Places to eat in Cirencester

We couldn’t start our Cirencester eating out guide anywhere else than The Bell at Sapperton. It’s a delightful gastropub around six miles from the town centre that could’ve easily made it into our pick of the best pubs in Cirencester. Instead, we listed as one of the best restaurants thanks to its multi-award-winning food menu, consisting of British classics like haddock and chips and more cosmopolitan dishes like crab linguini. It’s a proper country pub, complete with traditional decor and free ‘horse parking.’ If you’re planning a walk around the Cotswolds, this a great place to reward yourself with some good grub afterwards.

Located just a short walk from our Cirencester hotel on Sheep Street is Tierra and Mar, a superb Spanish restaurant serving up some of the best tapas in the area. We love tapas as it means you can sample more of the restaurant’s food within one visit. If you agree, and fancy pushing the boat out, then you may want to try their 7-course tasting menu which costs less than £50 per person.

For the best curry in Cirencester, the locals would suggest you head to Sultan on Dyer Street just off Market Place. Almost everyone who visits mentions the excellent service, pleasant atmosphere, and delicious food. The menu consists of classics like bhuna, rogan josh and jalfrezi, as well as some of the chef’s specialities like Murgh Madhu and Seafood Shomahar.

Traditional Thai restaurants can be hard to come by, with many of them offering a watered-down menu to please the palates of those who visit. The same can’t be said for Thai Emerald, who stick to their roots and serve up some of the most delicious Asian flavours in their four restaurants around Gloucestershire. Their menu can be quite daunting, but all dishes are ranked in terms of spice and have English descriptions so you can pick out something you fancy. If you’re really stuck, simply ask one of the knowledgeable serving staff, who will be happy to make a recommendation.

Our world tour of food in Cirencester concludes at the best Italian in the area, Piazza Fontana. Pizza, pasta, seafood, wine and tiramisu: You can get it all here, and it’s all fantastic. If the weather is nice, try and get a seat in their conservatory area. If not, the cosy dining room still makes for a lovely atmosphere.

If you’re looking for a nice sit-down lunch in Cirencester, MADE BY BOB on the pedestrianised Market Place is the place to go. Whether it’s a salad and soup or something heartier like a flat iron steak that you fancy, you can trust that it will be one of the best you have tasted. Don’t just take our word for it: The Michelin Guide are big fans of the bistro and have awarded it a ‘Bib Gourmand,’ which means it offers ‘exceptionally good food at moderate prices’.

If your idea of a good cafe is a great full English breakfast or a selection of delicious cakes, then Cafe Mosaic will be right up your street. It is, in fact, right up Dyer Street and tucked away in the quaint Wool Market shopping centre.

Coffee connoisseurs will love Rave Coffee on Love Lane Industrial Estate. They are importers and roasters of the finest quality coffee beans who distribute their single-origin and blends around the UK from their warehouse, where they also have a small coffee shop. You can choose from 10 other types of coffee and enjoy a slice of home-baked cake or a sweet treat to go with it.

It’s not often you can say a fish and chip shop has the best decor in the area, but Malt & Anchor certainly makes a strong case in Cirencester. They’ve cleaned up at the national fish and chip awards over the past few years, and it’s easy to see why. The fish is stunning, so too the interior, and we don’t know what they do to their chips but they should definitely keep doing it. Find it on Castle Street near Home Park.