6 Best Restaurants in Bath and the Cotswolds, England

The Bath outpost of the growing Pig empire is a funky but chic restaurant with rooms in a converted country house in the Mendip Hills. It's all about the local and seasonal here (everything famously comes from within a 25-mile radius): kale, arugula, and other leaves and veggies are sourced from the Pig’s kitchen garden; apples, pears, and apricots come from its orchard; and pork, chicken, quail, and venison are provided by animals raised on the property. Salmon, pancetta, and bacon are smoked on-site. The results are exceptionally fresh and flavorsome dishes like loin of home-reared venison or “Kentucky-fried” wild rabbit. Dining alfresco in summer, when the wood-fired oven gets going, is a delight. The 29 comfortable and reasonably priced rooms are decorated with an elegant simplicity and have glorious views. It's located about 8 miles from Bath, off the A368. 

Just five minutes from the Holburne Museum, this wood-lined former rowing club house serves quality food in a picturesque riverside setting. The global menu ranges from roasted belly pork to freshly caught fish, and the set menus (for lunch and dinner; no à la carte options) are well priced for two or three courses. On warm summer nights, enjoy sitting on the veranda by candlelight (in winter, you can get tucked up with a throw) and enjoy food cooked to perfection. If you come during the day, you can also work up an appetite by taking out a skiff or canoe from the next-door boat station.

The enticing prix-fixe lunch menu and a wide-ranging à la carte dinner menu featuring French and European fare attract diners to this award-winning restaurant, which is renowned for its signature dishes like onglet (hanger) steak with tarragon and sea bass with clams and samphire. It's also a great place to stop for afternoon tea or coffee after a walk by nearby Pulteney Weir.

This sophisticated and popular restaurant on the corner of the Circus has an enticing, seasonally changing menu that covers everything from morning coffee to late-night dinners. The husband-and-wife team prioritize locally sourced ingredients, and wines come from old-world small growers. The colorful modern art on the walls always makes for a great conversation topic.

In this popular, casual Argyle Street eatery with white-painted stone walls, wood tables, and metal chairs, it's all about the steak. The mouthwatering meats all come from Aberdeen Angus and Hereford Cross cows on local area farms. Those who aren't fans of red meat will find other menu options, including homemade pastas and diverse cheese boards.

There's energy and buzz, from both the diners and the cooks in the gleaming open kitchen, at this plate-glass-and-chrome eatery where late breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks are served with a smile. Light bites like buffalo mozzarella, hot-smoked salmon Niçoise, and deep-fried calamari with fennel salad are particularly tasty. You can also pick something up from their sister company, Corn Hall Deli, for a picnic.