Gillingham Restaurant Guide

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.

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”.

“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.

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”.

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.

This “lovely family-run hotel” in Thomas Hardy’s ‘Vale of the little dairies’ is “personal and exquisite” – host Richard Prideaux-Brune inherited the family‘s Jacobean manor at the age of 21, opening it as a restaurant with rooms with his wife Alison 51 years ago, brother Brian in the kitchen and daughter Katharine these days part of the team. The “excellent” dinner menu is notably “affordable” at £45 per person for two courses and £55 per person for three, “complemented by wines at sensible prices”. Top Tip – don’t forget to pronounce the B in ‘Plumber’.

The more formal, oak-panelled dining room at “stunning” Georgian estate The Newt, which was launched by billionaire Koos Bekker and wife Karen, a former Elle Decoration editor, five years back. On the menu, a “sensational” three-course set (£95) which makes the most of “carefully sourced ingredients” spanning heritage-breed meats and catch from the West Country’s ports. Also on the grounds are more casual eateries the Farmyard Kitchen, in an old threshing barn, and the “pleasant” Garden Café (see also). There is the odd naysayer for whom the cuisine is more “sensible” than sensational, but there’s no denying the “atmosphere is chic”, and “after a lovely meal” you can “walk around the beautiful grounds” (“for a while, I felt I was in heaven!”).

“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.)

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 “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.

2023 Review: This “brilliant thatched country pub” has “lots of game dishes” on its menu – appropriately enough for a traditional establishment in the historical hunting landscape of Cranborne Chase. “Vegetarians and vegans are well provided for” too, while there’s also a “well-stocked bar with local ales and a reasonably priced wine list”.

“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.

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”.

This Victorian boozer on the Duke of Somerset’s estate reopened in 2021 (with rooms) after a posh refit by Andrew Kelly and James Thurstan Waterworth (the ex-European design director at Soho House). Despite the rather rapid exit of initial chef Nye Smith – to Rochelle Canteen boss Margot Henderson’s new venture, ‘The Three Horseshoes’, in Batcombe – its local/seasonal menu gained solid marks this year.

Opening in September at the Hauser + Wirth art dealership in Somerset, where it takes over the site of its former Roth Bar and Grill. Expect a stylish interior and Italian food using produce from Durslade Farm,

A farm-to-table restaurant led by chef Sam Lomas on the former site of Osip (see also), which has moved to new out-of-town premises. It features a daily changing menu of small plates, snacks and sharing dishes that celebrate hyper-local produce and foraged ingredients. The collaboration with Claudia and Aled Rees aims to offer affordable and approachable Somerset fare, focusing on seasonal ingredients from local suppliers.

“An absolutely gorgeous building (a former school, very similar to a church)” that has won beauty awards from Condé Nast Traveller plays host to this “upmarket rural” restaurant by Luke Sutton, who honed his craft at the acclaimed L’Ortolan in Berkshire. A number of visiting Londoners feel the “well-executed” modern British cooking is rather “hyped” and “expensive with a capital E, even for Sherborne”. More positive reporters would say that just highlights the “remarkable value” set menus (three courses £29 per person), and if you’ve change to spare, you can visit the equally glamorous bar on the mezzanine.

It’s “worth going out of your way” to find this “idyllic, picture-postcard country pub”that sits betwixt the medieval church and village hall and was launched amid much excitement in 2023 by art guru Max Wigram (aka Mr Phoebe Philo), with Margot Henderson of London’s well-known Rochelle Canteen sprinkling stardust on the kitchen. Former Six Portland Road chef Nye Smith is on day-to-day duties, delivering “delicious retro style cooking that really packs a punch”, with everything from the “gutsy” fish soup to the “amazing” sauces “just top-notch”. There’s the odd grumble – prices can seem toppish and one diner felt that “a little more attention to the finer points would help, although overall it deserves to do well”. Top Menu Tip – “The ambitious menu is unusual with items such as Venison and trotter pie or Roast pig’s head”; “amazing oysters to start followed by a gutsy flavoursome fish soup and the most fabulous dressing on a kohlrabi salad. A whole grilled plaice on the bone for two was a real treat and perfectly cooked, it came with chips and the most amazing tartare sauce which popped with tarragon”.

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.