Nailsworth Restaurant Guide

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.

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.

“Just keeps getting better… it’s gone from derelict petrol station to Airstream caravan selling ice cream to a shop and drive-thru where you can buy very local produce in the shop, and eat excellent rare-breed burgers” – this converted fuel stop was quoted in a 2023 Times article as being the type of local farm store that boosts rural property prices! “Outdoor seating in the meadow is on hand for fine days; there’s a yurt with log burner on cooler days together with a covered area with a fire pit”. “The quality is always excellent and the staff unfailingly friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about what they sell”. “Great coffee and pastries for early mornings… bigger breakfasts are also available”. Top Menu Tip – “The Kentucky Fried Pheasant always goes down well”.

2023 Review: 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”.

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 cute whitewashed and beamed village pub “just outside Malmesbury” has its own two-acre organic kitchen garden and wins support for its “well prepared dishes from a nice menu” and “friendly staff”.

Chef “Ricki (Weston) and the team do amazing work” at this Cotswolds country house hotel – “a lovely place to unwind”, which has been a gastronomic highlight of the area for two decades now. Those who visited during the previous tenure of chef Niall Keating report that the “food was amazing then, but Ricki has taken it further”, his “truly exceptional” tasting menu featuring some nicely performative touches too (“the whole experience of eating the first bites in the kitchen before being led into the Dining Room means the link between the chefs and the diners is well integrated”).

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.

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.

2023 Review: “Fabulous fish and seafood dishes” led by “smoked platters and whole fish of the day” are on the menu at this “small restaurant” in an “interesting setting” – above Richard & Shirley Cook’s long-established smokery on the Severn estuary. “Everything is yummy – including the wonderful desserts.” There’s also a more conventional café in the yard, the Barn.

“We first went 50 years ago… it was wonderful then and absolutely amazing now!” – this luxurious property (built in the 1520s and part of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s honeymoon itinerary) is “so quintessentially English in its historic ambience” (“it was fun watching overseas tourists being overawed with their surroundings!”). “A recent refurbishment of the Hotel, elevation to Relais & Chateaux membership and appointment of Carl Cleghorn as Executive Chef, have put Thornbury Castle firmly back on the culinary map. The menu and standard of cooking, particularly in the desserts, coupled with friendly and welcoming staff are now a match for the quite stunning rooms and grounds of the Castle itself”.

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.

“Stylish decor, food bursting with flavour and charming staff” win consistently high ratings across the board for local restaurateur Michael Raphel’s venue, inspired by the flavours his chef-grandfather brought to the UK from South India. Fans feel “it’s less ambitious than Prithvi (same ownership) but in some ways nicer”. Top Tip – “lunchtime thali is a delightful bargain, with great tastes for a snip”.

“The yardstick against which we compare everything and few, if any, can compete with the quality and value” – an oft-repeated compliment for David & Helen Everitt-Matthias’s long-established temple of foodie pilgrimage (“it is lucky we live 2.5 hours away as if it was closer I doubt we would go anywhere else”). David’s cuisine is “always original, seasonal and well judged and – though carefully presented – avoids the irritating Instagrammability sometimes found elsewhere”. “Helen presides over the room and also the wine with grace” in a manner that’s both “friendly and professional” and the “very good list” is an attraction in itself with “the ample selection of half bottles being a bonus”; and “the cheese basket is a tour de force”. Even devotees concede that “some might find the atmosphere sedate” – a more critical view is that “excellent food and wine is let down by an overly formal approach and lack of ambience” (“the reverential tone is not where we are in 2023!”). Overall, though, the verdict is of a stalwart that’s “serene, calm, well-spaced and good humoured… if there’s a better place to enjoy terrific cooking whilst having a good conversation, I’d like to know about it!”

Now in its 49th year and ten years on from the retirement of founder William Beetson, “happily, William’s continues to thrive” as an unusual fishmonger/deli/restaurant, “far away from the sea”. The refurbishment under new owners Ed & Helen Playne “has worked well”, so guests can enjoy “really good fish, always well cooked and nicely presented, but now served in a better space”.

2022 Review: “A great pleasure that this fine old inn was rescued from dereliction pre-pandemic by the Lucky Onion team”, a design-led Cotswolds operation. “Food has improved considerably and is well-sourced and often original”, with a “good ambience” and “charming stuff” ensuring that the establishment “works well all round”.

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.

From Tom Noest and Peter Creed – the owners of Sherborne Arms and the Bell Inn at Langford – this newcomer is situated on Andover Road in the heart of Cheltenham. The space includes a large bar area, two floors for dining, and two private rooms for parties or events. A walled terrace allows for outdoor dining. The menu makes a nod to local produce and nose-to-tail philosophy. Dishes include Devilled Kidneys on Toast, Pigs Head Scrumpet & Salad Lyonnaise, and Iberico Pork Bavette. Local beers, including those from Cheltenham-based Deya Brewery, are available, along with daily lunch specials, pub snacks, and regular chicken and steak nights. The venue also features live music nights.