With its rolling hills, chocolate box stone villages and winding lanes, the Cotswolds is one of England’s great rural escapes. It’s a place to stroll through market squares, ramble along footpaths and, crucially, stop halfway for a truly British pub lunch or dinner.
From age-old coaching inns to sophisticated country gastropubs, here’s a guide to some of the very best pubs for food in the Cotswolds.
The Horse and Groom, Bourton-on-the-Hill
Overlooking Moreton-in-Marsh and the beautiful Evenlode Valley, the Horse and Groom is a stunning Grade II-listed roadside inn owned by the nearby Donnington Brewery and affectionately known by locals as “the pub on the hill.” It has become something of a pilgrimage stop, thanks to cooking that sits squarely in comforting yet well-executed pub territory.
The menu features starters such as carrot soup with sourdough, Donnington-braised onion and cheddar tart, prawn cocktail or roasted beetroot with goat’s cheese, before leading into hearty mains including beer-battered haddock with Koffmann chips, slow-cooked beef cottage pie, Cotswold game ragout with homemade fettuccine and a reliably tempting dish of the day. The grill showcases well-sourced meats from Paddock Farm in Lower Brailes, while classic pies, sausages and soufflés reinforce its reputation for food that rewards a pint first and decisions later. Sundays are particularly revered, with roasts people plan weekends around, but impromptu midweek visits are just as appealing for anyone seeking honest, satisfying food overlooking the Cotswold countryside.
The Woolpack, Slad Valley (near Stroud)
The 300-year-old Woolpack Inn is a timeless country pub, with a cosy bar, roaring fires and a vine-covered terrace offering sweeping views across the Cotswolds — the kind of place daydreamt about on a winter walk. Sitting on the edge of the Slad Valley, the pub has been owned since 1999 by local sculptor Daniel Chadwick, who modernised the kitchen in 2015 and appointed head chef Adam Glover.
Rather than leaning on pub-grub clichés, the cooking is seasonal, ingredient-led and driven by exceptional sourcing. Meat arrives from suppliers no more than 14 miles away; fruit and vegetables come from nearby Cirencester; organic and heritage produce is grown at Lypiatt Park; and fish is delivered overnight from day boats in Looe, Cornwall. The concise yet well-judged menu reflects this ethos, moving from starters such as white bean and truffle oil soup or king prawns in garlic butter to mains like pot-roast pork belly with cider gravy, line-caught sea bass with risotto or wild mushroom tortelloni, followed by classic desserts including sticky toffee pudding and apple crumble.
The Stump, Foss Cross
For a pub with a slightly different energy, The Stump does things firmly its own way. Visitors should mind their heads as they step into this old-school institution and settle into what is arguably the buzziest pub in Gloucestershire. Ordering a pint of Deya and one of their legendary pizzas is all it takes to be set, as the food here happily sidesteps forced pub classics in favour of pizza, pasta and smaller plates that work perfectly for groups or anyone not in the mood for another pie.
As the evening rolls on, the music nudges up, the locals’ bar beckons for a nightcap and a game of pool and before long, they’ll find themselves staying for longer than planned. Convenient, too, as a stop on the Northleach–Cirencester line, it’s a place that makes leaving feel like the hardest decision of the night.
The Bull, Charlbury
Charlbury has quietly become a food-literate hub and The Bull is a big part of the reason why. Standing on the corner of Sheep Street since the early 1500s, the pub has remained in the town for centuries, evolving many times while never losing its character.
At heart, it’s still a quintessentially British pub, but the kitchen now centres on open-fire cooking, with the sort of menu that naturally pulls you towards dishes improved by flame and smoke. The approach is rooted in close relationships with farmers and growers, with daily conversations shaping a constantly changing menu and vegetables supplied directly from the Bull’s own market garden at Bruern Farms. The result is cooking that feels elemental, featuring oysters and soda bread to start, small plates built around vegetables, fish and offal and main dishes such as pork chop, plaice with green sauce, venison with elderberry or the Bull’s own pie.
The Halfway at Kineton, near Guiting Power
Originally a 17th-century inn, The Halfway at Kineton sits in the peaceful hamlet of Kineton, just a short drive from Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Winchcombe. Taken over in February 2023 by Nathan and Liam, the pub has quickly earned high praise from The Times, The Good Food Guide and Condé Nast’s Best New Restaurant list for 2024, thanks to cooking that focuses on classic British dishes with a strong connection to the local supply chain and the abundance of game on its doorstep.
The menu champions detail-driven pub food that is hearty without being heavy-handed. Starters range from spiced cauliflower soup and chicken liver parfait to a standout pork scotch egg, while mains include beer-battered haddock with proper chips, thyme-roasted chicken with truffle gratin, whole baked sole and carefully sourced steaks and chops from trusted local farms. Vegetarians are equally well served, with the mushroom and celeriac pie rightly namechecked as a house favourite and Sunday lunches becoming a must-try too.
The Bell at Langford
Peter Creed and Tom Noest, born and bred Cotswold gents, reopened the doors of The Bell at Langford in December 2017, breathing new life into a much-loved local with a modern country pub feel. It’s a place that understands the classics but isn’t afraid to nudge them forward, pairing hearty British cooking with a subtle wood-fired influence and a drinks list where both wine and beer are taken seriously.
The menu balances comfort and craft. Snacks and starters might include fried peppers, devilled kidneys on toast or French onion soup with Gruyère, while pizzas range from simple tomato and basil to anchovy, capers and black olives. Classics such as cheeseburgers with pickles and fries, battered fish and chips and calves’ liver with mash sit alongside more ambitious mains like roast onion tart with bitter leaves and Stilton, wood-fired hake with celeriac and bacon or venison with beetroot and horseradish.
These pubs reflect the Cotswolds at its most appealing, where the British pub remains a place of comfort and continuity, shaped as much by atmosphere and habit as by what’s on the plate.
