The Masons Arms

Remote by Design: Dining on the Edge of Exmoor

The road to Knowstone requires commitment. The village sits on the southern fringe of Exmoor, far enough from the A361 that arrival feels earned rather than convenient — and that distance is precisely the point. Rural Devon has always produced a particular kind of destination dining, where the journey is part of the frame, and The Masons Arms operates squarely within that tradition. A thatched 13th-century inn, the building announces its age before you step inside: low ceilings, rooms that press in warmly, a sense of having found shelter rather than simply a table. The dining room, housed in a later extension, pivots toward the farmland outside, giving the meal a visual anchor in the landscape it draws from.

This is not the kind of place that needs to perform its credentials. Remote gastropubs in the West Country occupy a specific tier: too serious for pub-grub comparisons, too rooted to compete with urban fine dining on its own terms. The strongest examples in this category use their geography as both supply chain and argument — and The Masons Arms makes that case through what arrives on the plate.

The Kitchen's Argument: Local Materials, Contemporary Handling

The menu at The Masons Arms reads as a dialogue between the surrounding countryside and a kitchen with genuine technical range. Exmoor beef fillet and cheek appear together, the cheek slow-worked into tenderness alongside beetroot purée, field mushrooms and lardons finished in port jus , a format that treats the region's livestock with the kind of cross-cut attention that signals confidence rather than novelty. The cheek alongside the fillet is a deliberate choice: it asks the diner to read a single animal's range of flavours rather than defaulting to the prestige cut alone.

Seafood pushes against the landlocked setting. Seared scallops arrive with celeriac, apple and hazelnut dukkah , a combination that borrows from North African spice logic while remaining disciplined about Devon produce. Prosciutto-wrapped monkfish with oyster mushrooms, crushed new potatoes, orange and balsamic sauce covers more ground, but the wrapping technique keeps the fish structured and the contrasts legible. These dishes read as the work of a kitchen that has absorbed broader culinary influences without letting them displace the regional argument.

Seasonal game extends the menu's range further. Loin of venison in juniper jus and partridge breast prepared 'en crépinette' with burnt apple purée, Brussels sprouts and parsnip represent the kind of Exmoor larder that defines the area's autumn and winter seasons. The crépinette preparation , encasing the bird in a caul-fat parcel before roasting , is a French technique that improves moisture retention and crisps the exterior, and its appearance in a Devon village inn is a reasonable marker of how far the kitchen's reference points extend.

Dessert approaches the same material from two directions. The mirabelle soufflé with honeycomb ice cream is the showpiece format: timing-dependent, technically demanding, and worth ordering early. The 'taste of British desserts' plate, a four-strong selection, offers a different argument , breadth over depth, and a direct statement about national pastry tradition. The farmhouse cheese selection constitutes a West Country tour in compact form, covering a region whose cheese production, from aged Cheddars to washed-rind Devon blues, represents some of the more serious artisan dairy work in England.

The Wine List and What to Drink Here

The drinks program at The Masons Arms is built for the food rather than for its own showcase. The wine list opens with bottles from £22, a price point that positions it as accessible without apologising for quality. In the context of rural Devon dining, this is a considered stance: many comparable country inns either under-invest in the list or price against an imagined London audience. A list that starts at £22 and pairs with cooking of this range suggests someone in the building is thinking seriously about the relationship between glass and plate.

There is no cocktail programme documented here, and that absence is itself informative. Destination inns of this character tend to resolve the drinks question through wine and local ales rather than through a bar identity. The focus sits elsewhere. For those whose interest runs to creative cocktail formats and technical bar programs, the contrast is instructive: venues like 69 Colebrooke Row in London or Schofield's in Manchester operate in a fundamentally different register, where the drink is the primary editorial argument. At The Masons Arms, the wine list plays a supporting role, and that support is well-calibrated. Similarly, Bramble in Edinburgh, Merchant Hotel in Belfast, and Mojo Leeds each represent the specialist bar end of the spectrum , serious programs where the glass is the destination. Rural dining at this level operates on different logic, where what's in the bottle matters most in relation to what's on the plate.

For those interested in how drinks programs operate across the full spectrum of British hospitality, the contrast extends further: Horseshoe Bar Glasgow, Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin in Bristol, L'Atelier Du Vin in Brighton, Digby Chick in the Western Isles, Harbour View and Fraggle Rock Bar on Bryher, and Bar Leather Apron in Honolulu each show how drinks identity shifts with geography and format. At Knowstone, the identity is the food and the place , the wine list exists to reinforce both.

Set Lunch and the Cookbook Connection

The set lunch deserves particular attention. Rather than a pared-back version of the dinner menu, it draws from Mark Dodson's debut cookbook, This Is Mine , a framing that gives the midday meal a distinct character. Lunch at a destination restaurant is often treated as the economical access point; here it carries its own editorial weight, offering recipes with a published record behind them. For those planning the journey specifically around the midday meal, this distinction matters.

Planning the Visit

The Masons Arms at Knowstone, South Molton EX36 4RY, sits far enough from the major Devon road network that arriving by car is the realistic option for most visitors. The remoteness that defines the experience also limits spontaneity: this is a booking-ahead proposition, and arriving without a reservation is not a strategy. The combination of Exmoor game, West Country farmhouse cheeses, and a kitchen operating at this level makes the autumn and winter months particularly well-matched to the menu's strengths, though the seasonal range means the kitchen has something to say at any point in the calendar year.

For a broader read on what South Molton's dining scene offers beyond this address, our full South Molton restaurants guide maps the area's options in useful detail.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the atmosphere like at The Masons Arms?

The building is a thatched 13th-century inn in the village of Knowstone, on the southern edge of Exmoor. Inside, low-ceilinged rooms give the space a feeling of enclosure that suits the remote setting. The dining room, added as an extension, looks out over surrounding farmland. The overall register is serious but not formal , this is destination dining in a rural inn, not a country house hotel with ceremony attached.

What should I drink at The Masons Arms?

The wine list is the primary drinks offering, with bottles starting at £22. It is structured to support the food rather than to make an independent statement, which suits a kitchen that covers seafood, game, and aged beef across a single menu. There is no cocktail programme on record. The list's pricing and range reflect the food's ambition without overshooting the inn's character.

What should I know about The Masons Arms before I go?

Knowstone is a small village requiring deliberate navigation to reach, and the experience is built around that remoteness. The set lunch draws from Mark Dodson's published cookbook, making it a distinct rather than reduced version of the full offer. The farmhouse cheese course is a serious West Country selection, and the seasonal game menu is particularly relevant in autumn and winter. The wine list opens at £22. Booking ahead is essential.