We will be spending the day in Bath and are looking for several restaurant suggestions, more casual for lunch or Tea and somewhat fancier for dinner. Popjoys has been recommended for dinner. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

You must do tea or lunch in The Pump Room!

My favourite place for good quality inexpensive lunch (Thai) in Bath is:

MAI THAI
Pierrepont Street
(£4.95-6.95)
(2 mins from cathedral - towards railway station)

In 'THE PODIUM'
(shopping centre near Pulteney Bridge)
- there are several restaurants on the upper level (Lebanese, Chinese, Italian ...) which do a good value fixed price lunch.

The Lebanese (ARABESQUE) and Chinese do an 'eat as much as you like' buffet for £5.95.

For a more expensive lunch I'd suggest
TILLEYS
- next door to Sally Lunn's (- near cathedral).

The PUMP ROOM which Jody mentions also usually has musicians (- the Pump Room Trio) at morning coffee time (get there early - 10.30..ish to avoid queueing).

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Just for the atmosphere,go to the Pump rooms for morning coffee and a Bath bun. As stated there are often musicians that entertain the diners. Do not have lunch there...unfortunately I ahve to say the food is poor and overpriced.

I second Steve's suggestion of Mai Thai - it was excellent!

Also, there is a Spanish restaurant in the same direction (from the abbey, that is), that had excellent tapas, but for the life of me I can't recall the name. Francesca's? You have to go down a flight of stairs to get to it, you can ask around if you are interested - it's the only Spanish restaurant in the area.

Enjoy Bath!
Karen

We spent 3 days in Bath this past June, and enjoyed a lovely dinner at the Circus Restaurant, and would recommend this for fine dining - great food, ambiance and service.

Hi
Yesterday's New York Times had a great article on fine dining in Bath.
I was glad to see Popjoy's on the short list. It's been a long while since I've dined there, but it was a lovely experience.
You should be able to read the article on line.

These are all casual: We enjoyed the Crystal Palace pub (near Sally Lunn's I think). I think we went to the Cafe Iguana Mexican restaurant (for a Mexican food "fix&quot. We also ate at Caffe Uno overlooking the Parade Park. Locals may scoff at where we ended up, but I think they were all pretty good, though the Italian restaurant was more expensive than it probably warranted.

I liked Sally Lunn's itself for tea. The buns are good, and you can go down and see the old kitchen in the basement.

I agree with Carolyn regarding Sally Lunn's. Small place with great buns. Definitely visit the kitchens which have foundation remains from the Romans and Tudor time period.

For a truly delicious but very casual lunch, try the cafe at Shoon, right on the main shopping arcade street. Shoon is a clothing store and the restaurant is on the top floor. Soups, sandwiches, desserts -- everything was excellent! (We have a very good friend who is a Bath native and who took us there.)

Our best meal in Bath was at a pub called the Hoppole. Our B&B owner recommended it and the food and service was very good. We sat outside in a garden area that was in the back. It was a very pretty setting. The price was reasonable too. Our bill for 4 people was 32.00 pounds including 2 beers and 2 lemonades for our teens. Have fun! Laurie

topping for cchottel

We were referred to the Crystal Palace Pub for a "traditional/typical" British Sunday dinner - roast beef, roasted potatoes, mushy peas and gravey to cover it all up with, by our tour guide. The place was fun and with a group of people, even more fun. Sally Lunn's was good for a meal and an interesting history made up for what I remember to be rather overpriced food.

Have Fun!
J!