{AD/Invite} The village of Oakford lies at the intersection between Exmoor and the hilly valleys of Mid Devon, where the geographical echoes of moorland can be seen in the luscious forests and the steep hills that surround it. This part of Devon is topographically quite exciting. If you’re travelling from Exeter then you’ll pass through Tiverton, heading towards signs for Minehead and then a left, under steep hedgerows, up a hill and then up another hill.

The Red Lion Hotel, Oakford has been here since the mid-eighteenth century, beating at the heart of this rural community. In recent years the pub/hotel closed, with the prospect it being converted into houses, but local residents saved the day  and new owners took on the pub and restored it into a hub of good food the community spirit which it embodies today. With a classic pub menu that follows seasonality and freshness, their new head chef Minos, has really made his mark on the food offering.

When we visited, the pub was alive with chatter and energy. A group of walkers had a large table booked and were really enjoying themselves.  Throughout our visit we kept on overhearing them discussing how nice their meal was, and as they left we chatted briefly, they were local and the within a good hiking distance.

There is a good selection of ales and beer and a well thought out wine menu too.  The dining area is tastefully decorated, with good spacing between tables and as we saw, they can accommodate larger groups too.

Their lunch menu includes classic pub meals and see and in the evening, throw in the a la carte menu for something a bit special. We both ended up going with .Pie of the day –
Served with Koffmann triple cooked chips, veg and Marsala jus
£16.90

– Pie of the day –
Served with Koffmann triple cooked chips, veg and Marsala jus
£16.90

– A trio of sausages. Served with mash, onion and red wine jus
£16.90

These were really elevated with quality fresh ingredients which, as Bronwen the owner mentioned to us when we chatted after the meal, is really important to Minos.

Handmade and baked fresh each day, their ‘Pie Of The Day’ pies are generously filled with flavourful filling. Tori’s pie was chocked full along with a good helping of insanely crunchy, crispy Hoffman triple-cooked chips – this was a thoroughly enjoyable plate of food especially given the size of the portion and the quality.

My trio of sausages were Venison, Pork, Pork & Leek. with accompanying mash and a sumptuous jus, was also really enjoyable. Like their other meats it comes from local sources (John May Butchers of South Milton supplies meats) and was a quite a celebration of this timeless classic. These dense flavourful sausages, were accompanied with freshly cooked vegetables too, which completed the plate nicely.

I can’t wait to return for Pie Of The Day (although I loved my trio of sausages, I definitely had Pie Envy), or maybe the a la carte evening menu because ‘8oz 32 day black Angus ribeye with Parmesan and truffle fries, green peppercorn or bearnaise sauce sounds like something I’d travel back for but this visit is definitely catalogued under ‘hidden gems’ and is worth a trip out to experience.

I don’t dwell on emotions like jealousy but I couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous of the walkers having such a lovely pub doing superb food within walking/hiking distance.