Mitton Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “The quality of the chef is well known and the major attraction” at this timbered country house hotel, helmed by MasterChef: The Professionals winner Mark Stinchcombe; yet while his “excellent” farm-to-fork cuisine generally pleases, service strikes some reporters as “average”: “a tremendous amount of attention has been paid to the design of the cooking school adjacent but seemingly less to what makes a good fine-dining restaurant”.

2021 Review: It’s still early days for Grain Store chef, Mark Block, who took over this celebrated county inn in January 2018. While there’s the odd complaint – of food that’s “competent but has no zing” – the general sense is that, despite the former regime being “quite a tough act to follow, it’s doing nicely under the new ownership”: no longer chasing Michelin stars, but “very much a rural pub with good food”.

2022 Review: Part of a now eight-strong chain, this youthfully spirited Sri Lankan street-food venture is a laid-back and “homely” (mostly bar stool seating) spot to indulge in some “delicious” sharing plates and wacky “cocktails” – the latter sometimes on fire; best bit – it's “not pricey”, either.

The Ogrodzki’s “traditional neighbourhood bistro” is a real local magnet for its accomplished Gallic cooking, with Jay Rayner’s 2021 review in The Observer also praising its beautiful homage to the ‘80s. In June 2022, after almost a decade in business, the fine diner pivoted to a more casual bistro/‘Café du Midi’, offering breakfast and set lunch menus from 10am-4pm. Whether or not less is more, it was praised this year for its “changing seasonal menus, authentic dishes, pleasantly cluttered” decor and “delightful service that’s so verrrrry French”.

“At last! A well-deserved Michelin star” for John and (FOH) Helen Howe’s “small, intimate and sophisticated modern British venture” and its considerable fan club is “absolutely delighted” that it is “finally getting the recognition it deserves” (although, to be fair, the question is what took them so long, as we’ve been raving about this place for many years). “Every element is perfectly crafted” to deliver “sublime cooking and stunning presentation” (with much of the produce sourced from a relative’s farm) all “delightfully served”, combining to make Lumière “as good as it gets” – “just what a perfect restaurant should be”.

2022 Review: Rugby World Cup AND Celebrity MasterChef winner Phil Vickery has opened his own restaurant, with his wife Jules and chef Tom Rains, after a year of running a delivery service, No.3 at Home.

2023 Review: “What a wonderful experience” – this original of what is now a national chain (branches in Bristol, London and Solihull) serves “wonderful sushi” and other Japanese dishes that are “as good if not better since it moved to larger premises” – “the most stressful part of visiting is choosing from the menu!”. Top Tip – “the aptly named volcano roll”.

“The rotunda is wonderful”, and “can make a visit stand out” at this branch of the ubiquitous chain, which otherwise conforms to type with “food and service that are professional, reliable and entirely anonymous” – “one could eat the same dish every day and find it unvarying, while being treated politely but distantly by the staff”.

Chef-patron Gareth Fulford’s small indie is a “friendly” location in which to dine upon sustainable seafood and Cotswolds produce – either from the “great set-price lunch”, which changes weekly, or the bi-monthly-changing à la carte. It doesn’t inspire a huge volume of feedback, but fans say it’s an “underrated” restaurant that outperforms the local competition.

2022 Review: In a prime town-centre location, this luxurious hotel (ultimately owned by Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton) is converted from a trio of Georgian townhouses. On limited feedback in this survey, the themes here are the same as in previous years: “attractive setting and good food… but all at a high price”.

“Outstanding and imaginative cooking with an Indian twist” is key to the success of this “elegant and evolved restaurant” over the past dozen years. Locally born founder Jay Rahman worked at top-ranked Birmingham venues Lasan and Purnell’s before taking over and transforming his uncle’s traditional curry house, fka Hassan’s. In line with its evolution, “the sommelier suggests some interesting and well-thought-out wine pairings”.

“Stylish decor, food bursting with flavour and charming staff” win consistently high ratings across the board for local restaurateur Michael Raphel’s venue, inspired by the flavours his chef-grandfather brought to the UK from South India. Fans feel “it’s less ambitious than Prithvi (same ownership) but in some ways nicer”. Top Tip – “lunchtime thali is a delightful bargain, with great tastes for a snip”.

“The yardstick against which we compare everything and few, if any, can compete with the quality and value” – an oft-repeated compliment for David & Helen Everitt-Matthias’s long-established temple of foodie pilgrimage (“it is lucky we live 2.5 hours away as if it was closer I doubt we would go anywhere else”). David’s cuisine is “always original, seasonal and well judged and – though carefully presented – avoids the irritating Instagrammability sometimes found elsewhere”. “Helen presides over the room and also the wine with grace” in a manner that’s both “friendly and professional” and the “very good list” is an attraction in itself with “the ample selection of half bottles being a bonus”; and “the cheese basket is a tour de force”. Even devotees concede that “some might find the atmosphere sedate” – a more critical view is that “excellent food and wine is let down by an overly formal approach and lack of ambience” (“the reverential tone is not where we are in 2023!”). Overall, though, the verdict is of a stalwart that’s “serene, calm, well-spaced and good humoured… if there’s a better place to enjoy terrific cooking whilst having a good conversation, I’d like to know about it!”

“Constant high quality both in taste and inventiveness” has been a hallmark of chef-patron Gus Ashenford’s cooking at the “always delightful” small restaurant, a converted Cotswold tea room, he has run with his wife Kate for two decades. His modern British dishes, underpinned by the French classical techniques he learned under his mentor, the late Michel Roux Senior, invariably “look beautiful on the plate”.

2023 Review: A “country house atmosphere”, “excellent service” and “delicious food” win praise from fans of this “beautiful” Cotswolds hotel – owned by greetings card mogul Andrew Brownsword – and it “should please every romantic”. Ratings were dragged down, though, by other reporters who feel that the house is “lovely but tired”, while “the food is good-ish, but certainly could be better”.