Winchcombe, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

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”.

“This Grande Dame still maintains standards in its main restaurant” according to most feedback on the impressive barrel-vaulted dining room of this picture-book, 600-year-old hotel in the Cotswolds, which – under TV chef James Martin – seems to have hit a more even stride in recent times with a straightforward, posh-grill house formula of steak and BBQ dishes (“best Sunday Lunch I’ve had in years in a wonderful room with very good service”).

In 2005, Ex-Bibendum chef Pete Robinson and wife Louise took over this former Butchers and refurbished it as a highly popular Cotswolds eatery. The name is a bit of a misnomer – there is “a touch of meat” on the “long menu”, including a 1.1kg T-Bone (For 2), but its heart and soul is a brilliant selection of fish and seafood, much of it cooked over charcoal, and presented in an appealingly luxurious everyday fashion (for example Cornish Lobster Mac & Cheese, Surf & Turf Burger, Dover Sole Meunière & Fries). “Very busy which was good to see – my first visit and it won’t be the last”.