TV Restaurants

What Happened to The Dovecote Bistro After Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares?

Closed

As of October 2026, The Dovecote Bistro has closed — confirmed via Google, October 19, 2026.

Primary source
Google ·
Secondary source
tavistock-today.co.uk ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Google Places listing for Dovecote Tea Room And Bar at 38 Red Lion Yard, read on 2026-10-19, is marked permanently closed, and the Tavistock Times Gazette placed the Dovecote and Martins' Bistro in the same yard in 2008 and 2009.

  • Season / episode Season 6, Episode 1
  • Original air date
  • Address 38 Red Lion Yard, Okehampton EX20 1AW

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What happened after Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares?

The Dovecote was a family-run bistro in Red Lion Yard, Okehampton, Devon, when it featured in the Channel 4 special Ramsay's Great British Nightmare, aired on 2009-01-30 alongside the Sheffield rescue of The Runaway Girl. The Tavistock Times Gazette reported on 2008-07-30 that Ramsay and his crew spent that week in the town for the series, that it was the first West Devon restaurant the program had selected, and that the crew based itself in the Waitrose car park, where Ramsay cooked duck à l'orange for locals and about 30 visiting Army cadets.

The problems: TheTVDB's listing for the episode describes a bistro that had lost its customers, its money and its hope, with dated wallpaper, vacuum-packed lamb and a stubborn chef-owner who would not admit his mistakes. According to Wikipedia's episode list, the owner was Mick, with his wife Mo and daughter Michelle, and he had little cooking skill, was secretive about spending and was deeply in debt. The Tavistock Times Gazette said Ramsay was angered by a lamb shank served from a vacuum pack.

What the rescue changed: Ramsay kept Mick out of the kitchen and put Michelle, who had no cooking experience, in charge of it, per Wikipedia's episode list, which says the bistro was renamed Martins' Bistro during production. The reopening went well, and Michelle was later sent for culinary training.

The relaunch: The Tavistock Times Gazette reported on 2009-02-05 that Ramsay returned in December 2008 during the credit crunch, that a new chef, Rose Drake-Davis, had been hired to train Michelle, that everything was now cooked from scratch to order, and that Ramsay had the upstairs psychedelic wallpaper painted over. The restaurant had begun opening on Sundays for traditional lunch, and the family marked seven years running the business the week before the article.

Google's listing for Dovecote Tea Room And Bar at 38 Red Lion Yard, Okehampton EX20 1AW, was marked permanently closed in October 2026. The listing sits in the yard named in the Tavistock Times Gazette's 2008 and 2009 reports.

Featured on Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares

Season / episode
Season 6, Episode 1
Original air date
Episode title
The Dovecote Bistro & The Runaway Girl
What was featured
Okehampton family bistro in debt; chef-owner sidelined, daughter put in charge of kitchen
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Dovecote Bistro

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Every Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares restaurant

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Nearest restaurants

Visit info

Address
38 Red Lion Yard, Okehampton EX20 1AW
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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Sources

  • Google — https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=50.7400187,-4.0035941
  • tavistock-today.co.uk — https://www.tavistock-today.co.uk/news/nightmare-its-fast-becoming-a-dream-375756
  • tavistock-today.co.uk — https://www.tavistock-today.co.uk/news/top-chef-gordon-373825
  • TheTVDB — https://www.thetvdb.com/series/ramsays-kitchen-nightmares/episodes/7721695
  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsay%27s_Kitchen_Nightmares

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