Under the hood of the UK's 'best restaurant' [WFJ #45]

Osip in Bruton is not informed by locality – it is shaped by it

Photo by Maureen Evans

Earlier this year, SquareMeal announced Osip – the pocket-sized farm-to-table restaurant that opened three years ago on Bruton highstreet – as the best place to eat in the UK. 

Having had lunch there myself, I find it difficult to argue. It was the most resounding eating experience I had all year, and remains the most resounding eating experience I’ve had in the area. And that’s coming from someone usually very sceptical of the finer side of dining. Either way, it still surprises me that one of the most technically brilliant meals of my life would not be half way across the world, but an eight-minute train from Frome.  

I ate that five-course lunch more than a year ago, and yet only recently have I cottoned onto what, exactly, made it stand out so much.