Blue Ball Inn

We had a nice lunch here and enjoyed the service and atmosphere. The free parking is also a bonus. We liked the blankets and the free hydration station. I recommend the coffee and walnut cake. I will definitely return and the setting is also spectacular

Good pub this, nice wide choice of ales and lagers and very good food from a diverse and quite interesting menu. The young staff are so friendly and chatty, very efficient too. Had a lovely evening there on a Friday when they had some live music too.

Lovely pub just outside pretty village of Lynmouth. Would highly recommend. We were an extended family of 10 people aged between 7-70 years, we’d only booked that morning. On arrival our table was ready, a lovely big table in the pub area which was perfect for us and right next to the games room with pool table and darts that the kids enjoyed whilst waiting for our meal. Menu has plenty of choice of pub favourites and some local produce like fish…food was delicious, we had the fish pie, steak pie, burgers, salmon tagliatelle (special), kids pasta and fish and chips. Friendly service and food was served after just a short wait. My daughter had refused to eat her pasta after it was served with Parmasan instead of cheddar, the staff didn’t quibble at swapping her dish for something different which was much appreciated. We’d arrived at 5.30 and by the time we left around 730pm the place was filling up so seems popular. After dinner we enjoyed the games (Jenga etc) in the snug room where you can relax on sofas, a large selection of board games etc to choose from. Lovely place to eat and relax with the family.

Popped in today for a lunch with friends. Disappointed with our meal. Prices are high but portion sizes small. Pitched to holidaymakers who don’t know any better. We certainly won’t be visiting again. A note to staff. If your customers get up and say ‘thank you’ when leaving your pub, it’s polite to respond!

Called in for lunch today after a walk. We are reasonably local so have used the pub before. I was disappointed with very average but expensive food. There are plenty of great establishments in the area and it will be the last time I visit. I don’t think this is the managers issue. The food seemed cheap and cheerful. Something driven by large businesses such as St Austell brewery’s. It doesn’t bode well for the winter when the holiday makers have gone home.

Really disappointing from start to finish, didn’t have the wine we wanted out of stock… didn’t have the devilled kidneys… couldn’t have chips instead of french fries with my mussels ( which were snotty and appeared undercooked ) the steak my partner had was mostly fat, quite understaffed … the mackerel starter was superb but didn’t make up for the rest of the meal… we paid the bill and left with no desire to ever go back. For Charged for a bread to go with the mussels which normally in any other eatery I’ve been in comes with the course ….everyone to their own but in my opinion avoid.!

Visited lunch time on Valentines Day & we were made very welcome. We were spontaneously out for the day from Bristol on a gloomy rainy day & it was made so much better stopping off here. The pub is set just at the top of Lymington Hill, easy to use car park opposite the pub, probably easier to park before visiting Lynton & Lynmouth. The log burner was lit & there was a lovely warm atmosphere. Very friendly staff that couldn’t do enough for us to make our meal special. The food was excellent & great wine. Thank you. Will definitely stop off again next time.

When we arrived we were told that the boiler was broken, and we had the option of cancelling if we so wished. We decided to stay, and the girls were very helpful in allowing us to pick our room. There was a small oil filled radiator to help keep the room from freezing, (it was 3’C outside). The lady cleaning the rooms was awesome. She was literally on her hands and knees scrubbing everything in sight. The room was spotless, and she couldn’t have been more helpful. She gave us extra blankets to help keep warm at night too. We went down for our evening meal. The girls were all very friendly and helpful, the food was delicious and it was a nice evening. We went up to our room later, put the extra blankets on the bed, wrapped up warm and had a good nights sleep. In the morning, the temp had gone up to 6’C outside, the sun was shining and we were talking about maybe visiting again in spring or summer. We went down for breakfast but it was a completely different atmosphere. There was a different woman on breakfast duty, and we were made to feel a bit uncomfortable and awkward by her attitude. Very blunt. Breakfast was a bit of a disappointment too. The bacon was not crispy but over cooked and hard. (My wife couldn’t cut hers). The poached eggs were hard boiled, and the hash browns were over cooked too. I don’t think it was the same chef from the previous evening. So we left with the thought of ‘Maybe we won’t visit again’. Which was a shame. So I’d recommend for an evening meal but I wouldn’t go there for breakfast.

We decided to stop for lunch on our way back home. I wish we'd not bothered. I think since St Austell brewery has taken over the food has become expensive and the standard is not the same. The young girl served our starter of crispy squid, which she informed us was last two portions, it was more like one portion split two ways. The three roast with veg, well for £20 I expected something exceptional, the dogs had most of my meat, the vegs were cold the roasts were hard and the yorkshire puds tasted burnt. The service was poor, the young staff could barely raise a smile, it is such a shame to see the pub going this way. We have spent many years using the Blue Ball, but with the change of hands, the cost of food and the cost of staying there now it will be a long time before going again.