Places To Eat In Bath: Upstairs at the Landrace

Off the back of a frankly excellent week eating and exploring our way around the West Country (full guides to what we recommend on a visit to Bath and Wiltshire are coming soon!) today I want to share one of our dining highlights, an absolutely fantastic spot we had a brilliant lunch at on our first day in Bath: Upstairs at the Landrace, a restaurant hidden above an equally as excellent and unassuming bakery.

We started with some of their excellent sourdough (soft, slightly squidgy with a nice open crumb made from their own milled grains from their farm) and butter, and I explored the wine list as everyone dove into a platter of what I was told were beautifully light and more-ish cheddar fritters. As the for the wine there is a very impressive selection at the Landrace, and this Sicilian skin contact number was wonderfully refreshing. I also had a non-alcoholic fig leave and lime cordial which is also worth noting.

From there, the dishes just kept getting better and better. This beautifully autumnal platter of roasted beetroot and figs on a bed of ewe’s curd, topped with lots of good extra virgin olive oil and a nutty, herby crumb had the right balance of textures and flavours. Happily it was my replacement for everyone else’s fritters, because I did not want to share this part of the sharing plate-orientated menu.

I know I use this as a benchmark for a good dish so many times it’s almost lost it’s meaning, but the spaghetti (wholemeal and cooked to just al dente) with courgette, capers and more brilliant extra virgin was the perfect example of the very best ingredients treated very well. It was light, refreshing and the capers adding an unexpected salty, briny hit. One to recreate next summer, or even with the last courgette still fattening in my kitchen garden?

Continuing on a theme, next came a stunning plate of chicken breast (perfectly juicy tender meat, nice crispy skin) with the end of summer’s borlotti beans, the start of autumn’s girolles and a tangle of spinach. The perfect transitional dish, we wished we’d still had some bread to mop up the delicious juices.

We all chose the same dessert: the 70% dark chocolate mousse (which from it’s light texture and pure finish I think was a water and chocolate mousse made without cream?) topped with candied Piedmont hazelnuts, a luxurious whip of double cream and a final drizzle of that excellent olive oil. Rich, balanced and delicious, literally my only criticism was I could have done with sharing such a generous portion!

Do stop off at the bakery downstairs for some treats before you go, which is a lovely mix of local and generally just excellent grocery products, and their own beautiful bakes. This Tiramisu Pie looked fantastic, and we really enjoyed the cinnamon bun we took back to the holiday cottage to split later.

You can check opening times and book a table Upstairs at the Landrace here.

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