Captains House

Went for a lovely day out in Lynmouth. Decided to have a drink at this place. Was shocked when we arrived in , what was a lovely garden, to find a chain across the door. A lady asked if she could help and we said we would like cream tea, one with a black coffee. Later a man appeared with a tray, of tea, coffee and warm scones.Asked him if he had sweeteners and he bought some out. They were dated April 2021 so did not use them . The coffee was absolutely tasteless and my friends tea was grey , there was no teabag in the pot. Asked for a tea bag and was given one. Then the man said that’s £15… cash is king in Devon. No card payments. We had to rustle up £10 each and he said five ones will be good. We didn’t have five ones so he brought out a £5 note for change. We noticed how abrupt he was with a couple sheltering from the rain , they didn’t want a cream tea and he had a face like thunder. This man makes Basil Fawlty look charming…he is rude ,not welcoming and WE WILL NOT COME BACK.Cash is not king in Devon as other places we visited during the day were very hospitable.

It's such a shame to see so many bad reviews for this place. A beautiful home in a beautiful setting. Cliff did everything he promised and even shared his local knowledge with us in the morning. I thoroughly enjoyed my stay.

Checked in advance for secure bike storage. They lied & said they had it. Owner very rude when I asked for what they’d agreed to provide. WiFi doesn’t reach the 2nd floor where my room was. Asked for the code as I couldn’t see it in the room & owner told me to go down 2 flights of stairs to get it from the lobby. Suggested I take a picture of it on my phone. Why not take a picture on your phone then you can give it to the guest in their room? Bathrooms shared, not en-suite. Terrible experience with rude owners.

Such a shame as this could be an amazing place to sit and enjoy an afternoon tea. The gardens are beautiful and the views stunning but that’s all that is good about it. You have to ring the bell in the porch and wait for someone to serve you, no menus outside just one pinned up in the porch. The man who came to serve was quite abrupt just asking if we wanted a cream tea, however we want sandwiches, the choices were with ham and piccalilli or cheese and pickle so we ordered 2 of each and a pot of tea. The sandwiches arrived with a few crisps, just cut across in half and not well presented. The cheese was grated cheese from a packet, the ham was thin and obviously cheap and the bread was standard sliced bread. You then have to ring the bell and wait for him to come back to pay your bill. I was very disappointed as we went there with family and I was expecting a different experience. I didn’t want to complain as I felt I wouldn’t get anywhere, it is their loss as people will not go back and it could be a little goldmine but then maybe he doesn’t want that. 😞

Used the tea rooms and wished we hadn't. Very rude owner. No menus, instead he told us what we should have. When we told him my husband was not able to eat dairy he brought out a pasty which we now know had dairy in. He complained about us using a card to pay, even though he did except cards as he said we were giving hid money to the bank.

Oh this place is totally worth going to for the old chap and his service. The garden is very pretty and we sat there amongst wonderfully tended plants. A chap appeared who I assume is the proprietor immediately tried to sell us cream tea. Which in our case was fine as that’s what we wanted because in Lynmouth everything else closes at 3pm. Clearly all the other tea shops are run by rich millionaires who can close early - around 1975 I think. Except the Captains House. That’s run by this wonderfully eccentric chap. Anyway, I asked for decaf tea which he had. Soya milk? This was clearly an ask too far and he made us know it was a completely unreasonable request - “You’ll be wanting table cloths next!”. 4 cream teas arrived and then payment in cash was immediately requested. I didn’t have cash - though he insisted “All the young people pay by cash these days”. Reluctantly he took card payment. The scones we had were homemade and very nice. I note ours differed from those in some photos. He then reappeared to offer us tourist information. This was good sport as I’ve been coming to the area for decades but ‘haven’t been anywhere’. He shared lots of local knowledge and recommendations, no matter how little interest I showed. Just brilliant. Go for the genuine ‘Fawlty Towers’ experience that you just won’t get in StarBucks. It really is a lovely spot.

Well, I’ve just returned home from visiting this tea room and felt the need to have a moan. Firstly my friend and I ordered a cream tea which was delivered very quickly by a grumpy man asking for payment immediately and said he only takes cash, this was not mentioned to us at the outset. One of us had tea and the other ordered coffee, both were undrinkable, the tea was the colour of pale dirty water and had no tea bag in the pot, the coffee was disgusting, tasted like it had been warmed up. I asked for a tea bag which was supplied by the lady of the house. My friend asked if they had any sweeteners and was bought a dispenser which was dated bb April 2021. After finishing the tea I asked if I could use the loo as we had a reasonable journey to make and I needed to wash my hands, I was told by the very rude man that he didn’t have any loos for me to use and that I could go across the river to the public ones, which cost 50p a go. I asked to wash my hands and was directed to the side of the building to the outside tap on the wall used for watering the garden, what more can I say. After reading some of the reviews I cannot understand how this place is still offering poor quality food and drink.

*Tea room review only* Not everyone's cup of tea clearly based on previous reviews. Lovely garden to sit in on a sunny day. Scones appeared to be home baked and tasted nice but wouldn't describe it as the best I've had. The lack of toilets is a negative point for me as the nearest public toilets you are pointed to were not in a good state. Had to pay on presentation of food and with no menu or receipt I felt somewhat over charged.

This is a pretty little bed and breakfast owned by a funny (that's 'Ha! Ha!') couple who take great pride in this lovely old-fashioned place. We sat in their sunny garden, surrounded by colourful blooms and all had cream teas. The tea is drunk from traditional tea-sets from 1930's. The tea is good, the scones are wonderful and not dry. No fruit in them (I don't think they belong) and the clotted cream comes from a local farm. It is delicious. We weren't as impressed with the jam but we delighted in the whole experience. We are looking forward to coming again next year, if not sooner!