British, Modern Restaurants in Woodbridge
1. The Green
British, Modern restaurant in Sherborne
3 The Green - DT9
“Great modern European food using locally sourced ingredients at very reasonable prices” again wins praise for this local fixture. Chef-patron Sasha Matkevich grew up in south Russia but has lived in England for 30 years.
2. The Newell
British, Modern restaurant in Sherborne
Greenhill - DT9
A “small restaurant in Sherborne, owned by an Australian couple”, and where the “good” and “unusual” food pays testament to chef Paul Merrony’s Gallic training with the likes of Albert Roux at Le Gavroche; there’s an “interesting list of well-chosen wines at reasonable prices to match the excellent food”.
3. The Queen’s Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Corton Denham
This “newly refurbished family-owned pub with rooms” – originally a mid-Victorian cider house – in a “lovely village” near Sherborne, makes for a “perfect stop-over en route to Devon or Cornwall”, with “agreeable service” and “reliable food including interesting fish dishes”. Co-owner Doune Mackenzie-Francis has a foodie background as a former marketing manager for Leith’s School of Food & WIne.
4. The Thimble Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Piddlehinton
14 High Street - DT2
2023 Review: This thatched eighteenth-century Piddle Valley pub with an “enchanting garden” wins solid ratings across the board for its “great service and good food, whether you prefer pub grub or something more ambitious”. Its popularity was sealed by a rave review from The FT’s Tim Hayward a couple of years ago, and you need to book early to secure a table at busy times, especially Sunday lunch.
5. The Acorn Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Evershot
28 Fore St - DT2
2023 Review: This “quaint pub in the tiny village of Evershot” – immortalised as the ‘Sow and Acorn’ in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ – offers “beautifully presented, consistently good and interesting” food from Kenyan-born chef Robert Ndungu. It is the more informal sibling of Summer Lodge on the other side of the village, from the Red Carnation hotel group.
6. Summer Lodge, Summer Lodge Country House
British, Modern restaurant in Evershot
The Red Carnation group’s “very comfortable and traditional country house hotel is set in a time warp”, in prime Hardy Country (Evershot having been fictionalised as Evershead by the novelist, who also designed part of the hotel when he was an architect). The “very accomplished food” (“but at a high price!”) has some “nice touches”, with “desserts especially good”.
7. The Botanical Rooms at The Newt
British, Modern restaurant in Bruton
The Newt in Somerset - BA7
“A treat after viewing the interesting gardens” – this ‘Country House Reimagined’ is a handsome, limestone Georgian pile in lovely Somerset countryside and is the brainchild of billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos’s (ex-editor of Elle Decoration). Where eating is concerned, the main event is a “gorgeous” panelled traditional chamber (for more inexpensive meals, head for The Garden Café – “a beautifully designed glass box” overlooking the kitchen garden and orchards – ). “Good local produce, much from the grounds just outside” is presented alongside meat from heritage breeds on a three-course menu for £85 per person. One or two reports suggest “it’s good but doesn’t quite hit the heights it’s aiming for” but on most accounts it’s merely a “fantastic” experience – “love the range of Newt ciders” too.
8. Roth Bar & Grill
British, Modern restaurant in Bruton
Durslade Farm, Dropping Ln - BA10
This “excellent part of the Hauser & Wirth Somerset gallery, garden and cultural centre” was founded 10 years ago, as the opening gambit in the Swiss art dealership’s Artfarm hospitality wing, which now has venues from Scotland to Los Angeles, including The Groucho Club in London. Named after Dieter Roth, one of their stable of artists, it’s a “very attractive location”, with “efficient service, a generally laid-back, happy ambience and good, generous cooking”, using home-produced Durslade Farm ingredients.
9. At the Chapel
British, Modern restaurant in Bruton
28 High St - BA10
This stunning converted chapel (with rooms, artisan bakery and wine shop) was long in the hands of Catherine Butler, but in summer 2022 slotted into the Stay Original Company’s roster of SW boutique hotels and pubs. “For a small town Bruton has plenty of places to enjoy good food” – and, albeit “less fancy than the others”, this remains a safe choice for “straightforward, well-cooked fare” (including “a lovely lunch after a walk round the wonderful Newt” country estate).
10. Osip
British, Modern restaurant in Bruton
1 High Street - BA10
“Worth the trip to the pretty, hip rural Somerset village of Bruton for an occasion” – Merlin Labron-Johnson’s “incredible” venue enjoys a massive following out of all proportions to its tiny size; and is one of the most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll this year. There’s no menu at this “very farm-to-table oriented place” – for £120 per person (with a cheaper, cut-down lunch alternative) you put yourself in his hands and the “expertly prepared” results are “exquisite… bursting with flavour”. “Service is light but gracious and the atmosphere, in the small but beautifully decorated room, is lovely if lacking a bit of life…” but all that’s about to change since, in autumn 2023 he successfully completed an oversubscribed £125,000 kickstarter campaign to create ‘Osip 2.0’ in a new space. Details to follow.
11. The Forester Inn
British, Modern restaurant in Donhead St Andrew
Lower Street - SP7
2022 Review: “A friendly and welcoming atmosphere” marks out this thatched fifteenth-century gastroboozer, where the “high-quality fresh local produce” (but also more adventurous sourcing, including from Paris’s famous Rungis market) leads to some “interesting variations on the traditional style”.
12. The Clockspire
British, Modern restaurant in Milborne Port
Gainsborough - DT9
A “beautifully renovated building” – originally an 1860s school, with impressive vaulted ceilings and now a mezzanine bar – plays host to this exceptional outfit on the Dorset/Somerset border. Chef Luke Sutton (ex-the acclaimed L’Ortolan, in Berkshire) oversees the “varied” and “very interesting” British menu, which remains of note for its particularly “good-value” set menu.
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