Cotswold Journeys – Eating Your Way Across the Cotswolds

An essential element of any vacation is trying out the local cuisine, and if you’re vacationing in the Cotswolds this coming year you will not be disappointed by the food that each of the six counties in the area has to offer.

This useful guide highlights the best restaurant in each county for a particular meal of the day, so that you can enjoy a road trip around the Cotswolds without going hungry. There may even be a few tasty treats along the way!

BREAKFAST IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE

PEPPERS ORGANIC AND NATURAL CAFÉ AND TAKEAWAY
Bull Lane, Gloucester, GL12HG

A good, hearty breakfast is the only way to start any road trip, and Peppers Organic and Natural Café and Takeaway is the ideal outlet for eating just that. With a wide range of sandwiches and baguettes on their menu, including: hot bacon and brie; sausage and bacon; and smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, your energy for the day will be definitely be gained at Peppers. What’s more, the café uses locally sourced ingredients, so that you can be sure that you’re sampling truly local cuisine. Of course the café also sells a wide range of teas and coffees, ideal for washing down your breakfast and getting hydrated for the day.

SNACKING IN OXFORDSHIRE

BEN’S COOKIES
108-109 Covered Market, Oxford, OX1 3DZ

Part of a global chain, Ben’s Cookies in the Covered Market specializes in large, gourmet cookies – ideal for satisfying that niggling sweet tooth! With the motto ‘Baking with chunks not chips since 1983’, Ben’s Cookies have gotten cookie baking down to a fine art, with a series of both classic and more experimental flavors on their menu. Classic flavors include milk chocolate chunk, white chocolate chunk, and triple chocolate chunk, whilst experimental flavors include coconut, milk chocolate praline, and peanut butter. Retailing at about £1 per cookie, these sweet treats are a little pricey, however the sheer size of these cookies makes them brilliant value for money. Yummy!

LUNCH IN WARWICKSHIRE

THE ROEBUCK INN
57 Smith Street, Warwick, CV34 4HU

Provided that you haven’t eaten all of the cookies from Oxfordshire, you’re probably ready for a more satisfying bite to eat. The Roebuck Inn in Warwick is a quintessential British pub, serving gastro meals that utilize local ingredients. Feature pub grub includes a 6oz Warwickshire beef burger with cheddar cheese and chips, whilst the specials include grilled tuna steak with a new potato salad. Fancy something a little smaller? Try The Roebuck’s thick cut sandwiches, with fillings including baked ham and lettuce, or tiger prawn, tomato mayonnaise and rocket. If you need to wet your whistle too, why not give some real ale a try, such as The Roebuck’s very own Red Ale

AFTERNOON TEA IN WORCESTERSHIRE

CHOCOLATE DELI COFFEE AND PATISSERIE
53 New Street, Worcester, WR1 2DL

Stuffed with pub grub but reckon you can squeeze in a dessert? Give Worcester’s Chocolate Deli a try. Primarily a chocolatier, Chocolate Deli also serves a wide selection of super-sweet tray bakes, cakes and biscuits to their valued patrons. Coffee and tea join the baked goods on the menu, whilst their neighbouring chocolate shop sells a wide selection of handmade truffles and artisan chocolates – an ideal souvenir of your experience!

DINNER IN WILTSHIRE

THE BISTRO AT VAUGHAN’S KITCHEN
7 Little Brittox, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1AR

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, The Bistro at Vaughan’s Kitchen is a quaint and cozy restaurant in the market town of Devizes. With chef Peter Vaughan leading in the kitchen, it is guaranteed that you will enjoy a tasty, flavorsome meal in beautiful bistro surroundings. Key menu items include salt cod brandade fritters with lemon mayonnaise, slow cooked provencal pork with ragout of butter beans, and crushed lavender meringues with Chantilly and summer fruits. The Bistro also hosts themed food nights, such as their upcoming ‘A Journey to Jerusalem’ night, which will include classic meals from the Jerusalem and Israel area. Peter also runs a cookery school alongside The Bistro, so that you pop along and learn all of the necessary techniques and recipes to recreate the menu at home!

SUPPER IN SOMERSET

MATT’S KITCHEN
51 High Street, Bruton, Somerset, BA10 0AW

Matt’s Kitchen is apparently ‘…in Matt’s house. And it isn’t very big’. As such, booking is essential for this supper hotspot, which operates a bring-your-own-booze policy and a different menu daily. The chefs at Matt’s Kitchen publish their weekly supper menus online, but openly state that the planned menus are open to change. As the website says: ‘Here’s what we’re planning to cook for you this week. But if we find something more fabulous and fresh we may well serve that instead.’ To give you an idea though, their November 27, 2013 menu consists of baked catch of the day in lime, ginger, garlic and cardamom, with tomato salsa. This will be served with crushed apache potatoes with mint, butter and super-fresh greens, plus a might garlic aioli. So if you want to enjoy a spontaneous and intricate supper in homely surroundings, Matt’s Kitchen is very much the place to be.

The Cotswolds boasts a highly interesting food scene that embraces food from not only the locality, but across the globe. We hope that you have enjoyed your foodie trip across the ‘wolds and that your taste buds have been tantalized by what is on offer!