The 24 best restaurants in Bath
One for every hour of the day
One of my favourite things to do with a free day is to hop on the train to Bath. It’s so easy to eat well there, and drink well too — 18 Green Street is one of my current favourite haunts. Still, there’s only one person I’d trust with a comprehensive guide to Bath’s restaurants and that is Melissa. With over 30 years experience of journalism and having covered Bath’s restaurants for a host of publications, I knew she’d be the one to make sure no Bath stone was left unturned. So, here we are — just in time for you to go and take one look at Bath Christmas market and decide it’s not worth the hassle. Dinner is a far better idea.
Bath — it’s not all about Jane Austen, Georgian melodrama, afternoon tea and tourist entrapment. Some of us actually live here, and all of us have to eat. If you too want to eat like a Bath local, here are 23 ways to do it… plus one for the star chasers
For a ‘Bath smart set’ experience: Emberwood, Queen Square
Gleaming brass, potted palms and velvet banquettes take us back to the original Ivy’s glory days. Executive chef Dave Hazell, previously of Paco Tapas and Clifton Lido, presides over a dramatic charcoal-fired open hearth while a martini or dessert trolley burnishes the retro-glam glow. Read The Bristol Sauce review.
£££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | emberwoodbath.com
For sensational street food: Chai Walla, Monmouth Street
Bath’s most fulfilling on-the-hoof grab’n’go hotspot courtesy of a tiny colourful hatch next to a Sainsbury’s Local. Come for the instant fix samosas, load up on channa dal to reheat at home.
£ | Takeaway only | Monday-Saturday 11am-8pm | restaurantwebexperts.com/ChaiWalla
For a taste of Grace: Beckford Canteen, Bartlett Street
Grace Dent said that the food here is “dead good” and urges anybody who’s going anywhere near Somerset to book a table. As usual, she’s not wrong.
££ | Booking advised | Wednesday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Sunday lunch | beckfordcanteen.com
For date nights: Raphael, Gascoyne House
Sparkly and charming (just like your date?) with an elegant European energy and an impressive wine list. If your paramour doesn’t capture your heart, the chocolate delice will.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Saturday lunch & dinner | raphaelrestaurant.co.uk
For a taste of Bath tradition: Woods, Alfred Street
Rockin’ the mid-1980s Langan’s beat since 1979, still lauded for its classic, British-based, Mediterranean-themed menus and fabulous fresh fish dishes. Woods still works.
££ | Booking advised | Wednesday-Saturday, lunch & dinner (last Sunday of every month 12noon-2.30pm) | woodsrestaurant.com
For pop-up roulette: Picnic in the Park, Lark Place
This cheerful park cafe by day transforms into an intimate candlelit pop-up haven every Friday night hosting MasterChef: The Professionals finalists, live-action braai cooking, Thai/Mexican/Indian fusion feasts and more. Take a pop-up punt; you’re guaranteed to max out on your (minimal) investment.
££ | Friday evening booking essential | IG @picnicinparkbath
For grown-up gap-year dining: Noya’s Kitchen, St James’s Parade
Vietnamese chef Noya Pawlyn’s artfully wonky diner has earned cult status in Bath; it’s the only place to go for authentic, full-on pho.
££ | Booking advised | Tuesday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Friday Supper Clubs (booking essential) 7pm-10pm | noyaskitchen.co.uk
For the next big thing: Goldstone Food at The Curfew
Full transparency: I haven’t been yet. But tasteful tittle-tattle regarding chef Liam Goldstone’s residency (including the monthly dinner with Goldstone event) in an easy-to-overlook boozer whispers great things; something good is definitely occurring…
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | IG @goldstonefood
For when you can’t think beyond pizza: Bosco, Shires Yard
Another Bristol import, Bosco seems to effortlessly manifest superior pizzas, pastas, antipasti and an atmosphere that makes you grin as soon as you step foot through the door.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | boscopizzeria.co.uk
For a fuss-free fast fix: Yum Yum Thai, Kingsmead Square
The staff will definitely let you know when your time is up at this speedy refuel hotspot where both the panang and red Thai curries are the best you’ll find in Bath. Kick the prosaic sides to the kerb and order a pad Thai to share instead.
£ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | yumyumthaibath.com
For glamour a go-go: Montagu’s Mews at the Royal Crescent Hotel
Menus in this modish modern brasserie go above and beyond the whole shebang that you’d rightly expect from a five-star private garden oasis slap-bang in the middle of Bath’s most impressive address. That head chef Martin Blake hasn’t yet been awarded a Michelin Star yet is, quite frankly, ridiculous.
£££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | royalcrescent.co.uk/eat-drink/dinner
For the quintessential bistro experience: Chez Dominique, Argyle Street
If Alain Delon was still with us and visited Bath he’d eat at this sparkly little modern French bistro, where the steak frites seriously challenge Le Relais de l’Entrecote’s legendary incarnation.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Sunday lunch only | chezdominique.co.uk
For cult cuisine: Menu Gordon Jones, Wellsway
Pay no attention to the neon sign over the tiny open kitchen: you (probably) won’t get to see a live sex show here. But what you will get is a regularly-changing, felicitously challenging set menu from one of the most characterful chefs in Bath, still crazy after all these (13+) years.
£££ | Booking essential | Wednesday-Saturday lunch & dinner | menugordonjones.co.uk
For tacos without tackiness: Bardacious, Quiet Street
Bardacious swerves condescending Mexican/Cali restaurant clichés (dodgy folk art knick knackery; plastic cacti; etc) in favour of a cool modern vibe that’s more downtown Santa Monica than uptown Bath. Shiny, dynamic, subtly exciting.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | bardacious.co.uk
For a dine-in takeaway: The Peking, New Street
Spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken, special fried rice: all good. But a clutch of authentic Cantonese/Szechuan specialities vie for attention, including whole Peking duck for those who have the organisational skills to order the house speciality 24-hours in advance.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Saturday lunch & dinner | pekingrestaurantbath.co.uk
For sleek Italiano: Magari, Shires Yard
Thoughtful, generous fresh pasta dishes rooted in tradition served in a cool Scandi-vibe environment on the upper level terraces of the Escher-style enclave that is Bath’s Shires Yard (previously Milsom Place). Also has a branch in Bristol at Wapping Wharf.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | magaripasta.co.uk
For the perfect fish supper: The Scallop Shell, Monmouth Place
Home to Bath’s best fish and chips served up in a seaside-themed diner or on their roof terrace with groovy seasonal seafood options offering fresh coastal inspiration on a daily basis.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Sunday 12noon-3pm | thescallopshell.co.uk
For upper-crust modern Indian: The Mint Room, Lower Bristol Road
An urbane oasis of subtle bling housed in what’s ostensibly a breeze block box a stone’s throw away from a garage forecourt bringing a taste of competent, confident, contemporary Indian sub-continent food to an erstwhile barren landscape.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Sunday 5.30pm-9pm | bath.themintroom.co.uk
For intimate foodie fireworks: Wilks, Chelsea Road
One chef, six covers, ‘noble’ produce, a wine list that reads like a paean to the world’s greatest grapes, exemplary creativity: James Wilkins (née Wilks, Bristol) has brought sensational gastro-glamour to an unassuming Bath suburb.
£££ | Booking essential | Tuesday-Thursday dinner; Friday-Saturday lunch & dinner | wilksbath.com
For hipster vibes: Landrace Bakery, Walcot Street
Nationally-acclaimed ever-expanding artisan bakery, coffee shop, restaurant and flour mill with a cult following. Anything you eat here is distinctly superior, from sausage rolls to pork rillettes - with superior price tags to match.
££-£££ | Booking advised for restaurant | Shop & Cafe Tuesday-Saturday 8.30am-4pm; Sunday 9am-1pm. Restaurant Tuesday-Sunday lunch & dinner | landrace.co.uk
For foodie oenophiles: Corkage, Chapel Row
Stellar wines, ever-evolving small plates, smart attitude. Easy to spend more than you intended so keep a cool head once you’ve had a couple of glasses.
££ | Booking advised | Monday-Tuesday dinner; Wednesday-Thursday lunch & dinner; Friday-Saturday all day | corkagebath.com
For converting meatheads: Root, Shires Yard
Having made a name for his work in Bristol, Chef Rob Howell has brought his vegetable wares to Bath in the group’s biggest site to date. Expect inventive plant-based small plates with the odd splash of meat and fish in the grandeur of the old Jamie’s Italian site.
£££ | Booking advised | Monday-Tuesday dinner, Wednesday-Saturday lunch & dinner; Sunday lunch only | rootrestaurants.co.uk/bath
For carb-loading: Solina Pasta, Grand Parade
Praised by Jimi Famurewa in The Observer in August as ‘an elegant, accomplished, buzzy operation’ that ‘shows how far Bath’s dining scene has come’, Solina Pasta is the place to go for when pasta is the order of the day and tiramisu is non-negotiable.
££ | Walk-in only | Monday-Sunday lunch & dinner | solinapasta.com
For starry-eyes: The Olive Tree, The Queensberry Hotel
If you want to go to a Michelin-star restaurant in Bath you have one choice: The Olive Tree. You might want to take out a small mortgage, but at least you won’t forget you’re in one of Michelin’s darlings — they’ve printed the star five times on the menu.
£££ | Booking advised | Check website for full opening hours | olivetreebath.co.uk
All words and photos by Melissa Blease, unless otherwise credited
 | A guest post by
|
Great list. I was thinking of writing up one for Bath myself, but difficult to improve on this one...
Oak restaurant?