The Kings Arms Inn

Beautiful English countryside building with fantastic restaurant, lovely pub and clean, comfortable rooms, and friendly staff in lovely small village

Family dinner - not been for a while last visit a few years ago was positive. This time not so good. Although food was good /some staff friendly - manager very good. The menu was very limited. Overall view we felt the venue was dated and the menu for a Saturday evening disappointing

We chose to eat at the Kings Arms today as Montacute is equidistant from us and our friends. The Inn has a very welcoming atmosphere as you enter and, indeed, the staff are friendly and helpful. The menu is excellent. There are pub classics, plenty of veggie options and some inviting looking mains. Two of us opted for the ploughman’s which came on a board laden with cheese, ham, pickles, bread, pork pie…..A veritable feast! The other two of us chose the hake which came with crab ravioli, puréed broccoli, mash and velouté. It was absolutely delicious. The very good thing about the hake was that it didn’t fill me up so much that I couldn’t have a pudding. Not only were these also delicious, they were works of art. We shall be revisiting The King’s Arms soon.

Room Small but perfect Bar A village local Lots of good beer Good bar staff Food Quite simply very very good: I had 1. crispy pigs cheek A “croquette” containing brilliantly flavoured minced meat Surrounded by spots of contrasting flavour Just amazing 2. Hake Perfectly seasoned crisped moist deliciousness On a lovey gentle sauce With a pureed green veg And a cheese filled “ravioli” A brilliant combination 3. Apple Superbly presented Perfect light sorbet. Surrounded by Cubes of pressed together cooked thinly sliced apple Surrounded by spots of contrasting sauce Always fascinating nuanced flavours Very clever cooking My wife stared with 1. A beautiful liver pate so light 2. Pulled lamb shepherds pie Very nice 3. Warm carrot cake With an amazing cheese icecream That was a very unusual but quite superb icecream THANKYOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED

This review is for the stay and breakfast only, I have posted another review for my evening meal. First off, this is a beautiful location, some parking around the back and the staff here are friendly and attentive. The room is dated a bit, the room I had (#6) was on the ground floor which was pretty small with no cupboard space but that wasn't an issue for me. The bathroom looked newer than the room and everything inside was what I needed. The shower wasn't the most powerful but it did the job. Utilities There was free WiFi which was needed as you don't get a signal, the room was a good temperature and the TV (Sharp) worked well if a little too high on the wall. Towels presented nicely on the bed on arrival and tea's/coffee and a kettle in the room. Iron board you had to locate and bring to your room. Unfortunately I have some negative comments. - There was dust around the room. - I could hear the people walking around and chatting above me. Luckily they didn't move much during the night. - The window was missing a piece for the catch. - The pillows were quite thin. - Worst of all unfortunately was the bed, The mattress was so worn I could feel all the springs, this is probably the main reason people book a room and should be the main thing to get right. Breakfast was brilliant, again friendly service and a really tasty meal with excellent coffee. Printer was down on checkout but the invoice was kindly sent to me. I am saddened to score this place so low on my stay as I really did like the location and the staff. I am not sure if the other rooms are better, I could overlook everything else but the mattress for me puts me off a repeat stay.

Great Village pub feel, inviting Bar, Lounge area and a very smart Restaurant. Great Food, plenty of choices. Fantastic Staff, especially little Zoe, who just never stops, bless her. Young Josh was very good too, just starting out in life, we're sure he'll go a long way. Good Luck Josh. Clive/Cliff who waited on us on Saturday evening is also very efficient and professional. The staff on the Sunday night wasn't very good at making liqueur coffees, feel more training might be needed in that department. The only negative my Husband had was at the time we were there, the 3 draft ales were all the amber range, even the guest ale, would have preferred a golden ale option. No complaints whatsoever about the food, everything we ordered was presented beautifully and tasted gorgeous. 😋 The room we stayed in (14) was front facing, so had a lovely view of the church and village. Room was a good size (not massive/not small) comfortable, serviceable, clean, comfy and cosy. Luckily, they have separate rooms that are dog friendly, so we could thankfully book a pet free room. A few parking spaces round the back, if you get there quick enough. The pub is perfectly situated as a base for visiting many Somerset Attractions. We will definitely be back. Thanks for having us guys. Keep up the good work. Alan & Tracy