Restaurant in Kineton, United Kingdom
Honest Cotswolds pub cooking, Michelin recognised.
A Michelin Plate-recognised 17th-century stone inn in Gloucestershire delivering honest British pub cooking — pies, steaks, Sunday roasts, and classic puddings — at the ££ price point. With a 4.6 Google rating from 534 reviews and bedrooms available for overnight stays, it's the most practical Cotswolds pub booking for groups and explorers who want quality without formality.
At the ££ price point, Halfway at Kineton delivers something increasingly rare in the Cotswolds: a 17th-century stone inn with Michelin Plate recognition (2025) that hasn't traded its pub identity for fine-dining pretension. If you want pies, locally reared steaks, Sunday roasts, and proper puddings in a room with a fireplace and exposed timber beams, this is the right booking. If you want tasting menus or modern technique, look elsewhere.
The Google rating sits at 4.6 from 534 reviews, which for a rural Gloucestershire pub is a meaningful signal — that volume of reviews at that score reflects consistent, repeat-worthy cooking rather than a one-visit novelty. For food and travel enthusiasts exploring the Cotswolds, it belongs on the shortlist alongside the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton and the Hand and Flowers in Marlow as the kind of British pub-restaurant that Michelin recognises precisely because it does what it does without compromise.
The physical character of Halfway at Kineton is its strongest asset for group and private dining. A 17th-century mellow stone inn in Guiting Power brings with it the layout that most purpose-built private dining rooms fail to replicate: low ceilings, a working fireplace, exposed timber, and the kind of proportions that make a table of six feel like a gathering rather than a restaurant booking. The room is inherently intimate at scale, which matters if you're planning a celebratory dinner, a family lunch, or a country weekend with friends.
For groups, this spatial character does most of the work. The fireplace anchors the room in cooler months — autumn and winter bookings here have a clear advantage over summer, when the same setting can feel less of a draw. If your group is weighing a Cotswolds pub dinner, the architectural fabric of Halfway at Kineton is a genuine differentiator against newer or more converted competition.
Bedrooms are available for those who want to stay over and explore the area, which makes it a practical base for a longer Cotswolds trip. That stay-and-dine combination is harder to find at this price point in the region without stepping up to hotel-restaurant properties that cost considerably more per night.
The menu runs to the reliable British pub canon: pies, fish and chips, steaks from locally reared sources, and a Sunday roast. Desserts follow classic recipes , steamed puddings, crumbles , with modernised execution rather than reinvention. The Michelin Plate recognition signals that the cooking is technically sound and consistent, not that it's pushing boundaries. That's the point. This is food that rewards groups who want to eat well without navigating a format.
For solo diners, the counter or bar-adjacent seating at a pub of this type is typically comfortable for a single cover, and the traditional menu format , individual dishes, no set tasting length , suits someone eating alone without the pressure of a multi-course commitment.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. For weekday lunches and midweek dinners, a few days' notice should be sufficient. Weekend bookings , particularly Sunday lunch, where the roast is the draw , warrant booking at least one to two weeks out, especially during the Cotswolds high season (spring and summer) when visitor traffic in Gloucestershire villages rises sharply. The address is Guiting Power, Cheltenham GL54 5UG; arriving by car is the practical choice given the rural location.
Groups planning a private or semi-private dinner should contact the venue directly to confirm room availability and any group-size requirements. No specific private dining capacity data is available in Pearl's records, but the inn format typically accommodates groups of 8–16 comfortably in a dedicated or semi-separated space.
| Venue | Price | Michelin | Booking Ease | Bedrooms | Leading For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfway at Kineton | ££ | Plate 2025 | Easy | Yes | Groups, pub dining, Cotswolds stays |
| Hand and Flowers, Marlow | £££ | Two Stars | Hard | Yes | Special occasions, serious food |
| Pipe and Glass, South Dalton | £££ | One Star | Moderate | Yes | Rural fine dining, Yorkshire |
| hide and fox, Saltwood | £££ | One Star | Moderate | No | Modern British, Kent |
Explore more options in our full Kineton restaurants guide, or browse Kineton hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences.
Yes. The traditional pub format , individual dishes, no tasting menu commitment , suits solo diners well. At ££, you can eat a full meal without the spend of a multi-course format. The fireplace-anchored room is comfortable rather than isolating for a single cover.
The inn format and room character make it a practical group booking. The 17th-century space with fireplace and timber beams suits gatherings of 6–16. Contact the venue directly about private or semi-private arrangements; no confirmed capacity data is in Pearl's records, but the physical layout supports group dining well.
For Michelin-recognised British pub cooking at a similar price point, the Pipe and Glass in South Dalton is the closest comparison nationally, though it's a different region. For Cotswolds-adjacent options at a higher spend, Gidleigh Park in Chagford steps up in formality and price. See our full Kineton guide for local alternatives.
Weekdays: a few days is enough. Weekend lunches and Sunday roasts: one to two weeks minimum, more during Cotswolds high season (April–September). Booking difficulty is rated Easy overall, but Sunday lunch specifically fills faster than the rating implies.
There is no tasting menu here. The menu runs to pub classics , pies, steaks, fish and chips, Sunday roast, classic puddings. That's by design. If you want a tasting menu format in the region, Midsummer House in Cambridge or Opheem in Birmingham are closer options for that format.
At ££ with a Michelin Plate (2025) and a 4.6 Google rating from 534 reviews, yes. You are getting Michelin-recognised cooking at pub prices in a genuinely characterful room. The value case is strong, particularly for groups and overnight stays where the cost-per-experience is lower than comparable Cotswolds properties.
For a relaxed, informal celebration , birthday lunch, family gathering, anniversary dinner in the country , yes. The fireplace, stone inn setting, and reliable cooking make it work. For a formal or high-ceremony occasion where service polish and menu complexity matter, step up to The Waterside Inn in Bray or L'Enclume in Cartmel instead.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halfway at Kineton | In a tranquil Gloucestershire village sits this 17th-century mellow stone inn, which offers a warm welcome and plenty of rustic charm, from its fireplace to its exposed timber. The appealing menu of hearty, well-cooked dishes is likely to include pies, fish & chips and a choice of locally reared steaks from the grill – plus a roast on Sundays. For desserts, expect modernised versions of classic recipes like steamed puddings and crumbles. Cosy bedrooms are also available if you want to explore the area.; Michelin Plate (2025); In a tranquil Gloucestershire village sits this 17th-century mellow stone inn, which offers a warm welcome and plenty of rustic charm, from its fireplace to its exposed timber. The appealing menu of hearty, well-cooked dishes is likely to include pies, fish & chips and a choice of locally reared steaks from the grill – plus a roast on Sundays. For desserts, expect modernised versions of classic recipes like steamed puddings and crumbles. Cosy bedrooms are also available if you want to explore the area. | ££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ££££ | — |
A quick look at how Halfway at Kineton measures up.
Yes, a traditional inn format suits solo diners well — there is no omakase-style minimum spend or group expectation. At ££ per head with Michelin Plate recognition, it is a low-pressure option for a solo lunch or midweek dinner in the Cotswolds. The fireplace and bar setting make it more comfortable for solo visitors than a formal restaurant would be.
A 17th-century stone inn with a rustic, multi-room layout is well suited to groups, particularly for Sunday roasts or private gatherings. For larger parties, call ahead — the venue has overnight rooms too, making it a practical base for group trips into the Gloucestershire countryside. Midweek bookings for groups are easiest to secure.
Guiting Power and the surrounding Cotswolds villages have a cluster of well-regarded traditional inns, so alternatives are nearby rather than in Kineton itself. If you want a step up in formality or a broader wine focus, look to Cheltenham's dining options. For a comparable Michelin-recognised village pub experience in Gloucestershire, the broader Cotswolds circuit is your best hunting ground.
For weekday lunches and midweek dinners, a few days' notice is usually enough. Sunday roasts and weekend evenings — particularly in peak Cotswolds season — warrant booking one to two weeks ahead. The venue holds Michelin Plate status for 2025, which draws visitors from outside the village, so do not leave Sunday booking to the last minute.
Halfway at Kineton does not operate a tasting menu format. The menu runs to pub classics: pies, fish and chips, locally sourced steaks, Sunday roast, and classic British desserts. If a structured tasting menu is what you are after, this is the wrong venue — but if honest, well-executed British cooking at ££ is the brief, the format fits.
At ££ per head with a Michelin Plate for 2025, it delivers above what the price suggests. Michelin Plate recognition means the inspectors found cooking that merits attention, even without a star — and in a 17th-century Gloucestershire inn, that combination of setting and quality at this price point is hard to replicate. For Cotswolds dining, it represents good value.
It works well for low-key celebrations — anniversaries, birthdays, or a treat weekend away — where the charm of a historic stone inn matters as much as the food. The cosy bedrooms make an overnight stay a practical option, which adds to the occasion. It is not the right call if you want a formal, multi-course fine dining experience; for that, Cheltenham or further afield would serve better.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
