I suppose it’s just the making of a well-functioning economy, but no one seems to spend any money for the first six weeks or so of the year, every year.
Whether that’s because it’s too cold to go out, or because the general public have parted with all their cash during Christmas, either way it’s a fact restaurants are all too aware of.
And so exists the set menu lunch, one of the primary tools hospitality uses to put a little more wind in its sails throughout January and February.
Trouble is, the best deals always seem to be the hardest to find. Let that now be less the case, as I’ve come up with a list of good (either on authority or from my own judgement) independent restaurants in Somerset offering up remarkably budget-friendly options for eating out. If, in most cases, you don’t mind venturing out for lunch and if, in most cases, you don’t mind forgoing one of the traditional three courses.
Need it be said, extra spend is not expected but encouraged – particularly as you’re getting a good deal already, and particularly as local independent restaurants tend to operate on wafer-thin margins as it is.
Alfredo’s
“Italian food with a pinch of Somerset” is how they do things at Alfredo’s (comparisons with the pizza place of the same name in The Office may end here). Although their £18pp lunch menu has now snuck off the list of options — a true sign of the times — the good people of Somerton and beyond can still get a couple courses and a glass of wine without breaking into £30 territory.
alfredos.uk
28 Market Pl, Somerton TA11 7NB
Castle Farm
Two years ago I made the claim Castle Farm puts on the best Sunday roast in Somerset. I’d submit to you that that’s still true, and these days at the not at all pricely sum of £23 per head. Only trouble is if you want a table, then you probably should have booked it three months ago. Failing that, keep an eye out for cancellations.
castlefarmmidford.co.uk
Midford Rd, Bath, BA2 7PU
Corkage
Although wine is typically the main attraction at Corkage, the food is far from an afterthought (see for example THIS goat’s cheese croquette with watercress vinaigrette, or THIS ox cheek with charred French onion sauce), as what they serve leans quite heavily into seasonality, what’s local and good, and the noble practice of ‘less-but-better.’
With that in mind, a Friday set lunch comes in at two courses and a glass of wine or three courses and a glass of wine for £20 and £25 respectively. For which you’d do well to book ahead.
corkagebath.com
5 Chapel Row, Bath BA1 1HN
Chez Dominique
A little down the road, and just off Pulteney Bridge, is Chez Dominique. Don’t let the name fool you too much – ‘French’ is only a part of the theme, and ‘European’ might be a more appropriate descriptor (as much room is given to dishes like chorizo and chickpea stew and squash tagliatelle as it is to onglet steak with Cafe de Paris butter and pomme frites).
Whatever the case, go for lunch and you will have the option of three courses for a very reasonable £25.1
chezdominique.co.uk
15 Argyle St, BATH, BA2 4BQ
The Clockspire
If you are of a prim-plated, formal-serviced, and white table-clothed persuasion, then The Clockspire is more than likely your bag. The kitchen has a well-established network of local and semi-local producers (e.g. Creedy Carver, Barbers, Westcombe, Cornish day boats), served in an impressively-restored 19th century schoolhouse, the likes of which – with massive chandeliers and timber rafters – they don’t make any more.
For £28, you can have two courses from a menu of such things as cured bream with forced rhubarb and pine emulsion, or ginger parkin (which, again, no one makes anymore) with marigold and creme fraiche. Bear in mind this applies to Wednesday and Thursday lunch and dinner, and Friday and Saturday lunches only.
theclockspire.com
Gainsborough, Milborne Port, Sherborne DT9 5BA
The Newt Garden Cafe
It might cost you £20 to get into the grounds without a membership, but on one technicality or another, eating at The Newt’s Garden Cafe can still save you money.
The cafe, like the rest of the estate, is farm-to-table at its core. In other words, whatever’s growing in the garden is whatever’s on the menu. The aesthetic is on the lines of ‘museum canteen’, but with objects of ruralcore like pickled veg from the kitchen garden out front. Not to mention there’s a bloody great tree trunk through the middle of it.
As for lunch itself, the very modest and vegetable-driven set menu – featuring items such as coal-baked turnip with charred leeks, estate greens, and carlin peas and a barbequed January King cabbage with field mushrooms and chicken sauce – weighs in at £28 for two courses.
thenewtinsomerset.com
A359, Hadspen, Castle Cary BA7 7NG
The Pig – near Bath
The doctrine at The Pig is ‘simple but done well.’ Given that they produce a lot of it themselves (from their kitchen garden, livestock, or otherwise as much within 25 miles as possible) I’d argue any ease and simplicity is in the method, not necessarily the execution.
Anywho, if you don’t mind spending £28.50 on a menu of two courses that includes such items as Wiltshire truffle risotto and cured coppa and mushroom salad — and in the surrounds of a Georgian house — then consider The Pig a good bet indeed.
thepighotel.com
Hunstrete House, Hunstrete, Pensford, Bath BS39 4NS
The Pony
These days, Josh Eggleton’s gastro-empire extends to six brands, and the region is all the better for it. The Pony is its nucleus, sporting a prolific kitchen garden, a cookery school, and of course the restaurant itself, which kicked off Eggleton’s culinary entrepreneurship 20 years ago.
The Pony also happens to be one of the best-value lunches in Somerset, at £28 for three courses. Include as it might the salt-baked celeriac with King Oyster mushroom, crown prince squash and winter pesto; and the rhubarb and apple crumble with custard.
theponychewvalley.co.uk
Moorledge Road, Newtown, Chew Magna, Bristol BS40 8TQ
See also: The fresh pasta at Solina in Bath; the £30 set menu at HOLM in South Petherton; two courses for £30 at Ilminster pub The Barrington Boar; and virtually anything at Frome’s Station Approach.
At least until 30th January 2026
Nice list of places to try, thank you.