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Restaurants£££
Kingham, Chipping NortonThe Wild Rabbit
One of the most talked-about restaurants in the Cotswolds. The open kitchen is the focus, the food is serious, and the stone inn setting does everything right.
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Gastropubs£££
Clanfield, BamptonThe Double Red Duke
A coaching inn that takes its cooking seriously. Open-fire grilling, quality cuts, and interiors that feel considered rather than decorator-led.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£££
Kingham, Moreton-in-MarshDaylesford Organic
Part farm shop, part café, part Cotswolds institution. Worth stopping for even if you only buy cheese. The stone barn setting is genuinely impressive.
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Restaurants£££
Southrop, LechladeThe Ox Barn at Thyme
Dinner inside a 19th-century barn on the Thyme estate. The setting alone justifies the booking, and the food makes it worth coming back.
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Restaurants£££
Nether Westcote, Chipping NortonThe Feathered Nest
Perched on a ridge above the Evenlode Valley with views that stop conversation. The cooking has earned serious recognition and the location is hard to beat.
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Gastropubs££
Langford, LechladeThe Bell Inn
Known for wood-fired flatbreads done properly. Unpretentious setting, consistent quality, and the kind of pub food that makes you wish more pubs tried this hard.
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Afternoon Tea£££
Lower SlaughterThe Slaughters Manor
A 17th-century manor beside the River Eye in Lower Slaughter. The restaurant leans contemporary inside a historic shell, an interesting combination that works.
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Afternoon Tea£££
Buckland, BroadwayBuckland Manor
A 13th-century manor with ten acres of gardens and a dining room that takes produce seriously. One of the quieter options in the Broadway area.
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Gastropubs££
Swinbrook, BurfordThe Swan Inn
A riverside pub with genuine history. The Mitford sisters drank here. Local game, the River Windrush outside the window, and none of the self-consciousness that ruins similar places.
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Afternoon Tea£££
Upper SlaughterLords of the Manor
Traditional fine dining in Upper Slaughter, one of the region's most complete villages. Formal without being stiff, and the setting is as good as it gets.
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Gastropubs££
Ebrington, Chipping CampdenThe Ebrington Arms
Flagstone floors, open fires, and organic pub food that has won awards. Ebrington is an overlooked village, and this pub is the reason to go.
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Gastropubs£££
Kingham, Chipping NortonThe Kingham Plough
On the village green in Kingham, with a kitchen that treats the local larder seriously. The balance between proper pub and serious food is harder to get right than it looks.
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Gastropubs££
Slad, StroudThe Woolpack Inn
Laurie Lee's local in the Slad Valley. The view down the valley is reason enough, the food is better than you might expect, and it still feels like a real pub.
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Gastropubs£££
Churchill, Chipping NortonThe Chequers
Dry-aged steaks and flagstone floors in a village pub that doesn't try too hard. The kind of place that gets quietly better every time you go.
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Gastropubs£££
Lower Oddington, Moreton-in-MarshThe Fox at Oddington
An eco-conscious pub in Lower Oddington serving organic game and sourdough pizzas. The combination sounds unlikely, but it works better than it should.
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Farm Shops & Cafes££
BroadwayBroadway Deli
An independent deli and café on Broadway's high street with a courtyard garden that comes into its own in summer. Good for breakfast or lunch between villages.
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Gastropubs££
Barnsley, CirencesterThe Village Pub
Across the road from Barnsley House, sharing the same kitchen garden. Comfortable, reliable, and one of the better options in the Cirencester area.
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Farm Shops & Cafes££
CirencesterRoots + Seeds
A kitchen garden café on the Bathurst Estate. The setting inside Cirencester Park is the draw. The food follows the seasons and rarely disappoints.
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Gastropubs££
North Cerney, CirencesterThe Bathurst Arms
A riverside pub in North Cerney with an organic certification and a menu built around small plates. Quieter than most and worth seeking out.
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Gastropubs£££
Stow-on-the-WoldThe Porch House
Reputedly England's oldest inn, dating back to 947 AD. Old low-timber beams sit alongside a genuinely ambitious modern British menu, an odd combination that somehow works in Stow-on-the-Wold.
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Gastropubs££
Stanton, BroadwayThe Mount Inn
Perched high on a steep hillside in an unspoilt stone village, with classic pub food and valley views that are hard to beat anywhere else in the Cotswolds.
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Restaurants£££
Stow-on-the-WoldThe Old Butchers
An independently owned former butcher's shop in Stow-on-the-Wold, known for its buzzing atmosphere and a menu built around nose-to-tail cooking and fresh seafood.
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Gastropubs££
NorthleachThe Wheatsheaf Inn
An old coaching inn in Northleach with an ivy-draped facade and tiered cottage gardens. Rustic British cooking is the focus, done with more care than the average village pub.
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Gastropubs££
Sapperton, CirencesterThe Bell at Sapperton
Tucked deep in a quiet valley near Cirencester, easy to miss if you don't know it's there. Seasonal cooking and a genuinely unusual wine wall set it apart from the standard country pub.
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Afternoon Tea£££
BroadwayDormy House
Afternoon tea with a theatrical touch: a macaron trolley wheeled to your table at the end of the service. A more stylish, less traditional take on the format than most Cotswolds hotels offer.
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Afternoon Tea££
PainswickThe Painswick
A relaxed, grazing-style afternoon tea inside a Palladian mansion, with valley views stretching out below. Less formal than the classic tiered-stand tea, which suits some people better than others.
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Restaurants££
BiburyThe Swan Hotel
Bibury's most polished dining address. The walled garden feels secret even when it's full, and afternoon tea is the single busiest service, booked out weeks ahead most of the year.
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Gastropubs£
BiburyThe Catherine Wheel
A 15th-century pub a short walk uphill from Arlington Row, family-run since 2009. Locally sourced pub classics, a fire in winter, a garden in summer, and its own car park, which is rarer than it sounds in Bibury.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
BiburyTrout Farm Cafe
The café at Bibury Trout Farm, England's oldest working trout farm since 1902. Simple food, trout naturally included, eaten outdoors among the ponds. More a stop between fish-feeding and crazy golf than a destination meal.
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Gastropubs££
BurfordThe Highway Inn
A 15th-century coaching inn on Burford's High Street with an unexpected Spanish twist. Toro, its tapas restaurant, does sharing plates rather than the pub food you'd expect. Book ahead for dinner, it's popular with locals too.
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Restaurants££
BurfordSpice Lounge
An Indian restaurant on Burford High Street with a loyal following, biryani and jalfrezi are what people come back for. Spread over two floors; there's no ground-floor toilet, worth knowing if mobility is a factor.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
BurfordLynwood and Co
An Australian-style café with sourdough melts and proper coffee, part of a small local group with its own bakery on the Hatherop estate. Seating is tight and it gets busy, more a stop than a lingering breakfast.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
BurfordHuffkins Burford
A bakery and tearoom on Burford High Street since 1890, in a listed building with original beams. Cream tea is the reason to come, alongside the traditional lardy cake, an old-fashioned treat that's increasingly hard to find.
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Gastropubs££
BurfordThe Angel at Burford
Run by the King family since 2011, tucked just off the High Street rather than on it, which catches out a fair few first-time visitors circling the main drag. Multiple Cotswold Pub of the Year wins over the years rather than a one-off award to hang the reputation on. Ask for the walled garden in summer if the log fire inside isn't your thing.
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Gastropubs££
Castle CombeThe Castle Inn
Two AA Rosettes for a menu that goes further than the average village pub, seasonal and modern British rather than straightforward pub grub. This is a village that's hosted more than a few film crews over the years.
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Restaurants£££
Castle CombeBybrook
The Manor House's Michelin-starred restaurant, adults-only for dinner (12 and up), so if you've got younger kids this isn't the meal to plan around unless you're eating in one of the hotel's other spaces instead. Executive chef Robert Potter's tasting menu draws heavily on the hotel's own kitchen garden, which shows up as a genuinely seasonal menu rather than one that just says it is.
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Gastropubs£
Castle CombeThe Salutation Inn
A short drive from Castle Combe at The Gibb crossroads, not actually in the village itself, which keeps it quieter than the pubs in the centre. Seasonal, locally sourced food, and a strong reputation for its Sunday roast.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
Castle CombeThe Old Stables Coffee Shop
Tucked down an alley off the main street and easy to miss, look for the small sign. Run by Philippa and Yasmin, with a log burner, local art on the walls, and a warm welcome for muddy boots and dogs.
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Afternoon Tea£
Castle CombeThe Little Picnic Shop
Not a café you can walk into, this is a pre-order picnic box service run by Anna, with hampers that come complete with china, blankets, and games. Order ahead; it sells out on busy weekends.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
SnowshillSnowshill Manor Cafe
The National Trust café at Snowshill Manor, serving jacket potatoes and pasties rather than anything ambitious. Useful for refuelling between the manor's eccentric collection and the garden. Dogs welcome outside, not inside the manor.
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Gastropubs£
SnowshillSnowshill Arms
A 15th-century village pub serving Donnington ales alongside straightforward pub classics like Gloucester Old Spot sausages and mash. No TV, no music, just a log fire and a skittle alley round the back. Popular with walkers on the Cotswold Way, and it shows on Sundays, when tables go fast without a booking.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
SnowshillCotswold Lavender Cabin
A seasonal cabin at the lavender fields selling lavender scones, ice cream, and drinks, nothing more substantial. Only open while the lavender blooms, roughly mid-June to early August, so check dates before building a trip around it.
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Restaurants£
Bourton-on-the-WaterSmiths of Bourton
Handmade burgers from two brothers who started the business mid-pandemic and took third place at the National Burger Awards in 2025. Thirty seats only, worth booking, and the dry-aged beef comes from the same butcher supplying several of the area's better restaurants.
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Farm Shops & Cafes£
Bourton-on-the-WaterBakery on the Water
A family-run bakery right on the River Windrush, with a riverside terrace that's the real draw. Good pastries and a well-regarded quiche, though it gets busy fast and queues build through the middle of the day.
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Gastropubs££
Bourton-on-the-WaterThe Mousetrap Inn
A 19th-century freehouse at the quieter end of Bourton, away from the crush around the river. Craft ales on tap, a proper Sunday roast, and 11 rooms upstairs if you want to stay. Parking is tight, budget extra time.
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Gastropubs££
Bourton-on-the-WaterThe Old New Inn
The kitchen leans on classic pub dishes rather than trying to reinvent itself, and Sundays mean the set lunch menu only, nothing else. If you're staying at the inn you get 10% off here, which is a reason to eat in rather than walk to one of the busier spots on the main street.
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Restaurants££
Bourton-on-the-WaterThe Dial House
Fine dining in the centre of Bourton, with Maxi's Tipi Lounge next door for something more casual. Reviews on the food are consistently strong; service has been described as correct rather than warm, so opinions split there.
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