The sleepy village of Chilcompton has had a culinary reawakening, thanks to the arrival of this unsuspecting roadside inn. All is fresh and new: find a sturdy blue bar with chunky wooden stools; board games, vintage signs and taxidermy; long benches, fresh flowers, grey cushions. There are over 100 gins behind the bar, and a good selection of local hand-pumped ales. Tuck into hearty fare from head chef Leon’s seasonal menu – sausage rolls and ploughman’s with homemade bread at lunch, slow braised brisket, caramelised onions and mash for dinner – or go all-out and choose something special from the à la carte menu: perhaps monkfish rolled in squid ink with clam velouté, fennel, and seaweed, followed by lemon meringue, tea sorbet, filo pastry. The roasts are cracking, too. Upstairs, seven stylish, spacious bedrooms gleam; all have spotless en suite bathrooms with drenching showers and Bramley smellies. Tuck into a continental breakfast before a skip around the Mendips. You’re just a short drive from Bristol and Bath.
Absolutely beautiful stay, Made friends for life, family ties means we will be staying at the Redan every time we come down, couldn’t give it enough praise