13 Best Restaurants in Bath and the Cotswolds, England

Since the 1990s, this sleek modern space in the basement of the Queensberry Hotel has served top-notch English and Mediterranean dishes, finally being recognized with a Michelin star (the only one in town) in 2018. Head chef Chris Cleghorn creates a seductive, sophisticated selection of three-, five-, and seven-course tasting menus featuring delights such as smoked Devon eel with Isle of Wight tomatoes and tarragon; Cornish monkfish cooked over coal and served with leek and ginger; and raspberries accompanied by sheep curd and lemon verbena.

A 10-minute drive from Stow-on-the-Wold in Nether Westcote, this popular gastropub is as cozy and comforting as the name would suggest. The sophisticated food here is exceptional, the products are so local that the staff can usually point to the farm from where the meat was sourced, and the beer and wine list is impressive. If you want to try as much as possible, opt for the six-course tasting menu. There is a vegan menu, too. Within the restaurant, a large bay window and terrace offer up views of the valley below, and attention to detail gives the pub some humorous touches such as the saddle-seated stools. If you decide that you are just too comfortable to move, there are four rooms to extend your stay in.

The Bath outpost of the growing Pig empire is a funky but chic restaurant with rooms in a converted country house in the Mendip Hills. It's all about the local and seasonal here (everything famously comes from within a 25-mile radius): kale, arugula, and other leaves and veggies are sourced from the Pig’s kitchen garden; apples, pears, and apricots come from its orchard; and pork, chicken, quail, and venison are provided by animals raised on the property. Salmon, pancetta, and bacon are smoked on-site. The results are exceptionally fresh and flavorsome dishes like loin of home-reared venison or “Kentucky-fried” wild rabbit. Dining alfresco in summer, when the wood-fired oven gets going, is a delight. The 29 comfortable and reasonably priced rooms are decorated with an elegant simplicity and have glorious views. It's located about 8 miles from Bath, off the A368. 

The enticing prix-fixe lunch menu and a wide-ranging à la carte dinner menu featuring French and European fare attract diners to this award-winning restaurant, which is renowned for its signature dishes like onglet (hanger) steak with tarragon and sea bass with clams and samphire. It's also a great place to stop for afternoon tea or coffee after a walk by nearby Pulteney Weir.

Set in an opulent Regency building with a statement bar, the Ivy serves first-class food with British and European specialties. In its heyday, the Rotunda building was a bathing pool with spa water on tap, and its domed roof and seating area have been exquisitely restored to house the smart restaurant. Racehorse murals line the walls in a nod to Cheltenham's equestrian heritage. Choose from dishes such as apple and Stilton salad, aromatic duck curry, or crab linguine. The Ivy also serves a classic afternoon tea. Reservations are advised, especially when there are race meetings and festivals.

The relatively short, perfectly balanced menu here showcases the creative contemporary French cooking of David Everitt-Matthias, who has run the restaurant with his wife, Helen, since 1987. The food is a favorite of the United Kingdom's most famous restaurant critics and includes delights such as chalk stream trout with oyster emulsion and miso glazed monkfish with barley broth and cockles. Fixed-price menus at lunchtime (£40 for 2 courses) help keep the cost down. 

Step away from the center of town to sample the ingenious cuisine that Michelin-trained chef Gordon Jones conjures up in his open kitchen. There is no set menu, but you choose between seven and nine courses and every dish will be a surprise; choices might include smoked eel with maple syrup and purple potatoes, a crisp haggis, roasted turbot with giant raisins and caper dressing, and blackberry sorbet with marinated cucumber. You can also choose a wine flight to accompany the tasting menus. The location is unprepossessing and the decor plain, enlivened by a few antlers and vials of oil, but the service is friendly and unstuffy; if you want to talk with the chef about your food, he will willingly do so. Book well in advance; lunch is easier to reserve than dinner.

The 18th-century Pump Room, with views over the Roman baths, serves morning pastries and brunch, as well as afternoon tea (from noon until late afternoon), to music by a pianist or string trio who play every day. The stately setting is the selling point rather than the food, but do sample the the house-made cakes and pastries, including scrumptious scones.

Lured by the fresh ingredients and cool, unfussy surroundings, diners come here to enjoy the freshest of Cornish fish, Salcombe Bay crab, and Forest of Dean ham accompanied by unusual but delicious vegetables like borage, wild garlic, and sea cabbage. The accent is on fish, but you will also find hay-baked Cotswold lamb and vegetarian dishes. The menu changes bimonthly so it's always seasonal. The service is friendly and knowledgeable.

With a courtyard at the back and a patio at the front, this chic "restaurant with rooms" is perfect for a light lunch or full dinner, with menus that concentrate on Modern British dishes and change seasonally. The restaurant, in a former furniture factory belonging to local designer George Russell, is modern, airy, and stylish. The less expensive fixed-price menu is just as tempting, and there's also an attached fish-and-chips shop. You can spend the night in the very sleek, boutique-style rooms upstairs.

A 15th-century inn just five minutes from Lacock Abbey, Sign of the Angel serves traditional food in a cozy and intimate setting. Some dishes, such as the roast loin of beef with Yorkshire pudding or the seasonal savory pie of the day, are as traditional as the decor, but modern touches—orange butter sauce, for instance—add an extra dimension. Enjoy the dish of the day for lunch or relax in the garden with a cream tea. When you creak open the heavy door and are greeted by the hearty fire in the huge chimney, you could be forgiven for thinking that you stepped back a few centuries. Upstairs are five beautifully rustic rooms in which to stay.

Just steps from Market House, the Snooty Fox is a bustling inn and restaurant that makes the most of quality ingredients from local Cotswolds producers. Real ales and local ciders are served at the bar, and teas, coffees, and hot and cold meals are available all day. During winter, the roaring fire adds to the ambience, and there's a patio to use in summer. Twelve traditionally styled rooms are also available on-site.

Since 1838, local dignitaries and visiting celebrities have come for leisurely lunches, afternoon tea, and delicious dinners at Victoria’s at The Queens Hotel. The menus showcase local produce and contemporary British cooking with a stylist twist, and the two-course lunch menu is particularly good value. Burgundy walls, padded chairs, and tall windows enhance the space.