Short answer: The Prince William has the biggest outdoor area, looking over the working fishing fleet. The Old Market House has plenty of indoor space and exceptional gluten-free provision. There are no pub play areas in Brixham — the harbour and the breakwater do the job.
A word on what to expect. Devon coastal pubs very rarely have playgrounds in the way inland family pubs do — the buildings are old, the sites are small and the land is expensive. What they have instead is a beer garden, a beach or a public play area within sight. That is usually enough, but it is worth knowing before you drive somewhere expecting a climbing frame.
Harbourside with a big outdoor area looking over the working fishing port — which is the point. Children who would be bored in a beer garden are not bored watching trawlers. Daily specials and curry deals that feed you properly for the money, and reviewers describe good value and friendly service on busy festival weekends.
In a prime spot on the quay, with plenty of outdoor seating next to the harbour and a big bar. Food is cooked rather than reheated, and the gluten-free provision is exceptional — coeliac reviewers describe it as the best they have found, with gluten-free onion rings and ale-battered fish.
Booking ahead is advised to avoid disappointment. Parking is five minutes away in a three-hour car park.
Right by Breakwater Beach with easy parking, open nine till nine, and the best breakfast view in Brixham. Good with children early in the day, and the breakwater walk starts more or less at the door.
Brixham's advantage is that the free entertainment is genuinely good. The harbour has the Golden Hind replica, the working fleet and the fish market. The breakwater is half a mile of flat level walkway with seals close in — a proper walk that small children manage easily.
Brixham's beaches are coves reached down steps — St Mary's Bay is over a hundred of them. If a beach is the plan with small children, Paignton is fifteen minutes round the bay with flat sand and a pier.
Book if you are more than four, and book for Sunday lunch anywhere on this list. Devon pubs fill and the ones with gardens fill first on a sunny day.
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