Talbot Inn

“Very simply, what’s important to us is making sure everyone who comes through our doors has a great time. This is, for us, at the heart of what an English country pub is all about. Of course food and drink needs to be excellent, local, and delicious but it is the overall experience of being genuinely hospitable that is most important, and having our staff espouse this every day is what we are most passionate about. We use seasonal produce because it is obvious to do so and source locally, not only because of our great produce, but also because it connects us with our locality.”

Crispy lamb sweetbreads with pickled Bromham beetroot, broad beans, and garlic pesto; Somerset-cider-battered fish and chips with mushy peas, and tartare sauce; and rhubarb (from the Inn’s walled garden) parfait with crème patissière, gingerbread, and rhubarb sorbet.

We had a wonderful night here quite early in the new life recently granted to this ancient inn. We ate and drank and wobbled around, met great people, talked of food and wine and the countryside, and passed out quietly in a corner, dreaming of the happier world this magical hostelry transports us back to. England is covered with coaching inns like this, whose glory days were once thought behind them. But thanks to a new generation of hosts – like Dan, Matt, and Charlie – they are bringing huge pleasure to thousands of us once again.