11 must-visit food hotspots in Somerset

Somerset is still an agricultural county at heart, producing milk, cheese, cider, meat and much more besides. Some of the smaller food and drink champions may not earn the same column inches as the county’s recently arrived Michelin star restaurants, international art galleries and billionaire estates, but what they produce is every bit as worth seeking out.

Westcombe Dairy
Cheese lovers may be familiar with Westcombe’s traditional farmhouse cheddar, but it also produces exceptional caerphilly and ricotta, and fantastic charcuterie – saucisson, fennel salami, sobrasada – using local pork and veal from the farm’s dairy herd. The charmingly pared-down shop also sells darkly delicious sourdough from Landrace Bakery, which bakes at the farm, along with tubs of Brickell’s ice cream, made with Westcombe milk (try the ricotta stracciatella).

Pitney Farm Shop
Glebe Farm at Pitney is an organic livestock and arable farm on the edge of the Somerset Levels. Housed in a wooden barn, the shop sells meat from their Saddleback pigs, Dorset-cross sheep and native beef cattle, alongside their own organic eggs, sausages, bacon and hams, and whatever homegrown vegetables are in season (they grow 70 varieties throughout the year). It’s also a good place to stock up on produce from other like-minded local producers. While you’re there, check out the farm café and the local pub, the charmingly named Halfway House.

Wild Garden
Tia and Nick’s beautiful organic market garden occupies what was once a pony paddock and cider apple orchard. Everything is sustainably grown using regenerative practices, with half the land dedicated to supporting wildlife. The resulting salads, seasonal vegetables and edible flowers are bristling with flavour. Look for them in local food shops or visit their weekly farm shop (Fridays, 10am-2pm, late May-late September).

The Seymour Arms, Witham Friary
This family-run pub, a few miles from Frome, is the stuff traditional pub dreams are made on. Locals perch around the simple glass-panelled bar hatch at the end of the corridor, there’s a flagstoned public bar with trestle tables, and a big garden. The tap room serves just two ciders (dry and medium) and one local ale. It doesn’t do food – unless you count pickled eggs and Bacon Fries – but if you bring your own bread and cheese, they’ll lend you a board and knife. Word is you can use the barbecue in the garden, too, if you bring your own charcoal.

Chapel Cross Tearoom and Goat’s Cheese 
On weekday mornings­­­, Rose Adams serves coffee and homemade cakes from her tiny horsebox café near a sliproad on the A303. A herd of Golden Guernsey goats browses in the paddock next door and, between May and November, Rose turns their milk into award-winning cheeses, including the creamy Little Benet and a harder washed-rind cheese, Big Nick, named best new cheese at the 2022 British Cheese Awards. They are available to buy from the café.

Burrow Hill Cider and Somerset Cider Brandy
There’s no shortage of great cider in Somerset, but Julian Temperley’s Burrow Hill has legendary status. Not only does it provide the iconic Cider Bus for Glastonbury Festival (as it has since the 1970s), but it also distils Somerset’s answer to calvados – Somerset Cider Brandy – as well as apple eau de vie, Kingston Black aperitif and moreish Somerset Pomona liqueur. Find them at the farm shop, online and in good local wine shops and delis. The farm hosts ‘Cider Bus Saturdays’ through the summer, with street food and entertainment; unwind with a pint or Orchard Mist cocktail in the orchards.

Cracknell’s Farm
This poultry farm near Langport has been doing things the same, uncomplicated way since it started 70 years ago and was green long became it became a buzzword. Today, the farm’s two thousand chickens – plus ducks and seasonal geese – forage freely over nine acres of pastureland, resulting in birds with a flavour that’s hard to beat. Buy from the farm gate (call ahead) or from local stockists.

Slow Farming Company
The focus of this family farm near Castle Cary is regenerative farming – using natural methods to create healthy soil, revitalise the environment and help reverse climate change. Native breed cattle and Tamworth pigs are pasture fed, which takes longer than feeding grain – hence “slow farming” – and the extra care and time shows in the exceptional quality of the meat. The farm’s flock of laying hens also forage outdoors on pasture, not only producing delicious organic eggs, but helping to keep the land fertile and pest free. Meat is available online; eggs locally.

Smith & Evans sparkling wine
This Somerset vineyard makes award-winning fizz using the classic trio of champagne grapes, with rich and refreshingly crisp results. Visit the tasting room 11am-4pm on Saturdays from April-September or book for a group tour. Also worth a trip is Wraxall Vineyard, one of the oldest vineyards in Somerset, which produces sparkling, rosé and a peachy white. The glass-walled tasting room has incredible views out over the countryside (check website for times, bookings and events).

Pomona Supper Club
A seasonal pop-up in Frome, run by Lucy Rollins in atmospheric venues around the town. The focus is on West Country produce and Somerset in particular, with past dishes including Westcombe cheddar soufflés, a suet-crusted venison pie and apple cake with saffron and lemon thyme. Every feast ends with local cheese and a glass of Somerset Cider Brandy’s Pomona.

Kimbers’ Farm Shop
The Kimber family has been farming near Wincanton for 350 years. Their large farm shop has an excellent in-house butcher selling Angus beef, Gloucester Old Spot pork, lamb, hogget and veal produced on the farm, and there is raw milk from the dairy herd, plus lots of other Somerset food and drink. The adjoining café makes the most of the produce, including a particularly fine breakfast.