Cirencester Restaurant Guide

“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.

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”.

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”.

This “innovative rustic drive-through” in a converted country petrol station offers “brilliant fresh food that packs flavour” – and boasts impeccable provenance: where else could you feast on burgers from shorthorn cattle or sausage rolls from rare-breed pigs reared and butchered on the property? There’s a meadow for picnics, a shop stuffed with produce from the farm, whose third-generation owners made the switch to sustainable regenerative agriculture 10 years ago – and “friendly service from enthusiastic young staff who are always smiling!”

“Very good chateaubriand…”, “one of the best chicken supreme dishes ever…”, “outstanding cheese soufflé…” – all dishes that have reportedly been enjoyed this year at this cosy beamed pub in north Wiltshire.

Opened in summer 2023, this Cotswolds country house hotel near Cheltenham is now part of the Paris-based Experimental Group (owners of the Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden). Jackson Boxer, chef-patron at high-profile London venues Brunswick House and Orasay, has been hired to take charge of the menu offered in the 50-cover dining room; there is also a 50-seat dining terrace.

2022 Review: Superdry sartorial star Julian Dunkerton, behind the Lucky Onion Cotswold group, owns this “reliable and buzzing” country hotel, where “amazing local ingredients” are “beautifully cooked in a gorgeous setting”. The odd service blip but it's “overall a very memorable eating experience”.

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”.

2019 Review: England’s oldest hotel, with “multiple rooms” for drinking, dining and unwinding in, has been given a new lease of life, with a refurb’ and new chef, Frederic Fetiveau, as of early 2018; initial reports suggest both are positive developments.

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.

“What a room! – a delightful space – where everything is satisfyingly well thought out and pleasing to the eye” (“reflecting the large amounts of money spent on them!”), at Caryn & Jerry Hibbert’s barn-conversion, which sits within a chocolate-box-pretty Cotswolds development, incorporating bar, pub, cookery school, spa and shopping. The food, in an easygoing vein, is “flavoursome” too – “we’d stay… if we didn't live around the corner”.

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.

The “perfect place for a special celebratory meal” in a “lovely setting”, this Cotswold manor house hotel has been one of the country’s leading gastronomic destinations over the past two decades. Executive chef Ricki Weston (ex-Sat Bains) was promoted to his first lead role last year, and has yet to match the high ratings achieved by his two predecessors, Martin Burge and Niall Keating, although his commitment to sustainability has won ‘green star’ recognition from Michelin.

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.

“A place to eat for people who prefer food to Instagram…” – “No visit to Cheltenham is complete without a meal at the delightful Champignon Sauvage” according to the many fans of David & Helen Everitt-Matthias’s long-established foodie temple, which remains one of the more commented-on rural restaurants in the UK. For its many long-term devotees, “this is the yardstick used to judge everywhere else as its combination of skill, service and value is so hard to beat”. Famously the kitchen is never open when David isn’t in it to cook, and the result is “innovative, often-foraged seasonal dishes” – “precise, original and beautiful cooking that never strains for effect” and “whose flavours sing on the plate”. “Friendly and professional service to match is provided by Helen”, who also presides over the “super wine list with a great selection of half bottles”. No-one has ever pretended the rather sedate room is a riot, but fans say “its serenity encourages conversation” and “still don’t understand why this outstanding restaurant lost its second Michelin star a couple of years ago”. Ratings here dipped a little this year, however, on one or two mixed (if far-from-damning) reports. Typical would be “our favourite last year was somewhat off its game this time and lacked a little sparkle”; or “the food was great as ever but the room felt dead… the wrong sort of hushed”. Perhaps the strains of these pandemic times? Or “maybe it’s just that everywhere else has upped its game?” Still, for the majority, “it’s wonderful and creates some of the best things ever eaten”.

“Reliably enjoyable and interesting” Keralan dishes are the attraction at this crowd-pleasing outfit from prolific local restaurateur Michael Raphel (Prithvi, Holee Cow), who was inspired by the flavours his chef grandfather brought from South India as an immigrant 50 years ago. A switch from fine-dining to a more casual approach a few years back has paid dividends, and now there is a spin-off in Oxford. Top Menu Tip – “the thali are particularly wonderful”.

“Classy in every sense”, this elegant 11-year-old shows “attention to detail in every department” resulting in “excellently executed takes on classic Indian dishes”, underpinned by “exemplary service”. It moved a few years ago to elegant Pittville Park premises.

2021 Review: “A real pleasure” – takeover by a chain (Cardiff’s Barkby Group, at the helm as of 2018) hasn’t led to a fall in fortunes for this eighteenth century village boozer; it continues to deliver “very enjoyable”, “well-sized and well-priced” grub (including the “perfect Sunday roast”) that’s “worth travelling some way for” – and, while it “gets pretty packed, it appears the kitchen is used to that and copes admirably”.

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”.