Welcome to our ultimate guide to eating out in Bath. Once a year we write our definitive foodie list and we’re ecstatic to have a family restaurant take the no. 1 spot! Here’s our top 25 restaurants you have to visit while you’re in the city.
25, The Marlborough Tavern
35 Marlborough Buildings, Bath BA1 2LY / 01225 423731
Classic 2 AA Rosette gastropub by the Royal Crescent and Victoria Gardens. Honestly priced with a warm, pub atmosphere. One of four in the innovative Bath Pub Co.
24, The Herd Steak Restaurant
12A Argyle Street, Bath BA2 4BQ / 01225 316583
Centrally located by the Weir, the Herd is a Bath institute and the city’s top steakhouse. Family-run and specialising in 21-day aged steaks. A great setting with an artsy interior.
23, Allium
1 North Parade, Bath BA1 1LF / 01225 809469
The Allium is a lovely fine dining restaurant serving seasonal British cuisine.
22, Green Bird Cafe
11 Margaret Buildings, Bath BA1 2LP / 01225 487846
Green Bird Cafe is the best place for a cooked breakfast or a quick, delicious lunch. The Americano coffees are fruity and flavoursome, too! The staff are always welcoming and the cafe is a buzzing little venue around the corner from the Royal Crescent.
Locksbrook Inn by the canal
21, The Locksbrook Inn
103 Locksbrook Road, Bath BA1 3EN / 01225 427119
Located right by the canal, the Locksbrook Inn serves good old fashioned quality pub grub all day. We love it for its simplicity, friendly staff and beautiful setting.
20, The Scallop Shell
22 Monmouth Place, Bath BA1 2AY / 01225 420928
An award-winning fish and chip shop that’s so much more than that. It takes great cooking to make the seafood dishes you will discover in the lovely Scallop Shell.
19, The Hare & Hounds
Lansdown Road, Bath BA1 5TJ / 01225 482682
Located in between the race course and Bath city centre, the Hare & Hounds is a lovely family pub with stunning views over the Bath countryside. It’s the only place to be on fireworks night!
18, The Pump Room
Abbey Chambers, Church Street, Bath BA1 1LZ / 01225 444477
A great place for afternoon tea after a wonder around the Roman Baths or enjoy a Ritz-style lunch to classical music in the impressive dining room.
17, Firehouse Rotisserie
2 St John Street, Bath BA1 2JL / 01225482070
Californian and Mexican inspired grillhouse making a whole range of big and bold dishes to fall for. Famous in Bath for its spit-roast chickens or gourmet pizzas.
16, Chez Dominique
15 Argyle Street, Bath BA2 4BQ / 01225 462482
Family run restaurant specialising in French and modern European cuisine, paired with fine wine, in a beautiful location just by Pulteney Bridge.
15, Thai Balcony
1 Seven Dials, Saw Close, Bath BA1 1EN / 01225 444450
Enjoy excellent Thai cuisine in this gold hued first floor dining room with views over Kingsmead Square. The duck in particular is delicious, especially when paired with a bottle of Thai red wine from Monsoon Valley!
One of the delicious veggie dishes at Acorn
14, Acorn Vegetarian
2 North Parade Passage, Bath BA1 1NX / 01225 446059
Acorn is one of Bath’s most acclaimed restaurants and specialises in vegetarian cuisine. The textures and flavours remind me of theatre and Acorn is certainly an experience any food lover will enjoy.
13, Woods
9-13 Alfred Street, Bath BA1 2QX / 01225 314812
Independent, family-run restaurant for 38 years, Woods creates modern British cuisine with a French influence. Brilliant service and always good food.
12, The Chequers
50 Rivers Street, Bath BA1 2QA / 01225 360017
Excellent gastropub and the fine dining flagship from the Bath Pub Company. The Chequers has everything from good pub grub to a stylish tasting menu.
11, Menu Gordon Jones
2 Wellsway, Bath BA2 3AQ / 01225 480871
Gordon Jones, Bath’s most famous and eccentric chef, has been producing his renowned tasting menu for years to a whole host of hungry foodies. Book here for some exciting multi-European cuisine and a really impressive wine list.
10, Piattino
7 Edgar Buildings, Bath BA1 2EE / 01225 443900
A new restaurant to Bath serving delicious Italian meze from a small plate dining menu. This is a place that’s bound to make your mouth water.
Pintxo Bath restaurant
9, Pintxo
31 Barton Street, Bath BA1 1HG / 01225 463861
Basque-style tapas restaurant next to the Theatre Royal, Pintxo is a lovely place to indulge in sherry wine and food matching with friends.
8, Indian Temptation
9-10 High Street, Bath BA1 5AQ / 01225 464631
A vegetarian Indian restaurant that will get any curry fan’s mouth watering. Their menu features a whole host of delicious, indulgent curries and side dishes that firmly make this place the best curry house in Bath.
7, Yak Yeti Yak
12 Pierrepoint Street, Bath, BA1 1LA / 01225 442299
Pure Nepalese cuisine done especially well. Yak Yeti Yak is also the place to get one of our favourite desserts: dark chocolate kulfi ice with chilli, which is to die for. There’s also a whole host of yummy Nepalese curries, dahls and copious amounts of enjoyment.
6, The Circus Restaurant
34 Brock Street, Bath BA1 2LN / 01225 466020
4th in the UK in The Times newspaper’s “20 Secret Restaurants Foodies Love”, we think The Circus is a lovely little restaurant. Booking is essential as it’s almost always full, but your effort will definitely pay off with delicious, seasonal and locally-sourced food.
5, Sotto Sotto
10 North Parade, Bath BA2 4AL / 01225 330236
One of the city’s friendliest and most sought-after restaurants, located in the heart of the city, a stone’s throw from the Roman Baths. Pasta, steaks, homemade pizza and fresh fish cooked in proper authentic Italian style.
4, Ole Tapas
1 John Street, Bath BA1 2JL / 01225 466440
Ole has taken the hearts of Bath residents and made them fall in love with authentic Spanish tapas. This quirky restaurant has just opened a much larger premises on Gascoyne Place but hasn’t lost any of its stylish appeal. Classic, informal ambience with super tasting food is a recipe for excellence.
3, The Olive Tree
4-7 Russell Street, Bath BA1 2QF / 01225 447928
This 3 AA Rosettes restaurant is Bath’s finest high end fine dining restaurant. Chef Chris Cleghorn heads up the Olive, one of Bath’s oldest independent restaurants. His food is a celebration of the West Country’s best produce. There’s a substantial, well-thought wine list to pair with it, too.
2, Henry’s
4 Saville Row, Bath BA1 2QP / 01225 780055
Henry Scott, formerly sous chef at the Allium, has set-up on his own as the new kid on the block. He has powered into our list at number 2 by offering two simple but gorgeous fine dining menus: one for meat eaters, one for veggies. The plates are designed with great skill and the focus is on quality, fuss-free food. There’s also a great wine list!
1, Jars Meze
6 Northumberland Place, Bath BA1 5AR / 01225 471434
What a fantastic restaurant! Family owned and managed, providing delicious Greek food in a lovely cosy atmosphere. This is simplicity at its best – where flavour is everything. Go as a group and fall in love with Greek cuisine, whether its bringing back memories of holidays in the sun or your first experience, Jars Meze is our number 1 restaurant in Bath.
This photo of Jars Meze is courtesy of TripAdvisor
