Restaurant in Ashburton, United Kingdom
Devon's best-value Italian. Book it.
A Michelin Bib Gourmand holder in a former Ashburton bank, Emilia runs a daily-changing Italian-inflected menu with in-house pasta and a considered regional wine list. At ££, it delivers Ducksoup-pedigree cooking in a relaxed, small-room format. Easy to book and worth making the trip for.
Emilia is the right choice if you want a genuinely satisfying Italian-inflected meal without the formality or price tag of a destination restaurant. It works particularly well for a relaxed date or a low-key celebration where you want interesting food and wine rather than theatre. If you are planning a special occasion and want to feel like you have found somewhere properly considered rather than just a reliable local, Emilia delivers that. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025, which is the guide's signal for serious cooking at a price that does not require justification.
The room is a former bank in the centre of Ashburton, and the old vault now serves as the wine store. It is a small space with square tables, some arranged for sharing, and counter and window stools that suit those who do not mind perching. The energy is agreeable rather than hushed: this is not a room that asks you to speak quietly or sit still. If noise and close quarters are a problem for your occasion, book early in service when the room has not yet reached full volume. The daily-changing menu is chalked on the vault door, which sets the tone for what kind of restaurant this is: informal, market-led, and genuinely responsive to what is available.
Chef Agim Syla runs a kitchen that takes its direction from Emilia-Romagna, the northern Italian region that gives the restaurant its name. Emilia-Romagna is the source of some of Italy's most ingredient-focused cooking traditions, and that ethos is visible in how the menu is constructed: pasta made in-house daily, a standing offal dish that changes with what is available, and small plates built around a small number of well-chosen components rather than elaborate technique. The approach is generous and direct. Dishes from the kitchen have included broad-ribboned pappardelle with ox cheek ragù and black olives, marinated gurnard with golden raisins, almonds and saffron, and hanger steak with roasted Tropea onion, salted ricotta, capers and oregano. These are not dishes that require explanation. The sourcing is the story: seasonal produce, in-house pasta, and a kitchen that works within its own stated limits rather than overreaching.
Appetisers are lighter in ambition than the mains but charcuterie is a reliable entry point. Dessert selection is deliberately minimal, typically two choices, which tends to make the decision harder rather than easier. The blood-orange and pistachio tart with crème fraîche and the dark chocolate mousse with ginger and oat crumb represent the kitchen's range: precise, flavour-forward, and not trying to impress beyond what the ingredients can carry.
There is a retail wine store behind a curtain, and a select portion of that stock makes it onto the restaurant list. The wines are Italian regional and chosen with clear intent: a Merlot-based Gambellara from the Veneto, skin-contact Sicilian from Grecanico-Inzolia. This is not a list built for recognition, it is built for interest. Aperitifs include a Bellini variation made with rhubarb juice. If wine matters to you, this is a place that will reward conversation with whoever is pouring. If you want a conventional Italian list with familiar names, you may find it narrow.
Emilia sits at ££ on the price range, which for a Bib Gourmand holder in a rural Devon market town represents strong value. The address is 2 East St, Ashburton, Newton Abbot TQ13 7AA. Booking is rated as easy, which is consistent with a small room in a small town rather than a destination with a waiting list. That said, the room is small and the menu changes daily, so confirming a reservation in advance is still the sensible move, particularly for weekends or if you are travelling specifically to eat here. Ashburton is accessible by road from Exeter and Plymouth; for more on what else to do in the area, see our full Ashburton restaurants guide, our Ashburton hotels guide, and our Ashburton bars guide. You can also explore Ashburton wineries and Ashburton experiences if you are planning a longer visit.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Format | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emilia | ££ | Easy | Small plates, daily menu | Relaxed occasion, value |
| Le Vin Perdu | ££ | Easy | French bistro | Casual local alternative |
| Gidleigh Park | ££££ | Moderate | Country house fine dining | Formal special occasion |
| Hand and Flowers | £££ | Harder | Gastropub fine dining | Food-first occasion |
If you are comparing Emilia against other serious Italian cooking internationally, the contrast is instructive. 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong and Cenci in Kyoto represent Italian cooking at the formal end of the international spectrum. Emilia occupies the opposite register: osteria-style, ingredient-led, and priced for regular use rather than special-occasion splashing. Among UK destination restaurants that have relocated out of London, CORE by Clare Smyth, The Fat Duck, L'Enclume, and Moor Hall all sit at a fundamentally different price point and level of formality. Emilia's Ducksoup pedigree (founders Clare Lattin and Tom Hill previously ran Ducksoup in Soho) gives it credibility in the casual-but-serious Italian space, but it is not competing with those venues. It is competing with the idea that you cannot eat well in a small Devon market town. On that count, it wins.
For other strong UK regional restaurants worth knowing about in this category, hide and fox in Saltwood, Midsummer House in Cambridge, and Opheem in Birmingham represent comparable ambition at the regional level, though in more formal formats. Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons is the obvious benchmark for the rural-destination category in England, but at a price point and formality level that makes it a different kind of decision.
Yes, with the right expectations. Emilia holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and produces food that is genuinely considered and seasonal, which makes it a strong choice for a low-key celebration or a date where quality matters more than occasion dressing. The room is small and informal, so if you want white tablecloths and a long wine list, look at Gidleigh Park in Chagford instead. For a meal that feels like a discovery rather than a production, Emilia is the better call at this price point.
The in-house pasta is the anchor of what the kitchen does and worth ordering in whatever form it appears on the day. The daily offal dish and whatever fish the kitchen is running tend to reflect the most current sourcing. The menu changes daily, so there is no fixed dish to chase, but the kitchen's Italian-regional direction means pasta, charcuterie, and whatever is seasonal and local will consistently represent the leading of what is on offer. Check the vault door when you arrive.
Yes. There are counter and window stools in addition to the main tables. These are suited to solo diners or pairs who do not mind a perch. They work well for a quicker meal or if you want to watch the kitchen. Book a table if you are a group or if comfort over a longer meal matters to you.
The room is small, with square tables including some set up for sharing. Large groups are likely to be challenging given the size of the space. For a group of four or under, Emilia should work without issue. For larger parties, contact the restaurant directly to check what can be arranged. Given the daily-changing menu and small kitchen, it is not a venue built for large-format group dining.
Emilia does not operate a fixed tasting menu format. The menu changes daily and is offered as small plates and mains rather than a structured progression. At ££ pricing with a Bib Gourmand, the value proposition is already strong without needing a set menu to justify it. Order across several dishes to get the full range of what the kitchen is doing. That approach will give you a better read on the restaurant than any fixed format would.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emilia | Italian | ££ | The northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna provides the inspiration behind this classic osteria set within a former bank in the centre of town. The daily changing menu is chalked on the door of the old vault, which now houses the wines, and from the tiny kitchen comes forth flavoursome and generously priced dishes that you feel are doing you good. There’s a daily offal dish and the pasta is made in-house.; Clare Lattin and Tom Hill, once of Ducksoup in Soho, have migrated to the sub-Dartmoor stretches of south Devon and pitched camp on the T-junction that more or less is Ashburton. It's a small room with an agreeable buzz and square tables (some for sharing) supplemented by wicker stools at the counter and window that are probably best reserved for younger, more resilient backsides. Just add a thrifty, serenely industrious kitchen, plus a wine-store (for retail) half-hidden behind a curtain, and a frequently changing menu that works within its own modest capacities to produce contemporary, Italian-inflected small plates and mains. The special of the day on our lunch visit in the long linger of late winter involved chunks of sublime red-rare hanger steak in a mound of roasted Tropea onion with salted ricotta, capers and oregano. Others were scarfing up the broad-ribboned pappardelle with a ragù of ox cheek and black olives, as well as marinated gurnard in an aromatic livery of golden raisins, almonds and saffron. Appetisers are a little more prosaic (a couple of splots of white Gorgonzola with lightly pickled pear; shaved pickled fennel in oregano and chilli) but there is good charcuterie, and even the minimal choice of two desserts will provoke agonies of indecision. The dark chocolate mousse with ginger and oat crumb looked the business, but altogether flawless was our blood-orange and pistachio tart with crème fraîche. Only a select few of the wines emerge from behind the curtain onto the list, but they are enterprising and interesting Italian regional stars: a tobaccoey, Merlot-based Gambellara, perhaps, or a skin-contact Sicilian from Grecanico-Inzolia. Aperitifs run to a take on the Bellini earthed up with rhubarb juice.; Michelin Bib Gourmand (2025); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024) | Easy | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Groups of four or more should book ahead and request a square table — the room is small, and counter and window seating on wicker stools is better suited to pairs than larger parties. Emilia is not set up for large private bookings. For a group wanting a shared-table experience, the format works well for up to four or five, but plan around the room's size rather than assuming it can flex.
The in-house pasta is the anchor of the menu — pappardelle with a ragù of ox cheek and black olives is the kind of dish the kitchen does better than almost anywhere at this price point. There is always a daily offal dish and the specials chalked on the old vault door are worth scanning first. The wine list, drawn from the retail store behind the curtain, is short but well-chosen Italian regional stock, and worth asking about.
Yes. Counter and window seating is available, though the venue's own editorial notes that wicker stools there are best suited to younger or more agile guests. It is a practical option for solo diners or pairs who have not booked, and the full menu applies. For comfort over a longer meal, a table is the better call.
Emilia does not run a tasting menu format — it is a daily-changing small plates and mains operation, priced at ££, with dishes listed on a chalkboard. That format is a point in its favour: you order what appeals rather than committing to a set sequence. For the price and the Michelin Bib Gourmand credential, the à la carte approach delivers better value than comparable set-menu spots in the region.
It works well for low-key celebrations where the food matters more than the formality. The room is small and atmospheric — a converted bank with a vault wine store — but it is not a white-tablecloth occasion restaurant. At ££ with a Bib Gourmand in two consecutive years (2024, 2025), it is the right choice when you want a genuinely memorable meal without the theatre of a destination dining room. For a high-ceremony anniversary, look elsewhere; for a dinner that will actually be talked about, Emilia is a strong pick.
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