Restaurant in Bath, United Kingdom
Bath's only robata grill. Book it.
Robun is Bath's only Michelin Plate-recognised Japanese restaurant, anchoring its menu around a robata grill and excellent sushi at a ££ price point that undercuts the city's other award-recognised venues significantly. For food enthusiasts who want serious Japanese cooking — grilled, raw, or an afternoon tea format — outside Bath's default Modern British offer, this is the clearest booking in the city.
If you're weighing up Bath's Japanese options, the short answer is yes — Robun is the only restaurant in the city delivering robata-centred Japanese cooking at a mid-range price point, and it holds a Michelin Plate (2024) to back that up. The more interesting comparison isn't within Bath but against Olive Tree, which sits at ££££ and operates in a very different register. For the price you're paying at ££, Robun over-delivers on technique and menu breadth. If you're a food enthusiast who wants something outside Bath's default of Modern British, this is your clearest move.
Robun occupies a Georgian terrace address on George Street, and the physical setting matters here. The room reads as carefully considered rather than expansive: the kind of space where seating arrangements and sight lines affect the experience meaningfully. For solo diners or pairs, the counter or smaller tables work well. For groups of four or more, the layout question becomes worth asking about in advance — whether dedicated private or semi-private arrangements are available will determine how well the space fits a special occasion versus a casual dinner. The Michelin inspector notes the restaurant as "skilfully run", which is the kind of language that usually reflects both kitchen consistency and front-of-house organisation, and is worth factoring into expectations for group bookings where service coordination matters more.
The menu is anchored around the robata grill, drawing on the legacy of 19th-century Japanese author Kanagaki Robun, who is credited with introducing barbecued food to Japan and whose name the restaurant takes directly. That's not decorative backstory , it explains the structure of the menu. The robata grill produces the central dishes, while excellent sushi runs alongside it, and the menu is broad enough that a table with mixed preferences (raw versus cooked, light versus more substantial) can find a clear path through. The Michelin description singles out the sushi and a "strikingly presented afternoon tea" as standing apart even within a wide menu. For food enthusiasts, the afternoon tea option is genuinely worth noting: Japanese-inflected afternoon tea in Bath is not a format you'll find elsewhere in the city, and it positions Robun as a venue that rewards more than one visit.
The overall approach is described as "authentic", and the sourcing emphasis on fresh produce is consistent with that. This isn't fusion or a softened-for-Western-palates version of Japanese cooking. Diners who've eaten at serious Japanese restaurants in Tokyo , places like Myojaku or Azabu Kadowaki , will recognise the orientation even if the scale is different. For Bath, it's a genuinely different proposition.
Private dining angle at Robun requires some practical directness: the database doesn't confirm dedicated private room capacity, and the seat count is not disclosed. What the Michelin recognition and the "skilfully run" descriptor do suggest is an operation with the organisational depth to handle group bookings attentively. For groups considering Robun for a special occasion , a birthday, an anniversary, a corporate dinner , the right approach is to contact the restaurant directly to ask about group configurations and whether any separation from the main room is available. At ££ pricing, Robun is significantly more accessible for group dining than Bath's ££££ venues, which is a material advantage when you're splitting a bill across six or eight people. The trade-off versus somewhere like Olive Tree is that Olive Tree has a more established private dining infrastructure, but at nearly double the price tier. For a group that wants quality and a distinctive menu without a ££££ outlay, Robun is the practical call.
Robun holds a Michelin Plate, sits in a city that draws significant tourist and visitor footfall year-round, and operates at a price point that makes it accessible to a wide audience. That combination means demand is higher than the address or price tier might suggest. Booking a week in advance is a reasonable baseline for midweek; for weekends, two weeks is the safer window. Peak Bath periods , Bath in Bloom, the Christmas market in late November and December, and summer weekends when the Roman Baths draw visitors , will tighten availability meaningfully. If you're planning around a specific date, don't leave the reservation until you arrive. The booking difficulty is rated easy overall, but that reflects normal demand patterns rather than peak-season conditions.
At ££, Robun is priced well below the Michelin-recognised Modern Cuisine venues in Bath. Olive Tree operates at ££££ and offers a more formal tasting-menu experience; so does wilks. For a food enthusiast who wants serious cooking without a tasting-menu format or a ££££ spend, Robun fills a gap that nothing else in Bath currently addresses. The Google rating of 3.9 across 519 reviews is lower than you might expect from a Michelin Plate holder , worth being aware of, though Michelin's own assessment and the review volume together suggest that the kitchen performs at a level above what the aggregate score implies. Inconsistency in Google ratings for Japanese restaurants outside major cities often reflects reviewer unfamiliarity with the format rather than execution problems.
If Robun isn't the right fit, Bath has enough options to redirect. For Modern British at a comparable price, Beckford Canteen and Beckford Bottle Shop both deliver quality at ££. Acorn is the city's most serious vegetable-focused option. For French cooking, Chez Dominique is worth a look. If you're spending a few days in the city, our full Bath restaurants guide covers the full range, and you can also browse our Bath hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide. For context on what serious Japanese cooking looks like at the leading end, Myojaku in Tokyo and Azabu Kadowaki are reference points. Elsewhere in England, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Waterside Inn, L'Enclume, Moor Hall, Gidleigh Park, and Hand and Flowers represent the broader picture of what serious dining outside London looks like at different price tiers.
Yes, clearly. At ££, Robun holds a Michelin Plate and delivers robata and sushi cooking that has no direct competitor in Bath at this price tier. You're paying significantly less than you would at Olive Tree or wilks for cooking the Michelin Guide has independently recognised. The value case is strong.
One to two weeks for a midweek table; two weeks minimum for weekends. During Bath's peak periods , the Christmas market (late November and December) and summer weekends , book further out. Availability is generally not difficult to secure, but the combination of Michelin recognition and accessible pricing means it fills faster than the price point implies.
Yes, particularly at the ££ price tier where it sits. The Michelin Plate recognition and the breadth of the menu , robata, sushi, and afternoon tea , give it a special-occasion register without the ££££ outlay of Bath's tasting-menu venues. Contact the restaurant in advance about group or private seating if you're coming with four or more people.
For Modern British at ££, Beckford Canteen and Beckford Bottle Shop are the closest comparisons on price and quality. For a step up in formality and spend, Olive Tree at ££££ is Bath's most recognised Modern Cuisine option. There is no other Japanese restaurant in Bath operating at Robun's level.
Yes. The menu format , individual dishes from the robata and sushi sections , suits solo dining well, and the price tier means a satisfying solo meal doesn't require a large spend. The counter or smaller tables are the right configurations to ask for when booking alone.
The Michelin description does not confirm a formal tasting menu at Robun , the format appears to be an à la carte menu built around robata and sushi, plus a separately available afternoon tea. Confirm the current menu format directly with the restaurant before booking if a set tasting-menu experience is what you're looking for.
The menu's breadth , robata grills, sushi, and afternoon tea , suggests reasonable flexibility across dietary requirements, and Japanese cooking often accommodates pescatarian and gluten-aware diners better than European cuisines. That said, specific dietary accommodation should be confirmed directly with the restaurant before booking, as menu details are not confirmed in the available data.
Bar seating availability is not confirmed in the available data. Given the spatial character of a mid-sized Japanese restaurant on a Georgian terrace, counter seating is plausible, but you should ask when booking. If counter dining is important to you, confirm it at the time of reservation.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robun | ££ | Easy | — |
| The Bath Priory | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| Olive Tree | ££££ | Unknown | — |
| The Chequers | ££ | Unknown | — |
| Oak | ££ | Unknown | — |
| wilks | ££££ | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
The menu is broad enough — sushi, robata, and afternoon tea all featured — that there is reasonable flexibility for pescatarians and those avoiding red meat. The database does not confirm allergy protocols directly, so contact the restaurant before booking if you have specific requirements. The Michelin Plate recognition suggests kitchen discipline that typically extends to dietary accommodations.
Japanese restaurants built around a robata grill and sushi counter tend to suit solo diners well, and Robun's format fits that pattern. At ££, the commitment per head is low enough to make a solo visit feel like a low-stakes decision. If counter or bar seating is available, it's worth requesting when booking.
At ££, yes — clearly. Robun holds a Michelin Plate (2024) and sits at roughly half the price point of the other Michelin-recognised venue in Bath, Olive Tree, which operates at ££££. For robata-centred Japanese cooking with serious sushi alongside it, the value case is straightforward.
Book at least a week in advance, and push that to two weeks for weekends or peak Bath tourist periods. The city draws strong year-round visitor footfall, and Michelin recognition at a ££ price point creates consistent demand. Walk-in availability is unpredictable; don't rely on it.
The database confirms a broad menu rather than a fixed tasting format, with robata grill dishes as the core alongside sushi and afternoon tea. If a set menu option exists, it has not been confirmed here, so order à la carte and anchor on the robata and sushi sections, which are specifically noted for quality.
For Modern British at a similar price, Beckford Canteen is the closest comparable. For a step up in formality and spend, Olive Tree at ££££ offers a structured tasting experience. No other Bath venue currently delivers Japanese robata cooking, so there is no direct category alternative in the city.
Yes, with the right expectations. The Michelin Plate and the notably presented afternoon tea both suggest a kitchen that takes presentation seriously. At ££, it works well for a relaxed celebration or date — it is not a formal occasion venue in the way Olive Tree is, but that lower-pressure format suits most special occasions better anyway.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
