All eyes on… the North Cotswolds
The North Cotswolds may be famous for honey-coloured villages, rolling countryside and impossibly pretty market towns, but there’s plenty happening here beyond the postcard views. From historic coaching inns and beautifully restored pubs to artisan sourdough, destination dining and open-fire cooking in a field, this corner of the Cotswolds has a food scene with real personality.
For the latest instalment of The Knife’s 'A Spotlight On…' location series, we head around Moreton-in-Marsh and its surrounding countryside to discover five places worth knowing – each offering a very different taste of the North Cotswolds right now.
The White Hart Royal
Right in the heart of Moreton-in-Marsh, The White Hart Royal brings together two things the Cotswolds does particularly well: serious history and an inviting place to eat, drink and stay. The building began life as a 17th-century coaching inn – although parts of its preserved wattle-and-daub structure date back even further – and famously hosted King Charles I twice during the English Civil War, in 1644 and 1645. Its royal connection was later formalised in the 19th century, when the inn acquired its coat of arms and became The White Hart Royal.
Today it forms part of the Coaching Inn Group, whose portfolio is built around restoring historic inns while retaining their original character. That philosophy feels particularly at home here, where period details, including a grand Tudor fireplace, sit alongside contemporary bedrooms and more relaxed spaces for eating and drinking.
Food follows a reassuringly British path, with a seasonal menu built around familiar dishes and locally sourced ingredients. The current offering moves from an apple and Wensleydale pork pie and Ragstone goat’s cheese tart to crab cakes, lamb rump with dauphinoise potatoes and pan-fried chalk stream trout, alongside pub staples such as fish and chips and pie of the day. Desserts remain firmly in comfort-food territory too, with sticky toffee pudding sitting alongside key lime pie and a dark chocolate fondant.
For those making a weekend of it, rooms range from compact doubles to larger Deluxe and Superior options, while dogs are welcome in designated bedrooms and dining areas – particularly useful in a part of the country where a good walk is rarely far away. More than simply somewhere to sleep between Cotswolds stops, The White Hart Royal makes a convincing case for lingering in Moreton-in-Marsh itself.
Perfect for: a historic Cotswolds stay, comforting British food and a base for exploring Moreton-in-Marsh and beyond.
Otis & Belle
A few minutes’ walk from Moreton-in-Marsh’s High Street, Otis & Belle is the sort of bakery that can turn "just grabbing a coffee" into leaving with a paper bag full of pastries and a loaf tucked under your arm. Founded by Le Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef Will Alexander, whose CV includes Bibendum and Soho’s Blanchette, it has grown from its first Moreton-in-Marsh bakery in 2020 into four Cotswolds locations.
Bread remains at the heart of it. Naturally fermented sourdough comes in classic white, seeded and spelt varieties, while the pastry counter provides plenty of temptation alongside it. The line-up changes with the seasons, but previous creations have included raspberry and white chocolate sourdough, frangipane tarts, crème pâtissière-filled cruffins and the bakery’s particularly photogenic Crème Brûlée croissant cubes, finished with glossy caramel tops. Savoury options might mean a goat’s cheese Danish or a Croque Monsieur layered with the bakery’s own onion marmalade.
There’s serious technique behind the display cabinet, but Otis & Belle doesn’t feel overly precious about it. Alexander talks about giving sourdough the fermentation time it deserves while leaving room for the team to play with flavours and rework familiar viennoiserie – a balance between classical French training and the kind of baking you actually want to eat on a Saturday morning. That approach has earned recognition too: in 2025 the group was named Best Group of Bakeries in the Cotswolds, while its croissants and sourdough picked up four Great Taste Awards.
Perhaps the nicest thing about the Moreton original, though, is that it works equally well as a destination and a neighbourhood bakery. Locals return for their daily loaf, visitors arrive specifically for the pastries, and weekend queues have become part of the routine. In a region full of places worth detouring for, Otis & Belle makes a persuasive argument for adding a bakery to the itinerary.
Perfect for: exceptional sourdough, seriously good pastries and a Cotswolds breakfast worth queuing for.
Pit Kitchen
Hidden among the rolling fields of Todenham Manor Farm, just outside Moreton-in-Marsh, Pit Kitchen is a very different expression of Cotswolds dining. There are no white tablecloths or hushed dining rooms here. Instead, the formula is refreshingly straightforward: open flames, big flavours, communal tables and the sort of laid-back atmosphere that makes an afternoon stretch comfortably into evening.
The concept was founded in 2021 by lifelong friends Adam Thomas and chef George Uren, initially as a roadside food venture near Chipping Norton before growing into a permanent fixture at Todenham. Uren, who trained at River Cottage Farm and has worked across Michelin-level kitchens, casual restaurants and food development, heads up the cooking, while Thomas has helped shape the relaxed, welcoming culture that has become central to the Pit experience.
Fire is the common thread running through the menu, but the flavours travel well beyond Gloucestershire. Flatbreads come piled with the likes of Persian chicken thighs, smoked paprika pork collar or grilled oyster mushrooms, while smaller plates have included fava bean hummus with house crisps, crispy Baharat lamb rolls, sweetcorn and green chilli fritters, grilled halloumi and courgette salad. Even dessert gets the flame treatment, with charred strawberries joined by pistachio crunch and whipped cream, alongside a chocolate crémeux with salted malt caramel, crispy rice, cacao nibs and yoghurt ice cream.
Despite the globally inspired cooking, much of what lands on the plate begins close to home. Meat is sourced from Todenham village, with produce coming from local supplier Drinkwater Farm, while the drinks list keeps things regional too, with DEYA Brewery, Kicking Goat Cider and spirits from Cotswolds Distillery all represented. It’s this combination that makes Pit Kitchen such an interesting stop on a North Cotswolds trail: dishes with the energy of street food and the polish of a serious kitchen, served somewhere that still feels gloriously informal.
Perfect for: smoky sharing plates, long evenings and one of the North Cotswolds’ most characterful dining experiences.
The Redesdale
Further along Moreton-in-Marsh’s High Street, The Redesdale is another historic coaching inn being given a fresh lease of life. Dating back to the 17th century and Grade II listed, the former Redesdale Arms Hotel was taken over by Brakspear in 2025 before reopening in July 2026 following a substantial refurbishment of its ground-floor spaces. Now part of the group’s Honeycomb Houses collection, the aim has been to modernise without sanding away the character that made the building distinctive in the first place.
Inside, the look is polished but still recognisably that of a proper country pub: original architectural details, cosy corners, a generous bar, informal dining spaces and fireplaces ready for colder months, alongside a private dining room and sunny garden terrace. The result feels designed as much for locals dropping in for a pint as it does for visitors settling in for dinner or staying the night.
In the kitchen, Head Chef Vlasta Bilobrk, working alongside Honeycomb Houses’ Head of Food Ken Umasanthiram, has built an all-day menu around seasonal produce and elevated pub classics. Steaks, traditional pies and stone-baked pizzas sit alongside more contemporary dishes, with breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner all covered. The bar keeps things equally grounded, pouring Brakspear ales such as Oxford Gold and Gravity alongside locally brewed Cotswolds Best, seasonal cocktails and a broad wine selection.
There are 33 bedrooms spread across the main building, adjoining accommodation and a converted mews, some with private courtyards. Details such as Rave coffee pods, homemade cookies and Bramley toiletries add a distinctly local touch, while 15 rooms are dog friendly — handy given Moreton’s position as a jumping-off point for walkers and cyclists heading deeper into the surrounding countryside.
Perfect for: a polished Cotswolds pub stay, elevated classics and a central Moreton-in-Marsh base with plenty of history behind it.
The Bower House
Just beyond Gloucestershire in Shipston-on-Stour, The Bower House still sits very naturally within a North Cotswolds itinerary. Set inside a handsome Georgian townhouse, it combines a serious restaurant with five individually designed bedrooms, creating the sort of place that can work equally well for a long lunch, a celebratory dinner or an overnight escape.
In the kitchen, Head Chef Leo Kattou brings formidable pedigree. Raised in Coventry in a Cypriot-Greek family, he began cooking in his family’s fish and chip shop before spending 14 years at Michelin starred Simpsons under Luke Tipping, eventually becoming head chef there at just 26. At The Bower House, that classical training has evolved into something more personal: modern British cooking with subtle Mediterranean and Greek influences, underpinned by seasonality, simplicity and a belief that great ingredients should be allowed to do most of the talking.
Leo describes himself as the "middleman between great ingredients and the guest", and it's a useful shorthand for the restaurant’s approach. Rather than chasing technique for technique’s sake, the menus are built around local and British produce, with clarity and balance taking priority over unnecessary complication. His Cypriot heritage appears more quietly through flavours such as fresh herbs, citrus and olive oil, rather than through overtly Greek dishes.
There is ambition here, but little sense of metropolitan showiness. Leo speaks about the freedom of cooking in a market town, where success is earned through consistency, hospitality and becoming part of the local community rather than following trends. That feels central to The Bower House: polished enough to merit a special journey, but warm enough to remain the neighbourhood restaurant it wants to be.
Perfect for: refined modern British cooking, quietly Mediterranean influences and a destination dinner that still feels rooted in its market-town surroundings.
From historic inns and ambitious pubs to cult bakeries and open-fire cooking, the North Cotswolds proves there’s far more here than postcard scenery. Scratch beneath the honey-stone surface and you’ll find a food scene with real range, personality and plenty of reasons to make the journey.
