Swindon Restaurant Guide

“If ‘Cheers’ was a restaurant, this would be what it felt like” – a local indie (now with a marquee) that has built up a “good reputation locally”, and where Aussie owner “Dan (Bond), Charlotte and their team produce great grub” by most (if not all) accounts; however, “what really matters is the embracing atmosphere, defining the phrase ‘neighbourhood restaurant’”.

“Rick Stein is the only restaurant open on a Sunday night in Marlborough” and its lure doesn’t stop there – the posh High Street venue (est. 2016) enjoys a “good ambience” courtesy of its (unusual for the chef’s empire) Grade II-listed premises and the food is always “reliable” too.

This five-year-old venue set in a huge stone-built former barn – part of a sprawling family-run project in the Cotswolds also incorporating a spa retreat, a pub and a beauty business – serves “reliably good food. Nothing fancy, just great local ingredients cooked to perfection. Yum”. Chef Charlie Hibbert trained under Jeremy Lee at Quo Vadis; his mother Caryn led the redevelopment of the estate. Top Tip – “if you have a meal here, make time to walk around the grounds and take in the great views”.

Fka the Star Inn, this 1720 village pub-with-rooms down a no-through road near the Uffington White Horse was subject to a “very clean modern makeover” two years ago. Although not all regulars have welcomed the switchover, others rate it very well.

2021 Review: It might not look like much from the road – an out-of-town bathroom showroom might be on the mark – and the location on the A4 doesn’t help, but brave the underwhelming façade of this outfit and you’ll find a “swanky” restaurant turning out “inventive Indian cuisine”.

This “lovely cosy country pub” (with rooms) is the brainchild of born-and-bred Cotswold gents Peter Creed and Tom Noest, who reopened its doors back in 2017. The “really nice menu includes wood-fired pizzas and flatbreads” plus hearty British pies and unusual meat dishes; if you’re the sporting type, they advertise packages including a range of activities (game shooting, deer-stalking and other very English pursuits).

A “beautiful village pub (with rooms) in the Cotswolds” that’s often “packed to the rafters”; local boys Peter Creed and Tom Noest took it over in 2017 – with the latter turning out “all the modern pub classics delivered with panache, along with some more unusual offerings” (“venison scrumpets”, anyone?); add in “smiling service”, and a beer garden overlooking the open countryside, and it’s an “outstanding” proposition all-round.

This “cosy” beamed village pub (fka the Plough) is these days “rather trendy”, with a “classy, comfortable atmosphere” and a “varied and interesting” menu plus an “outstanding Sunday lunch”. William & Kate were apparently regular visitors leading up to their engagement.

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”.

2023 Review: “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”.

Opening June 2024, in the Cotswold village of Barnsley, the first pub from the shabby-chic Pig hotel group, which has taken over boutique hotel Barnsley House across the road (also opening summer 2024). The food is a pubby version of the Pig formula, with a hearty menu based around locally sourced ingredients, served in rustic comfort.

“You feel exceptional” at this “comfortable”, “romantic” and smartly modernised Georgian-era hotel with 18 rooms, where the dining room has a striking glazed addition and whose kitchen has now combined the talents of Jake Simpson (ex-Bocca di Lupo) and James Erasmus (ex-Ledbury & Harwood Arms). Regular supper clubs supplement the à la carte menu that’s more luxe brasserie than it is ‘fayne dining’ and is sensibly priced, too. (Its sibling pub, the Potting Shed, is just across the road.)

“This welcome new restaurant in a former Cornish pasty shop” from local chefs Sam Edwards & Jak Doggett (who previously ran the Firehouse at Upton) offers “well sourced, original dishes” – “and there’s a strong sense that the chefs actually enjoy cooking”. “This is not conventional ‘fine dining’, but it’s very good food, nicely served, at a very reasonable price”. Top Menu Tips – “curry crab fried rice and a fine pork chop with crushed celeriac, prosciutto, and cavolo nero were excellent”.

2022 Review: “Something really new for Cirencester”, this “calming” but always “busy” spot (est. 2019) is run by Ting Ting Mokume, who draws on her Singaporean heritage with steamed buns, buddha bowls and tiap-tiap (small eats) that go down “a real treat”. There’s also a newer sister restaurant at the Five Valleys indoor market in Stroud. As of November 2021, the restaurant is ‘temporarily closed’, but we’ve maintained its listing.

No reports as yet on this modern retread of an ancient village boozer in the Oxfordshire countryside. It’s a new showcase for the ‘elevated gastro-pub cooking’ of chef Nathan Richardson, who took over the property from former tenants of 15 years’ standing and who previously worked at Mayfair’s acclaimed Guinea Grill. You can eat in the bar (80 covers) or the restaurant (40 covers).