During our recent trip to the Cotswolds Ms B and I stopped at the Queen’s Head Inn in Stow-on-the-Wold to grab a quick bite. The pub, located in a beautiful old building on the Square, is owned by the Donnington Brewery, ranked #9 out of 30 Stow restaurants on Tripadvisor, with a Certificate of Excellence thrown in on top for good measure. We ordered fish of the week (£13.95), pan-fried salmon with boiled potatoes in this case, and an 8oz Ribeye Steak with chips (£16). We enjoyed our meals in the yard outside on the back of the building. Both the salmon and the steak were decent, nothing out of the ordinary, but pleasant enough. We loved the old building and the quirky way in which it is decorated inside, including, among others a massive porcelain Queen’s head statue. Service was quick and friendly. Looking for more […]
The Sheep on Sheep Street, Stow-on-the-Wold – Our Hotel Review
Last weekend the Sheep on Sheep Street in Stow-on-the-Wold invited us to check out their newly refurbished hotel, previously called the Grapevine. Innovative, family-owned pub and hotel group Brakspear, who’ve been in the business for over 200 years, clearly have put some thought into this refurbishment exercise. Their own in-house interior-design team came up with a very pleasant, modern, hip and artsy, but not too over-the-top decoration and furniture, with plenty of space, where possible (some of the hallways and staircases will inevitably be a bit less spacious, considering that the hotel is located in a beautiful 17th Century building). Stow, founded in the 11th Century, is one of our favourite locations in the Cotswolds and a great starting point to explore this area of great natural beauty with its mostly 14th to 17th Century villages built from the warm, honey-coloured Cotswold lime stone. The market square of Stow […]
Fig, Chipping Campden – our Restaurant Review
During our visit to the Cotswolds last weekend, Fig restaurant, focused on fine dining and British cuisine, invited me to try their three-course dinner menu. I was joined by Ms B, my wife. The restaurant is part of the lovely boutique hotel Cotswold House and Spa, owned by Bespoke Hotels group, and located in the main building, a splendid Regency mansion that used to be home to the local Guild of Handicraft. Read our review of the hotel here. The dining room has large windows towards the magnificent park-like gardens of the hotel and exudes an atmosphere of grandeur and elegance. The maître d’ led us to our table and after brief deliberation, Ms B opted for hand-picked crab, yuzu, cucumber, and avocado as a starter, roast fillet of turbot, fregola, peas, broad beans, clams and Marsala as her main, and caramelised spelt, milk jelly, coffee ice cream, and honeycomb […]