Review
The Grange Restaurant & Tea Room, Buckfast Abbey

Allow yourself time to explore the beautiful grounds at Buckfast Abbey when you visit The Grange Restaurant & Tea Room for breakfast, lunch or cream tea.

The restaurant is light and welcoming, with plenty of outside seating and views looking across to the Abbey. It’s a fairly busy venue, popular with coach parties, visitors and locals, so it is geared up to cater for large numbers. It’s a self-service set-up, rather than fine dining, but the produce is sourced locally where possible. Tuckers Market supplies the pork, sausages and bacon. Most bakery items are made in-house, along with the mains and desserts – of which there is a good selection that changes daily.

Hubby and I were visiting for lunch. You can have soup for starters, but we went straight for a main dish. I chose the chicken korma with rice, and topped it up with coconut shavings, mini poppadoms and mango chutney. It wasn’t too spicy, but hot in temperature, creamy and tasty. My husband had the salmon en croute, a meaty piece of fish encased in crisp, thin pastry topped with sesame seeds, creamy mashed potato, carrots, peas, beans and a parsley sauce.

We had already been given the heads up to try The Grange’s most popular dessert – the treacle tart. Mr S. loves this pudding and as I don’t cook it for him at home, he thoroughly enjoyed this warm and sweet treat, especially as it came with clotted cream and custard! I chose the delicious blackberry cheesecake, which was made by one of the staff. 

You can choose local (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) drinks from the chiller cabinet, including the famous Buckfast Tonic Wine. There’s also a wide range of speciality teas and coffees. After lunch, find a cosy seat in the gardens to admire the views.