I always love visiting Bolton Abbey, and having lunch at the Devonshire.
Graham Collin
Lovely
Ian Shuter
We have had 2 x Sunday lunches and Christmas Day lunch all 3 were superb.Parking: Set in the grounds of the Duke of Devonshire's Bolton Abbey Estate
Jade Adams
We visited for afternoon tea, having heard how fantastic they were here, yet left underwhelmed and highly disappointed. With other guests on the table alongside us being difficult we felt ignored and unable to raise our own concerns; such as very little ham presented on a ham finger sandwich, or quite overbaked scones.To add to this, I was under the impression that The Devonshire Arms held high standards with presentation and flavour with any food produced and showed attentiveness to any and all guests, but this was certainly not the case on my first and last visit to this establishment.
Marshall Luddite
it was a sunday night but food was really average for the price. great to see its dog
Debbie Bastow
The food was really good, although they got the orders wrong on 3 occasions eg asked for sauvignon got pinot, flat white got latte etcProbably as we were one of the last to dine and it was new years day. The waiting staff were pleasant and attentive. I did not particularly like the decor, 1st time here and I thought it would be more traditional but definitely wasn't. The lights were far too bright and the flashing lights on the christmas tree were off putting. The good thing was we could take the dogs as its dog friendly.
Phil A
Our visit for Sunday Lunch on New Years Day was truly memorable. The star of the show was the Roast Beef with a fine Yorkshire Pudding, and a grear array of vegatables (very good roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, green beans, red cabbage and roast carrots/partsnips. Our appetisers and dessert were also first class. All was was served by happy and attentive staff. Not cheap but then you would not expect it to be, for me worth every penny. PS - good range of non alcoholic drinks too.
Richard
Enjoyed a Sunday Lunch at The Brasserie at The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa recently, after a picturesque walk at Bolton Abbey. We ate as a party of ten, with six adults and four children, all under ten, as well as two dogs. The food was extremely good, decent menu, plenty of choice for old and young. One of our party was Vegetarian and to be super-critical, there could have been an additional option to accommodate vegetarians. The service throughout was friendly and proficient and there was a warm glow from the internal, wood burning stove. I enjoyed the Duck, others had Sunday Roasts, alongside a burger, chicken and fish and chips. Given the location, it is nice that ‘well behaved’ dogs are welcome in the bar area of The Brasserie. We made the venue aware at the time of booking that we would have two dogs, and I believe that two dogs per table is the maximum - you do need to let them know, at the time you make your reservation. We will certainly be back and would recommend The Brasserie at The Devonshire.Vegetarian options: To be super critical, on the day we went, there could have done with being an additional vegetarian option on the menu.Parking: Be careful if reversing into a space. There are some low level wooden stakes, a few of which look like they have been hit by cars. They are of a difficult height to detect to the eye, and I can imagine a lot of reversing sensors may miss them.Kid-friendliness: Accommodating for kids. Separate children’s menu, with good options.
ezra scott
Amazing night in the artist room and had access to the spa all evening. If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway with great service then this is for you. Already talked about booking again before we went to bed.
kaths375
Myself and three friends visited the Devonshire Arms to have afternoon tea together as a pre Christmas treat . How disappointed we were! We were shown to where we were to eat-2 comfy settees and chairs around a small table - which looked very comfortable and cosy, and ten we were asked which drinks we wanted and the order was taken. After that we received the tea long before our food which was very underwhelming !The sandwiches were very cold as if they had been sat in the fridge all morning and we had to send some of the sandwiches back as they were dry and hard- the replacements weren’t much better but no one seemed to be concerned! The rest of the food was only OK and the service was quite invisible- we had to ask for some more tea which came in pots that were too hot to hold and pour! We did tell the waiter when we paid the bill and he did say he would tell someone but we had the feeling that they feel their reputation will carry them along! The Devonshire Arms are set in beautiful countryside with amazing views and the furnishings and decorations are very good but the afternoon tea experience won’t be repeated- - very expensive and disappointing .
Just had a great meal in the Brasserie whilst staying at the hotel. Excellent food and service. What more can you ask for. The hotel and spa are great too!
JJ JJ
The fish and chips...and the mashed peas were great!
Rebecca Kling
My bf and I visited Bolton Abbey after a storm, making the trip around the area much, much longer when part of the paths were under the river. We had to climb through the muddy forest in the rain and when we finally found our way out it was pitch dark and no running buses and no Ubers would accept the drive from there to ilkley.We happened upon the Devonshire arms brasserie and thank God we did! The manager was an absolute life saver. He helped to call us a taxi and got us a table near the fire to warm up. The atmosphere inside was great and I'm really sorry we didn't manage to stay for dinner at a later day cause the restaurant smelled amazing.
Helen B
This is the 2nd time i have been there for afternoon, the first time a couple of years ago it was lovely, so decided to take my best friend for her birthday, will not go back, extremely disappointing, dry sandwiches and over cooked and burnt scones and a complete rip of for £75 plus had to pay for service!
catecate
I’d been so looking forward to afternoon tea here to celebrate my special birthday with partner and daughter. Well it should have been lunch but my partner was bamboozled with their opening times. But I love afternoon tea so all was good. He emailed to see if there was anything they could help him with to make it more special. He didn’t receive any reply, but we did have a couple of extra slices of cake with numbers piped on. Which was nice of them but shame they ignored his email. Booking made for 2pm but we were asked to be there for 130pm. Got there on time and had a bit of a wait for someone to come get us. A lovely chap greeted us and we were served by him and a lovely lady (who rectified a missing egg sandwich!). The food was beautifully presented and tasty. As was the glass of fizz. And sadly that’s where the positives end. I suspect the original servers went home and didn’t hand over and the service was dreadful from then on. No one came to check on us, we were left surrounded by mucky plates for ages. Had to get up and hunt someone down to get teas and coffees as we were told these get ordered after we’ve eaten. Which was fine as we had the fizz. But shocking to be left for so long. A lovely young lady took our order, but I’d have thought the hotel would have supplied ironed aprons. Not a five star experience but at £50 a head it’s not cheap. Hot milk served with tea so had to get up and hunt someone down again! Still surrounded by mucky plates not cleared up. So had to ask. Why when dropping off the tea this wasn’t done. Someone came and kindly boxed up what we hadn’t eaten tho but still no clearing table. Had to get up AGAIN and hunt someone for the bill. I said to the lady in the crumpled apron how bad the service had been. She went and spoke to the manager and came back with the bill. Said the manager had knocked off the service charge. No sign of the manager. Didn’t bother to come and speak to us to explain - which would have been better than money off. It wasn’t about the money. Then told we couldn’t pay there we’d have to go to the cocktail bar. Traipsed in there to find no one behind the bar, so another wait about. I had to get out as I was so annoyed by this point and headed to reception to get our coats. As no one had offered to get o ur coats. Thankfully the man on reception was lovely. The staff we did see were all lovely too but the service was an utter shambles and didn’t match the beautiful food. We were so ignored that it was 430pm by the time we left. 3 hours for afternoon tea! I don’t like to be rushed but come on that’s ridiculous especially when I had to keep getting up to ask for things that should have been standard. A very disappointing end to my special birthday day.
I always love visiting Bolton Abbey, and having lunch at the Devonshire.
Lovely
We have had 2 x Sunday lunches and Christmas Day lunch all 3 were superb.Parking: Set in the grounds of the Duke of Devonshire's Bolton Abbey Estate
We visited for afternoon tea, having heard how fantastic they were here, yet left underwhelmed and highly disappointed. With other guests on the table alongside us being difficult we felt ignored and unable to raise our own concerns; such as very little ham presented on a ham finger sandwich, or quite overbaked scones.To add to this, I was under the impression that The Devonshire Arms held high standards with presentation and flavour with any food produced and showed attentiveness to any and all guests, but this was certainly not the case on my first and last visit to this establishment.
it was a sunday night but food was really average for the price. great to see its dog
The food was really good, although they got the orders wrong on 3 occasions eg asked for sauvignon got pinot, flat white got latte etcProbably as we were one of the last to dine and it was new years day. The waiting staff were pleasant and attentive. I did not particularly like the decor, 1st time here and I thought it would be more traditional but definitely wasn't. The lights were far too bright and the flashing lights on the christmas tree were off putting. The good thing was we could take the dogs as its dog friendly.
Our visit for Sunday Lunch on New Years Day was truly memorable. The star of the show was the Roast Beef with a fine Yorkshire Pudding, and a grear array of vegatables (very good roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, green beans, red cabbage and roast carrots/partsnips. Our appetisers and dessert were also first class. All was was served by happy and attentive staff. Not cheap but then you would not expect it to be, for me worth every penny. PS - good range of non alcoholic drinks too.
Enjoyed a Sunday Lunch at The Brasserie at The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa recently, after a picturesque walk at Bolton Abbey. We ate as a party of ten, with six adults and four children, all under ten, as well as two dogs. The food was extremely good, decent menu, plenty of choice for old and young. One of our party was Vegetarian and to be super-critical, there could have been an additional option to accommodate vegetarians. The service throughout was friendly and proficient and there was a warm glow from the internal, wood burning stove. I enjoyed the Duck, others had Sunday Roasts, alongside a burger, chicken and fish and chips. Given the location, it is nice that ‘well behaved’ dogs are welcome in the bar area of The Brasserie. We made the venue aware at the time of booking that we would have two dogs, and I believe that two dogs per table is the maximum - you do need to let them know, at the time you make your reservation. We will certainly be back and would recommend The Brasserie at The Devonshire.Vegetarian options: To be super critical, on the day we went, there could have done with being an additional vegetarian option on the menu.Parking: Be careful if reversing into a space. There are some low level wooden stakes, a few of which look like they have been hit by cars. They are of a difficult height to detect to the eye, and I can imagine a lot of reversing sensors may miss them.Kid-friendliness: Accommodating for kids. Separate children’s menu, with good options.
Amazing night in the artist room and had access to the spa all evening. If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway with great service then this is for you. Already talked about booking again before we went to bed.
Myself and three friends visited the Devonshire Arms to have afternoon tea together as a pre Christmas treat . How disappointed we were! We were shown to where we were to eat-2 comfy settees and chairs around a small table - which looked very comfortable and cosy, and ten we were asked which drinks we wanted and the order was taken. After that we received the tea long before our food which was very underwhelming !The sandwiches were very cold as if they had been sat in the fridge all morning and we had to send some of the sandwiches back as they were dry and hard- the replacements weren’t much better but no one seemed to be concerned! The rest of the food was only OK and the service was quite invisible- we had to ask for some more tea which came in pots that were too hot to hold and pour! We did tell the waiter when we paid the bill and he did say he would tell someone but we had the feeling that they feel their reputation will carry them along! The Devonshire Arms are set in beautiful countryside with amazing views and the furnishings and decorations are very good but the afternoon tea experience won’t be repeated- - very expensive and disappointing .
Restaurantji Recommends
Just had a great meal in the Brasserie whilst staying at the hotel. Excellent food and service. What more can you ask for. The hotel and spa are great too!
The fish and chips...and the mashed peas were great!
My bf and I visited Bolton Abbey after a storm, making the trip around the area much, much longer when part of the paths were under the river. We had to climb through the muddy forest in the rain and when we finally found our way out it was pitch dark and no running buses and no Ubers would accept the drive from there to ilkley.We happened upon the Devonshire arms brasserie and thank God we did! The manager was an absolute life saver. He helped to call us a taxi and got us a table near the fire to warm up. The atmosphere inside was great and I'm really sorry we didn't manage to stay for dinner at a later day cause the restaurant smelled amazing.
This is the 2nd time i have been there for afternoon, the first time a couple of years ago it was lovely, so decided to take my best friend for her birthday, will not go back, extremely disappointing, dry sandwiches and over cooked and burnt scones and a complete rip of for £75 plus had to pay for service!
I’d been so looking forward to afternoon tea here to celebrate my special birthday with partner and daughter. Well it should have been lunch but my partner was bamboozled with their opening times. But I love afternoon tea so all was good. He emailed to see if there was anything they could help him with to make it more special. He didn’t receive any reply, but we did have a couple of extra slices of cake with numbers piped on. Which was nice of them but shame they ignored his email. Booking made for 2pm but we were asked to be there for 130pm. Got there on time and had a bit of a wait for someone to come get us. A lovely chap greeted us and we were served by him and a lovely lady (who rectified a missing egg sandwich!). The food was beautifully presented and tasty. As was the glass of fizz. And sadly that’s where the positives end. I suspect the original servers went home and didn’t hand over and the service was dreadful from then on. No one came to check on us, we were left surrounded by mucky plates for ages. Had to get up and hunt someone down to get teas and coffees as we were told these get ordered after we’ve eaten. Which was fine as we had the fizz. But shocking to be left for so long. A lovely young lady took our order, but I’d have thought the hotel would have supplied ironed aprons. Not a five star experience but at £50 a head it’s not cheap. Hot milk served with tea so had to get up and hunt someone down again! Still surrounded by mucky plates not cleared up. So had to ask. Why when dropping off the tea this wasn’t done. Someone came and kindly boxed up what we hadn’t eaten tho but still no clearing table. Had to get up AGAIN and hunt someone for the bill. I said to the lady in the crumpled apron how bad the service had been. She went and spoke to the manager and came back with the bill. Said the manager had knocked off the service charge. No sign of the manager. Didn’t bother to come and speak to us to explain - which would have been better than money off. It wasn’t about the money. Then told we couldn’t pay there we’d have to go to the cocktail bar. Traipsed in there to find no one behind the bar, so another wait about. I had to get out as I was so annoyed by this point and headed to reception to get our coats. As no one had offered to get o ur coats. Thankfully the man on reception was lovely. The staff we did see were all lovely too but the service was an utter shambles and didn’t match the beautiful food. We were so ignored that it was 430pm by the time we left. 3 hours for afternoon tea! I don’t like to be rushed but come on that’s ridiculous especially when I had to keep getting up to ask for things that should have been standard. A very disappointing end to my special birthday day.