The Cornish Arms

The story

The Cornish Arms, Tavistock: Modern British Pub Dining on West Street, Devon

The Cornish Arms, at 15 West Street in Tavistock, serves modern British pub food and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2026 for good-quality, good-value cooking. The pub sits on a town-centre street on the edge of Dartmoor, with a bar, a restaurant room and a covered beer garden.

Cooking under Seb Finch

Seb Finch joined the kitchen in 2016 as a demi chef de partie and became head chef in March 2020. He now works as executive chef across The Cornish Arms and its sister pub, The Blacksmiths Arms at Lamerton. John Hooker, who runs the pub with his wife Emma, trained as a chef and opened the Cornish Arms in May 2013 with a plan for relaxed pub cooking at a high standard.

What arrives at the table

The Good Food Guide lists the pub as Good for 2026 and describes a menu that balances pub classics with more modern ideas. Starters have included ham hock Scotch egg with blue cheese and beer-pickled onions. Mains have ranged from roast cod with brown shrimp vinaigrette to butter-roasted guinea fowl with Jerusalem artichokes, pearl barley and hazelnuts. Dessert is a mango soufflé with pineapple compôte and coconut sorbet. The traditional Sunday lunch includes maple-glazed pork belly. The wine list is arranged by style, and glasses come in three sizes.

Rooms and the garden

The guest rooms have quirky vintage furnishings, bold colours and en suite rain showers. STAG, the superior suite, has a roll-top copper bath and handmade furniture. Food is served in the main restaurant, the bar and the covered beer garden, which has heaters for cooler evenings. Dogs are welcome in the bar and the garden.