Short answer: The Jube has the most space and takes dogs inside, which makes it the best all-rounder with children. The Barn has the beer garden with the view. There are no pub playgrounds in Woolacombe — Funder Island in the village is the play area.
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.
The Jubilee Inn, set back off the front on South Street, and the best-rated pub in Woolacombe by a clear margin. Family-run, dogs inside, big portions, and enough indoor and outdoor seating to absorb a wet afternoon without anyone feeling squeezed.
Reviewers describe it as the one locals point you to once the day-trippers have gone, which usually means it copes with a full room.
The big surf-shack pub above the beach, with a beer garden looking down the bay — the best view of any pub here. Ordering is by QR code at the table, which is genuinely useful with children because nobody has to queue at the bar. Fish and chips and burgers.
Be aware it is the busiest place in Woolacombe on a summer evening and it is loud rather than restful. Good with older children, harder with a toddler at bedtime.
A sheltered beer garden that catches the sun, and — the useful part — one of the very few places in Woolacombe open right through the winter. Small car park at the rear, dog friendly, live music some nights.
The Chichester Arms has good outdoor seating and staff with a real reputation for handling allergies carefully rather than waving them off, which matters with children. The Ship Aground opposite has a garden with a distant sea view and does a Sunday carvery. It closes Mondays for much of the year.
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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