Flashing Palely in the Margins
Eating through the Cotswolds
A few weeks ago, we spent some days in the Cotswolds and had the opportunity to dine at a few memorable places along the way.
I’ve had a few people ask me for suggestions on where to dine when they go to the Cotswolds, so I thought I’d just write up a little list of places we enjoyed while in the area.
One thing to note: the whole area is wonderful with kids. Every single place we went had a children’s menu, and they all (except for one) were friendly and accommodating and went out of their way to make our daughter feel welcome. I was so impressed with just how great with kids the whole area seems to be.
Another thing to note: the desserts were, on the whole, amazing. I’m not the biggest dessert eater, but the ones we had on this trip were stupendous and I often felt sad when I was too full to order one after dinner. If these were the kinds of desserts I could get every day, I’d have an insatiable sweet tooth.
Okay, and the list:
The Swan Brasserie
We ate here on our first night in the region, not knowing what to expect. Thankfully, the food was quite good, and the service excellent. The monkfish curry was quite delicious, and the sticky toffee pudding was among the best I’ve ever had. A beautiful location in the heart of Bibury helped make the place feel like a good place to start our trip.
The Trough at Daylesford Organic
The space is gorgeous — the whole farm is beautiful, and we spent some time grocery shopping in the farm store — but the way it is designed meant the heat was trapped inside, and it was a hot day. The food was good, not the most memorable but still delicious, but the service was completely lacklustre. The posset for dessert was divine, though. I’d definitely return if I was in the area, but wouldn’t necessarily make a trip just to dine there.
The Lamb Inn
The Lamb Inn in Crawley was perfect: an adorable space, with excellent service, and impeccable food. We feasted well: we ordered a tomato salad, tuna carpaccio, calamari, hummus and pita, a coronation chicken terrine, and some truffle wedges. Zoya ate her fish and chips a little too quickly and then felt a little sick, but that was a function of her enjoying the food so much that she rushed through the meal. I only wish we could have returned, because the experience, and the food, was that good.
The Wheatsheaf Inn
This may have been my favorite place we ate in the region. There was nothing flashy about the dining room, but it was well-appointed and cozy and felt very welcoming. The service was top notch, and the food was just right. We didn’t eat much (we dined here on the same day we went to the Lamb Inn) but what we did have was perfectly prepared and considered. Just a special meal in a simple place.
The Twig
A delightful little shop for an (iced) coffee and a cookie. Fun art on the walls, and a small, cute space that was cozy but not crowded. Coffee was quite good; a place where you want to stay a little while and just enjoy the morning.
Lords of the Manor
Easily the worst meal we had on the trip. The service was atrocious, the bread tasted like it was from the grocery store, the calamari was worse than the Costco frozen stuff. The beet salad was okay but only had three beets in it. By the time the risotto and prawns came for the second course (almost 40 minutes after they cleared our first course plates), I was ready to leave. It was a beautiful building, though.
The PIG - in the Cotswolds
A gorgeous space and the food—pigeon and endive salad, cured bass, pork belly bites, venison dumpling, buffalo mozzarella, cheesecake—was quite good. They were very attentive with kids, and the menu is almost all sourced from 25 miles around the restaurant; the commitment to local sourcing is impressive.
Eleven
This place had just opened a few weeks prior to us getting there—it had the sheen of a new coffee shop—and I’m glad it did. The back terraced patio was just beautiful and secluded; it made you feel like you were in a small oasis of coffee and pastries. The coffee was quite good, and the pastries were just as excellent. Was nice to have this a two-minute walk from our cottage.
The Bell Inn
L and I were too full and too hot to eat a Sunday roast so we got rarebit and burrata and bone marrow flatbread, but Zoya got a kids roast which was a quarter chicken with all the fixings and it was delicious. Service was excellent, and I’m still impressed they had a special roast just for kids—a really nice touch.
The Stump
By the end of our time in the Cotswolds, we had a craving for pizza, and The Stump did not disappoint. The pizza was perfectly cooked and delicious, and the ham and cheese croquettes were an excellent way to start the meal. It was really busy so the service wasn’t as attentive as it could have been, but it was still quite good and we felt quite welcome there.
