Warminster Restaurant Guide

In a “lovely setting next to Longleat” and its lions, this “attractive” 1700s boozer “with good rooms” is “part of the Beckford group”, whose SW England mini-empire includes a bottle shop in nearby Bath. The “upmarket” dining room offers a concise but “approachable” menu (game is from the Longleat Estate and fish from the south coast), with a “good standard around the table” and (courtesy of their sibling) some “unusual wines by the glass or carafe”. PS – if you’re in need of R&R, they’ve just launched a new treatment cabin on the grounds.

This “lovely country pub” in a “gorgeous setting” on the edge of the Fonthill Estate (named after William Beckford, Fonthill’s eccentric owner 200 years ago) is “totally wonderful”, agree fans who “always go back” for the “great ambience” in particular, and “some very good bar snacks”.

Darren Brown’s paradisiacal Wiltshire kitchen (est. 2016) is “a magical place” that “perfectly celebrates the unique local produce” which is sourced from its own three-acre plot and then cooked up in the fire pit to “sublime” results. Alongside serving lunch from Wednesday to Saturday, they’re now open for dinner on Saturday evenings from November to February, and there are also long-table ‘Savour the Season’ suppers around each Equinox and Solstice, plus Sunday lunches, where individual joints of meat are cooked to order and brought to the table to avoid wastage. If you’re keen to linger, beyond the orchard at the bottom of the garden is a glamping village with six bell tents.

“A very comfortable old pub” (thatched and from the 14th century) that’s owned by Ben Maschler (son of restaurant critic Fay and formerly in charge of operations at Soho House); and which is consistently well-praised in reports for its standards. (The FT’s Tim Hayward visited in May 2024, and also pronounced himself a fan.)

“A truly exciting experience where the menu belies the fascinating twists and complexity of the food” – Merlin Labron-Johnson inspires adulation for his “genius cuisine” at this hitherto tiny (but see below) operation. “Ingredients are honoured by being beautifully cooked, alongside other seasonal dishes, all with a mouthwatering and surprising approach that’s elegant yet not at all pretentious”. “It’s not solely vegetarian but many courses are meat-free and a real eye- opener for what an ultra-talented chef can do with a plant!”. Until recently, it inhabited “basic and tiny” premises at 1 High Street, but in August 2024 – following a successful kickstarter campaign – Merlin moved the operation to new, larger premises a few miles out of town. We’ve maintained last year’s (high) ratings, on the bet that any adjustments will likely be on the upside.

2022 Review: “A friendly and welcoming atmosphere” marks out this thatched fifteenth-century gastroboozer, where the “high-quality fresh local produce” (but also more adventurous sourcing, including from Paris’s famous Rungis market) leads to some “interesting variations on the traditional style”.

On the high street of this trendy town, this strikingly converted listed chapel has been a staple of lifestyle mags since it opened in 2008 – not least for its bedrooms, where you wake below your own stained-glass window. Now under the Stay Original Company, the multi-tasking restaurant, artisan bakery and wine shop continues to deliver winning wood-fired pizzas and British plates with a Mediterranean twist – and, despite the odd slightly underwhelmed report of late, it remains “great after a walk at The Newt” country estate, with the Hauser + Wirth gallery also close by.

2023 Review: A “quirky and interesting” local with a “good atmosphere” serving a “creative menu, with cooking of a consistent high standard”. It makes a “fantastic pub for Sunday lunch”, with “outstanding roasts”.

2023 Review: The “food and wine are always interesting” and are “still as good as ever” at engaging Anglo-Scottish chef Gordon Jones’s former sandwich shop on the southern edge of town. There’s “a single tasting menu available” (the only choice is whether to have 7 or 9 courses) and it comes as a complete surprise, with each dish introduced as it arrives at your table (and no vegetarian or other options).

Set within the Georgian surrounds of the Indigo Hotel, this indie restaurant from Harwood Arms co-owner Mike Robinson has rejigged its formula, with diners treated to cocktails in a vault-set speakeasy, before heading upstairs to the clubby dining room for a seven-course dinner showcasing the best of British wild food. Reports on the new format were limited but what there were proclaimed the food “truly epic, with plenty of slightly off-the-beaten track choices, e.g. hare” (that seem less surprising given Robinson’s reputation as a game guru). The celebrated chef is joined here by exec chef Liam Goldstone, who also runs the hotel’s more casual Brasserie Beau.

“The word’s got around that the Vietnamese home-style cooking here is seriously delicious”, so this “terrific Dining Club restaurant presided over by the wonderful Noya” (who “also runs supper clubs menus once a week and classes”) is “usually packed” (it is the most commented-on restaurant in Bath in our annual diners’ poll and one of the top-50 most commented-on destinations outside London in the UK). It’s only a “small” and “unpretentious” venue, but “service is always efficient, friendly and welcoming” and “whilst she is only small in stature, her meals are gigantic in terms of flavour and sophistication”; and also very “affordable”. On the downside, one or two visiting Londoners are “disappointed after the local hype” (“good but nothing super-special, but I grew up in south London where we have dozens of not dissimilar places to choose from…”). But when you visit may also be key (“the simplicity of its Pho and Noodle menus – great for pre-theatre – are juxtaposed with Noya’s five-course fixed supper club menus once a week”). Top Menu Tips – “lovely pork belly noodles are very tender and well spiced”; “herby prawn summer rolls and coconut-rich An‘s chicken curry!”.

2022 Review: Taking afternoon tea in this “wonderful Georgian setting with a trio playing during the meal” – and the Roman baths next door – is to wallow in English history, with literary visitors from Jane Austen to Charles Dickens as your guides. The nibbles – “beetroot-cured smoked salmon with homemade blini”, perhaps – are a secondary consideration, “but well worth having!”.

2021 Review: The USP of this “very relaxed” yet “lively” Bath pizzeria is the ability to choose your dough as well as the topping on your pizza; not just regular and gluten-free, they also offer hemp, seaweed, black rice and turmeric bases, plus distinctly adventurous toppings (“who knew pistachios on a pizza could be so amazing?!”). A Bristol branch opened in March 2019.

Launched in 2016 by Chris Tabbitt (ex-of Bibendum and the Old Bridge hotel in Huntingdon) and Sarah Olivier, this “small and beautifully formed” modern European is a “very comfortable, dependable” sort of place indeed. From the “perfectly executed”, “very well-priced” food (e.g., steak-frites, washed down with “even better value” red wine), to the “very personable service”, it offers an “intimate dining experience” that’s “hard to beat”.

“It’s not London, but it is setting the standard for great food served well in Bath” according to fans of this outpost of the glam national brasserie chain. According to the locals “it has consistent good standards, which is not the case with all the others”.