Live and Let Live, Landscove

Abi Manning scouted out a south Devon dining pub built around flame, farming and palate-punching flavours

What’s the draw?

The ingredients of a great dining pub include seasonal dishes crafted from local produce, a home-from-home atmosphere sans stuffiness, and a warm welcome for everyone – whether they’re loyal locals or fervent foodies from afar. But what takes a dining pub from ‛meh’ to magnificent is when it does all this in its own authentic voice.

Live and Let Live, which reopened this year under new management, ticks all the boxes – and then some – with the appointment of a chef whose signature style has taken the pub next-level.

Who’s cooking?

Head chef Iain Dawson learnt his craft at some of the top kitchens in Canada (his home country) before landing in the UK and, more specifically, Bray, where he cultivated a flair for flavour at Heston Blumenthal’s The Hind’s Head.

It was there that Iain fell in love with cooking over fire, which he’s honed to become his signature style. He then did a lengthy stint at South Hams institution the Millbrook Inn, before heading – smoker and charcoal grill in tow – to the Live and Let Live in Landscove, a tiny village in picturesque countryside between Ashburton and Totnes.

It’s in this rustic setting of exposed stone, parquet flooring and farmhouse chairs that Iain’s rural and flavourful cooking feels right at home.

What to order?

Whether opting for a cauliflower croquette with pickled chard or a cut of meat sourced from a farm down the road, be assured that the dish will be full of flavour and crafted with simplicity and generosity.

On our visit, a starter of smoked scotch egg was encased in the crunch of a pork crackling crust, the smokiness of the meat cut with a piquant mustard dressing and balanced by the fresh and pickled flavours of a farm salad.

Mains – pork chop with celeriac puree, cider and fennel jus and triple mustard, and glazed beef short rib with caramelised cauliflower puree, kale and bordelaise sauce – were rich, hearty and honest, a jostling amalgam of smoky, salty, caramelised and sweet flavours.

A pudding of cinnamon and cardamom pannacotta with rhubarb and a farm fruit compote was a light and spiced delight to end the meal. The sweet and aromatic creaminess juxtaposed the tartness of the compote, while dehydrated rhubarb added crunch for contrast.

Need to know

Unwind for longer in this countryside haven by booking a rural retreat in one of the pub’s three guestrooms.

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