and their Stone & Fondue Experience which is available Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings. And let’s not forget their Little Farm Shed cafe which does smooth organic ice creams, coffees or organic snacks which is perfect in warm weather.
Dartmoor Inn also has a number of comfortable rooms to stay in for a Moorland overnight escape. Breakfast is included, double rooms with epic views across the Walkham Valley.
Details:
Address – Merrivale, Princetown, Yelverton PL20 6ST
Email: dartmoorinn@eversfieldorganic.co.uk
Telephone: 01837871400 (option 3)
Reserve a table today! visit the Dartmoor Inn website
2023 © Disclosure – all images, unless otherwise stated are copyright of Dining Devon. For some of our visits we are #invited or products are #gifted, and are noted as such. This means we have been given something complimentary in exchange for our views in the hope of us sharing on our socials. This does not affect our opinions which are not seen or pre-approved by venues before we publish or share our experiences. This meal was partially paid for by Dining Devon.
Dining Devon 