Tenbury Wells Restaurant Guide

“Brilliant flavours in a sublime setting” have helped win renown for this “lovely” converted barn on owner Peta Darnley’s 1,200 acre family estate, where head chef Chris Simpson helped it carry off Visit England’s ‘Taste of England’ award as best restaurant in 2023. On the downside, its ratings took a slight knock this year, with a few diners being “a bit underwhelmed given the hype”: they query, “has it all gone to their heads?” and discern “a slight preciousness” in the overall approach. Most accounts, though, continue to applaud its “exceptional” overall standards.

This “great little French brasserie serves all the classics in an unpretentious, enjoyable and charming way”, close to the centre of this historic market town. In summer 2023, proprietors Olivier & Lynette Bossut took over the shop next door, launching it as a café and deli called Marmalade, with their son Ryan in charge.

“This lovely Ludlow restaurant” makes a suitable setting for “old-fashioned high-end dining” that showcases “top-notch” cooking from well-travelled chef Wayne Smith, who has worked for luminaries including Pierre Koffmann, Richard Corrigan, Tom Aikens and Claude Busi – the latter having put this address on the gastronomic map as Hibiscus. The venue “has been a little inconsistent over the years”, going bust as La Bécasse, but Wayne has brought stability since 2015, and “recent meals eaten there have been excellent, each course finely prepared and very tasty”.

“Interesting and well-prepared local food” – “now with a Middle Eastern influence” – is on the menu at this idyllic spot from the four Crouch brothers, aka the CSONS. “The pleasure of dining here is derived not just from the good food but also the location at Dirham Weir, beside the River Teme, with wildlife to watch and even the chance of spotting an otter”.

A “lovely restaurant with a view of distant Clee Hill, and situated in a pretty conservatory on one side of the gorgeously restored Fishmore Hall hotel” (replete with fancy spa since 2016). Chef Phil Kerry worked his way up from sous chef, and turns out “superb” tasting menus and à la carte dishes that are “really innovative”. The venue also hosts a more casual bistro.

Ideal for a “hideaway date night in the shires”, with a “combination of discrete modern features melded into an ancient, beautiful and comfortable building” (whose stone dining room was built at the time of the Norman Conquest) – Pippa & Willem Vlok’s country-house guarantees a “really great experience”. “Truly remarkable staff” include head chef Nick Bennett, whose “highly skilled cooking” produces meals to savour.