Bath Restaurants

The glorious weather has turned Bath into an alfresco hotspot: pavement tables along the full stretch of the George Street ‘strip’ have reached ‘Bath’s Most Wanted’ status, and the terraces outside of Market and the Garrick’s Head (Sawclose/St Johns Place) have been packed to capacity from morning coffee until way past the glorious pink, crimson and gold-tinged Eyjafjallajökull sunsets. But if the ‘Standing Room Only’ crush isn’t quite your glass of chardonnay, The Pig suggests that you follow our lead and shuffle slightly off the beaten track.

The sun shines on Bistro La Barrique’s back garden until around 7pm, but big stone walls retain the heat until much later on, encouraging the lavender bushes to waft that evocative scent around. Just up the road, not a lot of people know that the bar of the Francis Hotel on Queens Square has a lovely little (outback) patio attached; ignore the fact that there’s a car park just beyond the back gate, and you could be in a French Riviera hideaway. If you’re looking for luxe, don your Manolos and hotfoot it along to the Old Q Bar at the Queensberry Hotel on Russel Street – the garden is looking gorgeous.

Lunchtime/light bite options include grabbing a bagged snack from the Sausage Shop or the Whole Bagel (both on Upper Borough Walls) before taking a shortcut through the Podium Shopping Centre, exiting the back doors and turning right…right onto a very peaceful stretch of riverbank. Or, cruise the ready-to-roll nibble options available at the Guildhall Market (Deli Shush in particular) and create an on-the-hoof, bespoke picnic to be enjoyed on the nearby weir. Up on Bear Flat, the Bear’s beer garden features a calm, urban oasis outback, while the Da Vinci Italian Deli can provide you with the kind of stylish sustenance you’ll need if you make it further up the hill to Alexandra Park. Take the trek and you’ll be richly rewarded by the ultimate cityscape: a map of Bath in glorious 3D, from the hubbub of the station in miniature to the surrounding vista of the city’s lush landscape. Your impromptu table awaits, but don’t forget the sunscreen (or perhaps a parasol; the sunsets may be amazing, but a sprinkling of volcanic ash is never a good look…).