Chipping Campden, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This “unpretentious but good restaurant” serves “outstanding food for the price – much cheaper than establishments where the food is nowhere near as good”; “service is very friendly and correct”, too – which indicates that a change of ownership a couple of years back has failed to dent a consistent performance stretching back over two decades. The premises was originally the workshop of furniture designer George Russell, remembered in the name. Top Tip – “great fish ’n’ chips are found at the rear of the main restaurant” (under the same ownership).

James Martin is the latest in the line of c’leb chefs to have his name over the door of the barrel-vaulted dining room of this historic Tudor coaching inn (which accommodated both Charles I and Oliver Cromwell at different times during the Civil War). Iconic Luxury Hotels Group (who run Cliveden and Chewton Glen) have managed the property for some time, and pre-rebrand the feedback continued the downbeat tenor – “such a disappointment…”, “trading on its name and reputation” – of recent decades. Here’s hoping James can bring some of the magic here that’s created in Chewton Glen and that this fine space finally starts to live up to its potential.

2021 Review: Classic, “lovely” Cotswolds inn, with rooms, that’s well-reviewed in all feedback for its “good pub food”. Even those who find it dependable, however, can feel that the menu “could use some more interesting dishes”.

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”.

“Good food and beer in an excellent, welcoming atmosphere – what more can an Englishman/woman want?” ask admirers of this classic village inn on the northern fringes of the Cotswolds. “An overnight stay with excellent dinner and breakfast to be recommended – but it needs booking in advance”.

2022 Review: On the banks of the Avon, this riverside eaterie boasts an excellent terrace overlooking a scenic Saxon bridge. It serves a modern bistro menu, with char-grilled steaks the prime attraction.

This “wonderful old Cotswold inn” has been “beautifully renovated by the Daylesford owners” who took over in mid-2021, and now features stately equine paintings and lemon trees in the foreground of its mullioned windows. While it’s “larger and a bit more of a machine since becoming part of the Bamford empire”, the atmosphere is “lovely” (not least in the courtyard garden) and on the food front it is seen as “reliable”, with much sourcing from its famed sibling Daylesford Organic, and a crowd-pleasing menu of pub classics, wood-fired pizzas and fancier seasonal dishes.

“The Fox has had a major makeover since the old days when it had the ambience of a venerable Cotswold pub” – as you’d expect since the July 2022 takeover by Lady Bamford and her Daylesford empire. Some old timers feel “the money lavished on its gentrification has not resulted in improvement”, although they concede the result is “very comfortable” and deliver a thumbs-up to its selection of posh pub grub (pizza, steak, burgers and Cornish fish for the most part). In early 2023, Giles Coren declared himself a fan too, even if there was nowhere close to park that wasn’t already taken by “gleaming Land Rovers and Porsches, piled three deep in the narrow lanes and stacked on pavements”.

“Run by a delightful couple in a charming village pub” – Richard & Solanche Craven inspire a hymn of praise in reports on their “outstanding Michelin-starred pub” on the fringe of the Cotswolds, which provides the “best all-round gastronomic experience” this year to a couple of reporters. “The food ranks very highly by virtue of its originality and the excellence of its execution. The place still functions as a pub, with an open fire and a pool table, but it is also a proper restaurant”.

This “beautiful” honey-coloured Cotswolds country hotel with grand gardens dates back to 1649 and is a regular fixture on round-ups of romantic UK getaways. On the food front, there are two options: fine-diner Atrium, offering a “flawless” tasting menu (one sitting only at 18.45), and more casual spot The Dining Room, where reporters “could not fault the quality of the food” (and where, profiting from the hotel’s canine-friendly ethos, you can “eat with our dog at dinner and breakfast”).

2022 Review: Limited but upbeat feedback on this relatively recent (2019) addition to the well-known Cotswolds manor house, with Charles Smith delivering a nine-course tasting menu for £95. Fans do say it’s “wonderful”, but we have to leave a rating till we have a few more reports.

The original farm shop and café in Lady Bamford’s organic mini-empire celebrated its 20th birthday in 2022, and now contains three dining spaces: the Michelin Green Star ‘Trough Restaurant’, ‘The Old Spot’ for sharing plates and wood-fired pizzas, and the more casual ‘The Legbar’ – all of which showcase an aesthetic that’s “quite Nordic but still warm”. The “child-friendly” (and Chipping Norton set-friendly) spot was praised this year as a “perfect location for a late breakfast” – and, while there are still those for whom the “high prices are not justified”, more sanguine reporters feel that they’re “not so shocking now that other restaurants have caught up!”

Paul Foster’s casual but ambitious venue has had a slightly tumultuous year with the loss of its Michelin star in early 2024 and the closure of a short-lived London business that doubtless took up much time and energy. Some diners either found it “not as satisfying or memorable as previously”; or “went to Salt with high expectations, having heard enthusiastic reports from normally reliable friends”, and found food that “at a cheaper and less pretentious place would have seemed OK but which could and should have been more exciting”. On the plus side, though, all diners still award good-or-better food ratings, and there are still encouraging reports (“contrary to some others, my impression is that the restaurant has moved from strength to strength, with the quality of the cooking being extremely good and the frequently locally sourced ingredients working together to deliver excellent and delicious dishes”). As of autumn 2024, the restaurant has moved to a tasting menu only format.

“Only the view can recommend it” – is the charge rather too frequently laid against what should be the ideal pre-theatre refuelling spot for visitors to the RSC. “It has stunning views over the river and park, so what’s not to like? Almost everything in fact!” according to its detractors – “we’ve been frequent visitors over the years and every time we go we hope it has improved, but sadly it never does” – “the food is average, the staff ill-informed about the menu”. Fans are a bit more optimistic: “a lovely setting for food that’s fine, if a little unexciting”.

Wild food chef and hunter-gatherer Mike Robinson is behind this “regular favourite” in a Grade II-listed building dating back to 1500 (and now host to the Indigo hotel chain). Reporters “love the excellent offering of game – particularly venison” (they manage their own deer herds and have a deer larder in the Cotswolds) and “everything is delicious” (“there’s an à la carte, thank god”) and given that they’re “cooking with flame” there’s also “plenty to watch”.

“Delicious, innovative food served in an intimate setting” has been the draw at chef Gus Ashenford and his wife Kate’s former Cotswold village tearoom for 22 years. The cooking is rooted in the classical French cuisine of Gus’s mentor, the late Michel Roux senior, but the ratings were dragged down this year by a reporter who felt “the food is interesting and individual, but not as exceptional as my last visit some years ago”.