South Petherton Restaurant Guide

“Excellent food in a nicely converted old bank” make this three-year-old a “very handy stopover in an attractive Somerset village off the A303”. Fans of chef-patron Nicholas Balfe’s previous projects, Salon and Levan in south London, are happy to report “it didn’t disappoint – the set lunch came at a good price and à la carte just added to the experience”: “the roast was excellent, the starters precise and pretty, and even the bread was perfect – soft, moist and warm, wrapped in a crunchy crust”.

2021 Review: This “lovely” thatched village pub opened in 1680 as an inn for passing travellers, and still makes a “delightful stopover” just off the A303 near Crewkerne. Ratings for its “high quality”, “classical” food have revived in the past 12 months under new owners backed by Nick Jones of Soho House (who also own the Beckford Arms at Tisbury and the Talbot Inn at Mells). Steve Hill and Michelle Payton, who ran it for 15 years, have retired to France.

2022 Review: Cass Titcombe's “small, cosy and friendly restaurant overlooking the village square” offers “just the perfect balance of everything”, say fans – whether that’s the much-foraged, Mediterranean-style food, or the fine interiors, courtesy of partner Louise. The duo also run an excellent shop, Brassica Mercantile, across the road, mixing homewares, foodie books and gourmet treats (including from Borough Market).

“In a delightful old hotel in a lovely little Dorset town” – a 14th-century house full of charming original features – this “hidden gem” was snapped up by Silvana Bandini in 2018, after a stint working at the Bath outpost of foodie hotel chain, The Pig. The “reliably fine cooking” (of everything from pizzas to small plates) is overseen by ex-Mandarin Oriental/Bath Priory chef Chris Staines and wins nothing but praise for its “unusual combinations” (that are “exceptional value for money too”).

“In an area where good food options are still surprisingly rare”, this “lovely” 16th-century gastroboozer on the Devon/Dorset/Somerset border (also handy for the delights of the Jurassic Coast) shines all the more. Mirroring reports in previous years from its very dedicated fan club, “the prices might be getting a bit high” these days, but when the service and modern British food with a Euro twist “are always so good”, absolutely nobody seems to mind.

2023 Review: This “quaint pub in the tiny village of Evershot” – immortalised as the ‘Sow and Acorn’ in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ – offers “beautifully presented, consistently good and interesting” food from Kenyan-born chef Robert Ndungu. It is the more informal sibling of Summer Lodge on the other side of the village, from the Red Carnation hotel group.

“A great and romantic hideaway” – the Red Carnation group’s “traditional country hotel never disappoints for comfort”. The dining room offers straightforward but well-realised cooking from a two-course or three-course à la carte menu: food that’s “well presented and interesting but not too fancy”.

For a “very good French meal” (chef Paul Merrony trained at Le Gavroche no less) that’s “relatively inexpensive and with personal service”, try this bistro-with-rooms – “the exemplar of a local restaurant”, where the “fantastically fresh food” (ranging from ratatouille to rillettes and rabbit blanquette) makes you feel like you’re in France only “without the ferry journey”.

“Great modern European food using locally sourced ingredients at very reasonable prices” again wins praise for this local fixture. Chef-patron Sasha Matkevich grew up in south Russia but has lived in England for 30 years.

This “newly refurbished family-owned pub with rooms” – originally a mid-Victorian cider house – in a “lovely village” near Sherborne, makes for a “perfect stop-over en route to Devon or Cornwall”, with “agreeable service” and “reliable food including interesting fish dishes”. Co-owner Doune Mackenzie-Francis has a foodie background as a former marketing manager for Leith’s School of Food & WIne.

“As good as it gets in Taunton”, this “exceptional” French bistro (sleek, with a glass-walled extension) is a “gem of a place” that remains utterly “reliable” well into its awkward teenage phase (it was founded in 2011 by Richard Guest and FOH Cedric Chirrosel). It was praised this year for its “unhurried and relaxing atmosphere” and “wonderful food” – not least the prix fixe (“we were amazed when we saw the plates coming out…such generous portions and much more interesting than run-of-the-mill set menus”).

2021 Review: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s TV tie-in kitchen – serving sharing boards and veggie tapas alongside more conventional starters and mains – is celebrating its twentieth anniversary, but feedback on it has seldom matched the hype, and is too limited last year for a rating. Such as we have says it’s OK value, but variable in performance.

This “well-above average gastropub in a beautiful Somerset village” – from Exmoor-born chef Alasdair Clifford (ex-Chez Bruce and Harwood Arms) and his wife Victoria Collins – excels for its “refined cooking”: “Alasdair concocts amazing results from local ingredients” and from a “changing seasonal menu”. “Service is friendly and professional” and the “environment is open and spacious” – “never had a disappointing meal here”.

2023 Review: This 500-year-old building in a “beautiful part of Somerset” now houses an “excellent dining pub” that “serves up top-class modern British dishes using brilliant local ingredients”. Chef Olly Jackson and his manager wife Rebecca “used to run the nearby and sadly missed Langford Fivehead hotel”.

As the name suggests, “a great, intimate atmosphere” is found at this seventeenth-century village inn, which is “a cut above the usual for style and service”. Charlotte Vincent was crowned ‘pub chef of the year’ in the 2023 Great British Pub Awards – she sends out “a varied range of dishes, nearly all locally sourced and precisely cooked”, such as a bar snack of roasted marrow bone and Porlock Bay oyster with garlic butter and sourdough bread.

2023 Review: “It looks and sounds like a pub”, but this “lively and friendly” old inn opposite Sherborne Abbey “is actually an Italian restaurant providing small plates by the score”. The menu includes a “stupendous choice” (including pizzette and pasta) “using local and Italian ingredients” and it’s very easy to assemble an interesting and varied meal with “dishes to suit all tastes”. “The main difficulty is limiting yourself as there’s so much to tempt!". Top Tip – Rapido lunch for two at £14 per person, served weekdays.