Blue Ball Inn

A thatched-roof inn at Stevens Cross in Sidford, two miles inland from Sidmouth, rebuilt after a fire in 2007 and now running eight renovated bedrooms alongside the pub. The kitchen calls itself authentic pub food done well, and that plays out as British classics sitting next to bistro dishes - beer-battered fish and chips, a Korean chicken burger, king prawn and Devon crab linguine, and a run of pies alongside grass-fed steaks.

Monday nights are steak frites, with a garlic-butter sirloin at a set price from 5pm, and lunch through the week runs a smaller sandwich and plates menu with a lunch-and-a-drink deal. Sunday roasts - beef, chicken or pork with all the trimmings - draw a steady crowd, and seafood specials come in from the Cornish fishmonger Flying Fish. Vegetarian and vegan options run throughout the menu, and the pub is open seven days, from midday to late.