vii #20: 7 things to do when visiting the restaurant of the year
Welcome back to vii. The Good Food Guide recently announced their 2025 Award winners. What should you know if you want to visit their restaurant of the year?
There are numerous lists and awards in the food industry, with Michelin also bestowing their stars on deserving restaurants earlier this month.
Food is often subjective - your favourite restaurant is likely to be different to mine and the same is true for the many organisations who collate lists of the best of in the industry.
The Good Food Guide has been reviewing Britain’s restaurants since 1951 and their annual awards also feature their best new restaurant, best drinks list and best value set menu, amongst others.
The 2025 winner of the best restaurant award is nestled in Somerset and somewhere I’ve been eager to visit for years now. Determined to not delay a visit further in an often turbulent hospitality scene, Nick and I agreed to replace the wrapped Christmas presents at the end of last year for a gifted experience of visiting this long awaited restaurant combined with a much-needed weekend away.
So if, like me, you want to make a weekend of it, how can you spend the time that isn’t sat enjoying an exquisitely cooked, award-winning meal? Here are some of the things we did in Bruton, as well as a couple of things we didn’t do…but will do next time. Because one thing is certain, we’ll be back.
WHERE TO STAY
Depending on whether you want to stay in Bruton or nearby, there are plenty of options. We opted to stay At The Chapel which is a beautiful grade II listed building situated on the High Street and home to nine gorgeous bedrooms.
Other options are Bruton’s Number One, a Georgian townhouse and cottages converted into a 12 bedroom hotel, or Batcombe’s The Three Horseshoes, a nearby pub with five rooms which is no more than a 10 minute drive from Bruton.
EAT LOCAL
One thing is guaranteed, you will eat well during a weekend in Bruton. All of the aforementioned accommodations offer excellent food on site.
At The Chapel houses an artisan bakery, wine store and all-day restaurant, serving not just an excellent breakfast for overnight guests (which includes fresh croissants hung on your bedroom door in the morning) but also a delightful looking Sunday lunch and fresh pizzas, which can be taken to go.
Briar is the tiny farm-to table restaurant situated in the old ironmonger’s shop at Number One, with tables available not just to guests. Only opening last summer, it has received a Bib Gourmand from Michelin this month (the award that acknowledges good value and good quality restaurant cooking).
Next door to Briar is The Old Pharmacy, sister restaurant to Good Food Guide’s restaurant of the year. A daily changing blackboard menu allows for a different experience on every visit. As with Briar, seasonal Somerset ingredients are at the heart of the dishes here.
Matt’s Kitchen is a little further down Bruton’s high street where Matt has served up a delicious set menu in the downstairs of his home for over 14 years. Often fully booked due to the limited space, Matt offers an in demand dinner option.
The Three Horseshoes has excellent pedigree too, opened by Margot Henderson who also runs Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch and is the wife of esteemed chef and restaurateur Fergus Henderson of St John’s fame. We didn’t eat here during our visit but, as a fan of the food and hospitality at Rochelle Canteen, would be keen to dine here on a return trip.
TRY THE SOMERSET PRODUCE
Nearby to The Three Horseshoes in Batcombe you will find Westcombe Dairy selling cheese, charcuterie and local Somerset products. We picked up a bit of everything, especially enjoying the alpine-style Lamyatt cheese, Landrace bakery bread (Landrace now mill on the same site as the dairy) and, a new favourite of mine, Burrow Hill’s ice cider.
When wandering around Bruton, you will likely stumble across the Godminster shop. The shop sells more than just cheese, with sweet treats and the perfect cheese accompaniments also available, but it would be a shame not to pick up some of their sustainable and award-winning cheddar to take home with you.
EXPLORE THE ART SCENE
If you’re a fan of the arts, Bruton is a town that will appeal. No 6 Bruton is a tiny gallery space on the high street opposite Briar and The Old Pharmacy with a rotating residency of artists every fortnight.
Hauser & Wirth occupies space in a former farmstead just outside of Bruton, as well as a small location on the high street. We didn’t visit on this occasion, in part due to the high street site being closed for renovation, but will be making time for their exhibits on a future visit.
We did however explore Bo Lee & Workman, a contemporary art gallery housed in a former Methodist church at the end of the high street. Don’t forget to go upstairs for a beautiful view over the nave and to browse their book collection.
The high street is home to artist studios too with the likes of Colette Woods opening her doors at weekends for the public to see her sculptural ceramics and paintings. Her creations have been commissioned by various Michelin-starred restaurants.
WANDER THE HIGH STREET
Not just to explore the products of local creatives, the high street and wider town are worth a wander. Bruton sees independent shops shoulder to shoulder, with popular chain names a rarity. Even the local SPAR features an in house butcher, with Bill the butcher on site. I enjoyed wistfully browsing the homeware at Smouk Interiors and New Romantic, repeatedly calling out to Nick “when we have a house…!” Allow yourself the time to pop in and out of the stores, exploring everything there is to offer.
VISIT DOVECOTE
One of the more weather dependent activities, or at least one for those not phased by the elements, is Dovecote. It’s a grade II listed National Trust building, presumed to originally be a watch tower due to its position overlooking the town. We had planned to visit on Sunday morning since fewer places are open on a Sunday and we had prioritised the Saturday accordingly, but weather (specifically storm Eowyn) had other plans and we opted to hunker down and enjoy a much more leisurely breakfast with a view of Dovecote instead.
DINE AT OSIP
Some more familiar with Somerset or the who’s who in hospitality may have already guessed or known where the weekend was centred around. Osip shares a similar ethos to sister restaurant The Old Pharmacy with a daily evolving menu of exquisite dishes that revolve around farm-to-table eating. Chef Merlin Labron-Johnson and the team have retained Osip’s Michelin star and green star, where the high quality cooking and aim to become a more self-sufficient restaurant have been recognised. Its new site, in a former inn, will also offer rooms for guests from the summer onwards.
Put your faith in the kitchen for the tasting menu1 where the experience starts with snacks by a roaring fire before moving through to the dining room. You’re seamlessly taken through the courses with care and a gentle pace before returning to the fireside for petits fours.
The whole experience is truly a celebration of Bruton, with Colette Woods’ ceramics gracing the tables and local artist Mark Reddy’s creations adorning the walls. But for us, one of the things that will be truly unforgettable and likely once in a lifetime, is having the dining room of a Michelin-starred restaurant entirely to ourselves. So for all that we couldn’t (chose not to) explore Dovecote, Storm Eowyn cursed others with cancelled reservations but blessed us with that unexpected gift.
Whilst I’ve certainly not eaten at anywhere close to the number of restaurants a Good Food Guide reviewer will have visited to crown Osip its best restaurant of the year, I’ve been lucky enough to spend other special occasions dining at excellent and renowned establishments. I have to agree that Osip is exceptional and the reason I struggle to call out favourites from the menu is down to the consistently high execution and delivery of every single course. That said, the mushroom cookie, tempura parsnip, potato bread and winter root ice cream are truly tributes to how high humble vegetables can be elevated.
I can’t wait to return and experience the beauty of Osip as it celebrates the bounty of a new season, alongside the chance to enjoy Bruton in the sunshine.
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Full menu is priced at £125 and the lunch menu at £95
Bruton is a lovely, lovely town. Money bags lovely! My wife’s family live in Frome which is around the corner. I’ve earmarked Osip for a return because I’ve not been to the new location but I’ve heard excellent things and your experience reinforces that!
Oooh! You’ve totally inspired me! Big daughter is down at Exeter Uni so an overnight in Bruton would be fab. Thank you! x