The story
Patrick Hanna leads the kitchen at The Riverford Field Kitchen in Buckfastleigh, where the Modern British cuisine revolves entirely around the harvest. He joined the operation years ago and later returned, driven by a desire to keep food recognisable in its natural form. The cooking here strips away unnecessary complexity so the vegetables can speak for themselves. Every dish is designed to change the way guests think about plant-based meals.
Diners receive a continuous flow of seasonal dishes rather than traditional starters and mains. Everyone in the dining room gets served simultaneously, passing large platters around the table in a family-style arrangement. The daily menu shifts with the seasons, delivering this vegetable-centric British fare straight from the polytunnels to the table. You will encounter heritage tomatoes, slow-roasted shoulders, and cardoons prepared with straightforward techniques that highlight their true flavour.
The space feels like a working farmhouse rather than a polished venue. Mismatched furniture sits alongside walls decorated with dried blooms cultivated by head gardener Penny Hemming. Summer visitors often prefer the outdoor terrace, which overlooks the herb garden and the six-metre wide polytunnel. This casual environment aligns perfectly with the recognition earned from The Good Food Guide and the We're Smart Green Guide.
The meal usually concludes with the kitchen’s infamous sticky toffee pudding, a heavy favorite among regulars. Fruit desserts also feature prominently, sometimes arriving as clementines gently poached in mulled wine before being paired with soft meringues and cream. Guests are asked to embrace the set menu without requesting substitutions, trusting the chefs to sequence the courses intentionally. This approach turns a standard lunch or supper into a relaxed communal gathering.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Famous as purveyors of organic vegetable boxes, it’s hard to believe that Riverford’s slightly lesser-known sibling celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025. Situated in the heart of its (original) Buckfastleigh farm, Riverford Field Kitchen is ‘as farm to fork as it can get’, with produce grown in polytunnels metres from the simply adorned open-plan kitchen/dining room with its dried flowers and mismatched furniture. Everyone is served at the same time (family-style) and meals are bulked out with shared seasonal salads and vegetables at their peak, while daily changing menus featuring only prepared-to-order food means that waste is kept to a minimum. Expect the likes of freshly baked sourdough, meze-style starters, just one main course and a choice of desserts. On our visit, starters featured the purest of flavours ranging from gently warmed, sweet figs with crumbed, salty feta to Thai-style cauliflower florets tossed with blackened flat beans, coconut and ginger. The main course was equally delicious and delivered our only hit of meat – roasted, organic pork belly (from renowned farmer/campaigner Helen Browning), soft and juicy with perfectly brittle crackling, paired with a riot of autumnal produce including Crown Prince squash, fennel, tomato and aïoli, plus crushed, roasted potatoes bejewelled with finely chopped gherkins, and well-seasoned January King cabbage draped in chilli butter. The line-up of desserts, meanwhile, might include a soft and fluffy chocolate olive-oil cake with chilled Chantilly and frosted almonds, or a play on apple crumble involving rum-soaked fruit, hazelnut crumb and a creamy parfait. Saturday brunch (a four-course veggie set menu) is a new addition to the set-up, and there’s an extensive range of drinks to match the food – the house-made cordials and ferments are divine.
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