The very best restaurants and dining experiences in the South West have been shortlisted for a prestigious awards ceremony – and you can have your say now about which ones are your favourites.
The Trencherman’s Guide celebrates the best of food and drink in Bristol, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and beyond, awarding the best restaurants, pubs, hotels, and chefs in the region, as well as celebrating creativity and innovation.
The Trencherman’s Guide has been lauded by celebrity chef Rick Stein himself, who won the Trencherman’s Special Contribution Award in 2021, and described it as a “guide with teeth”, owing to the strict criteria restauranteurs must meet in order to be included.
Ahead of this year’s glittering awards ceremony in March, which will be held at the Homewood Country House Hotel in Bath complete with a champagne reception and a multi-course supper, a shortlist has now been released including eight categories such as Best Restaurant, Best Pub, Best Chef, and Best Newcomer.
The shortlist for each awards category contains the top 10 contenders from around the South West – with restaurants like BANK Bristol, OSIP in Bruton, Somerset, and Barnaby’s in Padstow, Cornwall, each being nominated in three categories.
Other popular dining establishments at this year’s awards include Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, in Padstow, which has been shortlisted for Best Restaurant and Best Chef.
And modern British restaurant PURO, in Clevedon, Somerset, is also in the running for two accolades – the Award for Creativity and Innovation, and a Best Chef nomination for chef Tommy Thorn, who became Head Chef at the restaurant after making it to the finals of MasterChef: The Professionals on BBC1 in 2023.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the Best Pub, Cornwall takes the lead, with four nominations in this category – The Gurnard’s Head in Zennor, Harbour House in Flushing, The Rising Sun in Truro, and The Tartan Fox in Newquay.
However, Somerset comes out ahead in the Best Bar List category, with Corkage and Flute, both in Bath, shortlisted for this award, as well as Roth Bar in Bruton, and The Queen’s Arms in Corton Denham, near Yeovil.
The full shortlist for The Trencherman’s Awards 2025 is below, and you can vote for your favourites until 11pm on January 22, by visiting this website.
Best Trencherman’s Restaurant
- BANK, Bristol
- Barnaby’s, Padstow
- Bybrook, Castle Combe
- The Clockspire, Sherborne
- Gather, Totnes
- Kota, Porthleven
- The Olive Tree Restaurant, Bath
- OSIP, Bruton
- Paul Ainsworth at No6, Padstow
- Yak Yeti Yak, Bath
Best Trencherman’s Chef
- Paul Ainsworth, No6, Padstow
- Jack Briggs-Horan, BANK, Bristol
- Adam Handling, Ugly Butterfly, St Ives
- Dorian Janmaat, Ardor, St Ives
- Carla Jones, The Idle Rocks, St Mawes
- Isabel Joscelyne, Prawn on the Lawn, Padstow
- Ayesha Kalaji, Queen of Cups, Glastonbury
- Merlin Labron-Johnson, OSIP, Bruton
- Eddie Thomson, Barnaby’s, Padstow
- Tommy Thorn, Puro, Clevedon
Best Trencherman’s Pub
- The Barrington Boar, Ilminster
- Bearslake Inn, Dartmoor
- The Chagford Inn, Dartmoor
- Chequers, Bath
- The Gurnard’s Head, Zennor
- Harbour House, Flushing
- The Rising Sun, Truro
- The Sheppey Inn, Lower Godney
- The Tartan Fox, Newquay
- The Woolpack Inn, Slad
Best Trencherman’s Hotel
- Bovey Castle, Dartmoor
- The Headland Hotel, Newquay
- Hotel Endsleigh, Dartmoor
- Lympstone Manor, South Devon
- The Manor House, Castle Combe
- Mill End Hotel, Chagford
- The Priory Hotel, Wareham
- The Queensberry Hotel, Bath
- St Michaels Resort, Falmouth
- Tewkesbury Park, Gloucestershire
Best Bar List
- Bovey Castle, Dartmoor
- The Castle Inn, Castle Combe
- Circa, Totnes
- Corkage, Bath
- The Farm Table, Topsham
- Flute, Bath
- Hive Beach Cafe, Burton Bradstock
- The Queen’s Arms, Corton Denham
- Roth Bar, Bruton
- Sign of the Angel, Lacock
Best Front of House Team
- The Alverton Hotel, Truro
- The Bunch of Grapes, Bradford-on-Avon
- The Clockspire, Sherborne
- The Farm Table, Topsham
- Hooked on the Rocks, Falmouth
- Iford Manor Kitchen, near Bath
- Number Eight, Bideford
- Salumi Bar & Eatery, Plymouth
- The Seaside Boarding House, Burton Bradstock
- The Sheppey Inn, Lower Godney
Award for Creativity and Innovation
- Àclèaf, near Plymouth
- The Angel, Dartmouth
- Ardor, St Ives
- Circa, Totnes
- Ogo at Bedruthan, Mawgan Porth
- OSIP, Bruton
- Puro by Tommy Thorn, Clevedon
- The Queen’s Arms, Corton Denham
- Reef Knot Restaurant at The Idle Rocks, St Mawes
- Robun, Bath
Best Trencherman’s Newcomer
- Ardor, St Ives
- BANK, Bristol
- Barnaby’s, Padstow
- The Chagford Inn, Dartmoor
- The Farm Table, Topsham
- Harbour House, Flushing
- Hotel Tresanton, St Mawes
- Iford Manor Kitchen, near Bath
- Roth Bar, Bruton
- The Woolpack Inn, Slad