Coventry Restaurant Guide

Still “maintaining a brilliant dining experience” a decade after winning the tyre men’s acclaim, this pub in a 19th-century building (the dining space is a former schoolroom, the bar an old butcher’s shop) is the brainchild of Andreas Antona, owner of famed Brum haunt Simpson’s, and chef Adam Bennett, who also used to work there. Regulars never seem to tire of its “supreme quality” (“celebrated our 150th meal here this year”), and it’s much “better value” than other venues of its quality. For its many fans, “Adam, Andreas and the team are to be congratulated” (not least “for enhancing the value of properties in the neighbourhood”).

2023 Review: “A great surprise! An authentic Italian restaurant with a broad menu of very good food and wine” – “delivered with panache and generosity”. The “beautiful and romantic decor, with cherry trees garlanded with tiny lights” only adds to the appeal.

“Consistently good French bistro-style food, with great service fronted by Pascal” is the offer at this Leamington fixture, which is owned by Aubrey Allen, butcher to the late Queen – so you can have high expectations of the steak-frites on offer (‘best of British native breeds’, naturally).

2021 Review: “Pleasant and friendly” venue off the main drag: modern British dishes are “clearly made with both love and knowledge” in the semi-open kitchen, and “it’s good to interact with the chefs as they serve a course”; reasonable prices too.

2022 Review: It’s “nice to eat outside by the canal on a sunny day” at this well-run casual spot, with a useful menu of grills and sarnies.

2022 Review: This former fishmonger, butcher, casino, tailor etc. is acclaimed by locals for its “perfect fine dining in an intimate setting”. After pandemic lockdowns, it’s “back with a subtle but impactful makeover and a great new tasting menu” – now the only option, and ringing in at £65 for six courses.

2022 Review: Hilary & Barrie Cload's homage to Royal Thai cuisine (est. 2004) enjoys a “very pleasant” art gallery setting, and its “wonderful, beautifully presented” food just “never disappoints”; they also do a “great deal involving ‘lunch boxes’ which are delicious”.

Stop Press – in February 2023, ex-Simpson’s head chef Matt Cheal closed down his popular Henley-in-Arden venture, which was too small for his planned expansion, and upped sticks eight miles down the road to Knowle High Street, where he now co-runs things with the manager of the Jacques fine dining restaurant which previously stood in the new location. According to early reports, “the exceptional quality of Cheal’s food, not up till now as appreciated as it ought to be, has not deteriorated in its relocation”, while the new space – a former bank with a posh cocktail bar – is “comfortable” (if “a little too glitzy” for some tastes).

“Sitting around the pass watching the chefs work calmly and efficiently really adds to the exceptional experience” at this “stunning space, tucked away deep in the Warwickshire countryside”, which has fully justified the pivot the property made a couple of years ago from a more conventional country-house experience to this very contemporary venture built into the walled garden of the manor house. “The design of the open kitchen and restaurant is impressive, with most tables afforded a view of the chefs at work”. “The 15-course menu is equal to the setting, with faultless cooking matched by a really heartfelt dedication to produce and its provenance and care”. “To cap it all, you are very well looked after by a team who are obviously passionate about their ideas”. “The overall quality of the 15 courses is excellent and for most courses the provenance of the main elements is identified”. “Visit in summer, and it’s a pleasant end to the evening to be able to sit around the fire pit in the courtyard”. You can also book an Overnight Experience that leaves those who stay “greatly impressed with the set-up” and with accommodation that’s “stylish, comfortable and quirky”.

“Exceptional cooking over open fire” is the hallmark of MasterChef: The Professionals (2019) winner Stuart Deeley’s rustic outfit in “an old estate out-building” at the edge of the walled garden at Hampton Manor. The main courses are “superb”, and “most of the accompaniments are also kissed by the magic flames” – “service is absolutely top-notch and they’ve created a wonderful atmosphere, too”.

“Creative and interesting chef” Gerald Maguire is behind this idiosyncratic townhouse indie, whose website baldly announces that its “aim is to improve your life, not f*** it up” via surprise Spanish food; there’s “no menu, you just eat the six courses he puts in front of you and relax and enjoy with a glass of one of his recommended wines... bliss”.