Malmesbury Restaurant Guide

2022 Review: The more informal dining option at this luxe Cotswolds country-house hotel, with an elegant grey colour scheme and a garden for summer months – the British-slanted menu offers “tasty food” in “good portions”, drawing on fresh produce from the kitchen garden.

Chef “Ricki (Weston) and the team do amazing work” at this Cotswolds country house hotel – “a lovely place to unwind”, which has been a gastronomic highlight of the area for two decades now. Those who visited during the previous tenure of chef Niall Keating report that the “food was amazing then, but Ricki has taken it further”, his “truly exceptional” tasting menu featuring some nicely performative touches too (“the whole experience of eating the first bites in the kitchen before being led into the Dining Room means the link between the chefs and the diners is well integrated”).

This cute whitewashed and beamed village pub “just outside Malmesbury” has its own two-acre organic kitchen garden and wins support for its “well prepared dishes from a nice menu” and “friendly staff”.

2021 Review: With its “superior pub food in a delightful location” – a plush spa and hotel complex in the Cotswolds – this is far from your standard village boozer. But it has stood the test of time, and recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

“Just keeps getting better… it’s gone from derelict petrol station to Airstream caravan selling ice cream to a shop and drive-thru where you can buy very local produce in the shop, and eat excellent rare-breed burgers” – this converted fuel stop was quoted in a 2023 Times article as being the type of local farm store that boosts rural property prices! “Outdoor seating in the meadow is on hand for fine days; there’s a yurt with log burner on cooler days together with a covered area with a fire pit”. “The quality is always excellent and the staff unfailingly friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what they sell”. “Great coffee and pastries for early mornings… bigger breakfasts are also available”. Top Menu Tip – “The Kentucky Fried Pheasant always goes down well”.

2022 Review: Now that Wild Garlic nearby has converted into rooms, this ambitious and quite well-known venue is Matthew Bearshall’s main operation, wherein all guests enjoy an eight-course tasting menu in a single sitting nightly. It has a hard-to-obtain AA ranking of 3 rosettes, but we didn’t receive reports on it this year, so have left it unrated.

2021 Review: A “charming, lovely and well-run village pub” that “has had its ups and downs, but seems to be on an ‘up’ at the moment”; and serving an “interesting but not over-ambitious menu”.

2023 Review: “Excellent food” and a “lively atmosphere” can be found at this brasserie set in the Corn Hall covered market in the centre of town, that has developed over 15 years from a deli and was formerly known as Made by Bob… although the founder is James Parkinson.

“‘Old school’ dining… perhaps a bit stuffy, but the food’s good” – the dining room of this well-known luxury spa hotel has had, since 2006, chef Hywel Jones at the stoves. You can eat à la carte for £110 per person for three courses, or there’s an eight-course tasting menu for £140 per person, and the deft cuisine won nothing but praise this year. “The wild and woody setting of The Estate and the slightly faded grandeur of The House just make it a rather special place to stay” and it’s also praised for a “delicious afternoon tea in beautiful, elegant surroundings”.

2022 Review: Chef Rob Potter wins solid praise for the consistency of his cuisine at this plush Cotswolds five-star hotel with golf club. The style is “traditional rather than super-inventive” (“we didn’t experience stand-outs but good quality throughout”).

2023 Review: In Gloucestershire’s lovely Slad valley, “Laurie Lee’s local has just gone from strength to strength over the years – although it’s not clear what Laurie Lee would think about it now, as while it’s still all scrubbed tables and good cider, it now also has a talented chef producing high-end pub grub”. “Sometimes the food is exceptional” (it was on Giles Coren’s June 2022 visit) – “service has been varied, but everywhere is struggling with staff… but on the right day, a visit here is magical”.

2021 Review: Owned by the same folk as The Village Pub, just across the road, this “very fancy” boutique hotel turns out “solid cooking with bold flavours”, and uses “a lot of produce straight from the garden”.

This Georgian-era hotel with 18 rooms near Malmesbury in Wiltshire has a new kitchen which combines the talents of Jake Simpson (ex-Bocca di Lupo) and James Erasmus (ex-Ledbury & Harwood Arms). Its sibling pub, the Potting Shed, is just across the road.

2022 Review: “A great pleasure that this fine old inn was rescued from dereliction pre-pandemic by the Lucky Onion team”, a design-led Cotswolds operation. “Food has improved considerably and is well-sourced and often original”, with a “good ambience” and “charming stuff” ensuring that the establishment “works well all round”.

Now in its 49th year and ten years on from the retirement of founder William Beetson, “happily, William’s continues to thrive” as an unusual fishmonger/deli/restaurant, “far away from the sea”. The refurbishment under new owners Ed & Helen Playne “has worked well”, so guests can enjoy “really good fish, always well cooked and nicely presented, but now served in a better space”.

2022 Review: “Something really new for Cirencester”, this “calming” but always “busy” spot (est. 2019) is run by Ting Ting Mokume, who draws on her Singaporean heritage with steamed buns, buddha bowls and tiap-tiap (small eats) that go down “a real treat”. There’s also a newer sister restaurant at the Five Valleys indoor market in Stroud. As of November 2021, the restaurant is ‘temporarily closed’, but we’ve maintained its listing.