Gourmet Somerset: A Chic Culinary Hotspot

Somerset is a Goldilocks county – one of the few places in the UK where you can live in ludicrously pretty countryside, but also eat exceptionally well in dozens of brilliant pubs and restaurants, while enjoying excellent transport links to London, Bath and Bristol. Whether you want hyper-local Michelin-starred farm-to-table (at Osip in Bruton), Middle Eastern small plates served in a 17th-century inn (the Queen of Cups in Glastonbury), or award-winning rosé (at Wraxall Vineyard, near Shepton Mallet), Somerset, especially its eastern reaches, really does have it all.

Jack King, head of city sales for Savills Bath, grew up in the county and has watched its out-of-town food scene transform over the past decade. “If you look at Frome,” he says, “The Telegraph published a piece saying it was the best place to live outside London.”

When nearby Babington House (owned by the Soho House group) opened in the late 1990s, it drew both attention and chefs to the area – and the latter soon discovered the wealth of small producers working in the county. New food venues continue to appear in Frome, including Little Walcot, a sister restaurant to the popular Walcot House in Bath, and @ The Station, a community of small food businesses that includes the much-loved Rye Bakery and its wine bar. A branch of The Pig has also opened in the Mendip Hills. 

Much of this is driven by those moving out of London, Bristol and Bath. “Eighty per cent of my clients come from the capital,” says King, who has noticed serviced offices catering to the needs of professionals popping up in countryside locations. “There are more opportunities for professionals to choose an idyllic village life.” For many, a key part of that idyll is a great pub. “The village of Combe Hay, just outside Bath, has some of the strongest property prices in Somerset,” explains King. “And it is beautiful. But it also has an amazing pub called the Wheatsheaf, which really is the heart of the village.”

The pandemic nudged a few chefs out of London and down to the southwest. Nicholas Balfe spent several years running the kitchen at Levan in Peckham and Salon in Brixton before leaving to open Holm, a gorgeous restaurant with rooms near Ilminster, in 2021. “We were living in south London as a family of four with a new baby on the way, soon to outgrow our little terraced house in Nunhead,” he recalls. “Like many, we were looking for a change. Somerset has incredible produce and, with its beautiful countryside and proximity to the coast, it’s a great place to be.”

Chef Margot Henderson feels the same. She took over the Three Horseshoes in Batcombe in 2023, though she still has her London venue, the outstanding Rochelle Canteen. “We are lucky to be in such an extraordinary area, with so much going on,” Henderson says. “Everyone seems to grow wonderful vegetables, raise pigs or mill flour. There are so many great cheesemakers, too.”

For Dan Brod, co-founder of the Beckford Group – a collection of popular Somerset pubs that includes the Talbot Inn and the Lord Poulett Arms – it’s also about the local staff. “It’s never just the ingredients that make for great food and drink,” he says. “It’s the people who make and serve it with warm, genuine hospitality. And that is in unusual abundance here.”

Bruton, 20 minutes’ drive south of Frome, is Somerset’s other culinary hotspot. As well as Osip, must-visits include Matt’s Kitchen, a tiny restaurant (with a tiny kitchen) on the ground floor of chef Matt Watson’s home – it has been a favourite of other local chefs since it opened 13 years ago. Other standouts are the Old Pharmacy, a bistro, and Roth Bar, which has recently reopened in the Hauser & Wirth gallery’s threshing barn, serving cocktails made with local honey and flowers from the estate’s walled garden. Alternatively, head further west to Wells and try Root, which holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its vegetable-focused (but not fully vegetarian) menu. 

As Henderson says, “It would take years to get to know all the food producers round here.” But you could have great fun trying. 

Pictures from top: dishes by Nicholas Balfe at Holm, near Ilminster; the restaurant at The Pig near Bath; Margot Henderson’s food at the Three Horseshoes in Batcombe; and the Lord Poulett Arms in Hinton St George