Reviews

Reviews of food in some of Bath's local restaurants and pubs.

Bordeaux Quay Restaurant, Canon’s Road, Bristol, BS1 5UH, April 4th, 2013

This is an excellent, independent restaurant in a wonderful location. The food is locally sourced wherever possible, and they have won a soil association gold rating for sustainable catering.  I loved the food, and the service was great.

Hudson Bar, 14 London Street, Bath BA1 5BU, April 10th, 2013

This used to be the Hat and Feather, and excellent pub where I spent many evenings of total excess. It has taken me a while to accept the new, smart restaurant, but in fact the food is very good. It is owned by the same people as the Firehouse Rotisserie, which also has a very good reputation. I went for an early evening special offer of steak, fries and a glass of wine, which was delicious, with lovely touches like a béarnaise sauce in a little wanton-style (edible) container. Not a cheap evening out, unless you stick to your one glass of wine. I didn’t.

The Full Moon, Rudge, Frome BA11 2QF, 12th April, 20

It is well worth the effort of finding this glorious old pub in the village of Rudge, not far from Beckington. The food is the best I have had in a very long time, and the service is excellent. They use locally sourced food and the presentation is stunning. They have rooms to rent so I am going back to have dinner with plenty of wine, without having to think about driving home. I also look forward to experiencing their indoor swimming pool.

The Woolpack, Warminster Road, Beckington BA11 6SP, 17th April, 2013

The Olive Tree, 4-7 Russel Street, Bath, 17th April, 2013

This is a restaurant to go to if you want a real treat. The service is impeccable and the food is beautiful. Just save up for a while before you go.

Dinner at the Mezzaluna Restaurant, Kingsmead Square, Bath, March 24th, 2011

This was the third time I had eaten in the Mezzaluna in the last month, so it's clearly something of an obsession. The food is inspirational, and the service is excellent. They also have a very reasonable pre-show menu, and they are the only decent Bath restaurant that accepts the 'Taste' card - which reduces the cost of the food by a half. It is hidden away in a vaulted area, and few people seem to know about it, but it truly is one of our top restaurants.

Lunch at the Dower House in the Royal Crescent, Bath, 4th January, 2011

I went with a couple of friends for a celebratory lunch at the Dower House restaurant in Bath. It is the perfect place to go if you want to feel indulged and cared for. The food is delicious, and beautifully presented, and even though the portions are small, I was fully satisfied by the end of the meal. I would recommend this for special occasions, especially when they have one of their special offers of three courses for the price of two. It's still expensive, but it's worth it!

Lunch for two at the Oakhill Inn
Fosse road Oakhill (near Radstock) Somerset BA3 5HU
Tel: 01749 840442 info@theoakhillinn.com
15th October, 2010

This is a fascinating place to explore, with lots of rooms to eat or drink in, a garden, and lovely en suite bedrooms upstairs (4 star rating!).

We had the lunch, which was on special offer, with two courses for under £10.00. This was a real treat, as I was able to experience some delectable salt beef, with a glorious subtle horseradish cream, dripping through to the crushed potatoes with herbs. The beef, like all of the meat served here, is both local and organic, and the chef is happy to discuss the food in detail with you. His expertise and enthusiasm are evident. His pumpkin soup was also delicious, with an interesting juxtaposition of flavours with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil in the centre. It was the perfect place for a lunch in the countryside, with prices that would be hard to beat.

Lunch for two at the Café du Globe
1 North Parade, Bath BA1 1LF
01225 466 437 http://www.cafeduglobe.co.uk/ Wednesday 15th September 2010

This is a really interesting restaurant in the centre of Bath. The décor is gorgeous, and the service is excellent. The patron comes out to chat with his guests, and is happy to talk about the food and the history of the restaurant. Don’t miss a trip downstairs to a marvelous bazaar of treasures, and some of the best loos in Bath.

Jan and I chose the special lunch, which is amazingly good value (two courses for £9.95). There was so much that we couldn’t finish it all – and we are both keen eaters!

We both started with the traditional Moroccan Mezze with pita bread and hummus, shickshouka, Tabouleh, feta cheese and olives. This was enough for a meal in itself!

Jan then chose the chicken tagine with prunes, saffron, ginger, loads if roasted almonds, sesame seeds and couscous. A glorious mountain of food!

I had the Moroccan Chicken Kadra, cooked in coriander sauce, saffron, ginger, chickpeas and almonds. This was also served with couscous.

I love Moroccan food, and have enjoyed experimenting with the cuisine, so this was a great pleasure. I don’t think you could cook it yourself at home for this price!

Lunch for two at Aqua Restaurant and Bar
88 Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BD
bath.aqua-restaurant.com Friday
10th September 2010

This is an attractive restaurant, which is an excellent conversion of a chapel. It was surprisingly empty for a Friday lunchtime, despite really good special offers.

We chose two courses for £10, which involves choosing selected items from the menu, labeled ‘menu classico’.

I had a simple salad to start with, with croutons and tomatoes, and lots of thin rings of red onion, which were awkward to eat.

Rosemary had bruschetta piled with delicious things, which I envied. There was so much that she couldn’t eat it all.

For the main course I had salmon, which was cooked to perfection, with capers. The potatoes were disappointing. There was a little salad on the side, so I felt that I had enough, in a healthy sort of way.

Rosemary had a glorious plateful of crispy potatoes and a juicy pork chop. Once again she couldn’t manage it all. I’m afraid I’d have eaten the lot.

Overall I feel that it was very good value; the choices were good, and the service was excellent. We were given a jug of tap water, which was refilled without having to ask, and there was no disapproval at out lack of indulgence in wine or desserts.

Recommended.