Restaurant in Kingham, United Kingdom
Organic-driven pub cooking, no fine-dining fuss.
The Wild Rabbit in Kingham is a Michelin Plate (2025) country pub run by the Bamford family, drawing organic produce from the adjacent Daylesford Farm. At £££, it delivers Modern British cooking well above its format, with a 4.5 Google rating from nearly 1,000 reviews. Book two to three weeks ahead for weekends; on-site rooms make it an easy Cotswolds stay.
The Wild Rabbit is the right answer if you want accomplished cooking in a genuine Cotswolds pub setting without the formality or price of a destination fine-dining room. Owned by the Bamford family and sitting a short distance from the Daylesford Farm Shop, it draws directly on organic farm produce and delivers a quality of cooking that earns a Michelin Plate (2025) recognition. With a Google rating of 4.5 across 962 reviews, this is not a place riding on a pretty postcode — it is consistently executing at a level well above what the pub format might suggest. Book it for a long weekend lunch or a stay-over dinner, and plan ahead: this fills up.
Walking into The Wild Rabbit, the visual cue is immediate: this is a Cotswolds inn done properly, not a gastropub approximation of one. The Bamford family's renovation has kept the character of a village local — stone walls, the weight of an old building , while adding enough considered design detail to signal that the cooking is taken seriously. It looks the part from the moment you arrive on Church Street in Kingham, and that first impression holds through the meal.
Chef Sam Bowser runs a kitchen that takes its ingredients from Daylesford Farm, one of the best-known organic farm operations in Britain. That supply chain matters to the food on the plate: the menu is grounded in natural, seasonal flavours rather than technique for its own sake. For a first-timer, this means the food will feel considered and clean rather than showy. Expect dishes that let the produce carry the weight. This is Modern British cooking with a clear, honest throughline , not a kitchen trying to impress with complexity, but one confident enough to let quality ingredients do the work.
The room fills up, and the Michelin recognition means it will continue to do so. Come expecting a lively, warm atmosphere rather than hushed fine-dining reverence. The pub format means tables are sociable and the energy is relaxed. If you are hoping for a quiet, formal occasion with white-glove service, this is the wrong room , but if you want serious food served without ceremony, this is close to the ideal format for that.
The proximity to Daylesford Farm Shop is not incidental. The Bamford family owns both, and the supply relationship underpins the whole kitchen proposition at The Wild Rabbit. For first-timers, it is worth knowing that the organic ingredient quality is not marketing language here , it is the structural logic of the menu. That sourcing advantage puts The Wild Rabbit in a different tier from country pubs working with standard supply chains, and it explains the level of recognition the kitchen has received. If you are building a Cotswolds weekend around food and provenance, pairing a visit to Daylesford Farm Shop with dinner or lunch here makes direct logistical sense.
Wild Rabbit also offers bedrooms, described as luxurious and understated. For anyone travelling from London or further, this is the cleaner option: book a room, arrive without a departure deadline, and use the evening properly. The Cotswolds weekend format suits this venue well , it is not the kind of place you want to rush through on a tight schedule. If you are comparing this against other Cotswolds stays with serious food, the combination of Michelin-recognised cooking and on-site accommodation at the £££ price point is a strong proposition. See our full Kingham hotels guide for alternative accommodation options in the area.
Booking difficulty sits at moderate, but given the Michelin Plate status, consistently high Google scores, and a venue that is described as constantly packed, treat it as harder than that on peak weekends. Book at least two to three weeks out for weekend tables; prime Saturday evenings will go faster. Midweek lunch is the path of least resistance if your dates are flexible. No booking method is confirmed in our data, so check the venue directly.
The Wild Rabbit sits at £££ in a comparison set that is dominated by London-based ££££ Modern British rooms. Against CORE by Clare Smyth or The Ritz Restaurant, the gap in price is significant, and the gap in formality is equally wide. The Wild Rabbit is the right choice if you want Michelin-recognised quality in a relaxed country pub format rather than a structured fine-dining progression. You are trading tasting-menu architecture for comfort and setting, and for many diners that is a good trade at the price.
For other high-quality British cooking outside London, The Hand and Flowers in Marlow is the closest conceptual peer , a pub format with serious culinary recognition. The Hand and Flowers holds two Michelin stars, so it has the edge in formal recognition and cooking ambition, but it is also harder to book and operates at a higher price. The Wild Rabbit is the better entry point if you are new to this category or want a less pressured version of the same proposition. For the full regional picture, see our full Kingham restaurants guide.
If a full rural escape with destination-level cooking is the goal and budget is less of a consideration, Moor Hall in Aughton or L'Enclume in Cartmel set a higher bar technically. But neither offers the easy Cotswolds weekend logic that The Wild Rabbit does, and neither matches its combination of relaxed format and consistent organic sourcing at the £££ tier. For the Cotswolds specifically, The Wild Rabbit is the most coherent answer in this category.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The Wild Rabbit | £££ | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | ££££ | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | ££££ | — |
| The Ledbury | ££££ | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | ££££ | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | ££££ | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Bar seating is not confirmed in available venue details, but The Wild Rabbit operates as a working pub, so counter or informal seating is plausible for drinks and lighter options. To be safe, call ahead if you want to eat without a full table reservation. At £££ pricing, a table booking gives you the full kitchen proposition backed by Michelin Plate recognition.
The draw is the Daylesford connection: the Bamford family owns both the pub and the nearby Daylesford Farm Shop, so the organic ingredients on your plate come from their own supply chain. Chef Sam Bowser cooks Modern British at £££ — generous for a pub, but pitched well below destination-restaurant pricing. It fills consistently, so walk-ins are a gamble.
Book at least two to three weeks ahead for weekends; the venue is described as constantly packed and carries a Michelin Plate (2025), which keeps demand high. Weekday lunch is your best bet for shorter notice. If you're travelling from London or beyond, securing a bedroom at the same time removes any timing pressure.
Yes, particularly if the occasion suits a relaxed pub atmosphere rather than a formal dining room. The combination of Michelin Plate cooking, Daylesford organic sourcing, and the option to stay overnight makes it a natural fit for a low-key anniversary or birthday trip. For white-tablecloth formality, look elsewhere; for a genuinely comfortable Cotswolds setting with accomplished food, it delivers.
At £££, it sits comfortably below the ££££ London Modern British rooms it competes with on quality perception, which is the core of its value case. The Michelin Plate (2025) confirms the kitchen is cooking at a serious level, and the Daylesford organic sourcing justifies pricing that might otherwise feel high for a pub. If you want comparable cooking in a country setting without London prices, it is a strong choice.
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