Finola Colvin and her family enjoy lunch the Roman Bath Kitchen, located just opposite the Roman Baths in Bath City centre.
This converted Grade 2 listed Georgian townhouse is a splendid restaurant suitable for all kinds of dining – casual, romantic, business, families, receptions and private dining. And of course, being situated so centrally, it’s a perfect respite for shoppers and tourists, for an impromptu coffee stop, offering views to the Abbey, Pump Rooms & Roman Baths themselves.
For us it made a great chance for a Sunday lunch out. On arriving, we found the restaurant to be warm and calming, with the friendly hubbub of customer chitchat and staff going about their duties. We loved the mosaic tile flooring in the reception area, subtly echoing the city’s Roman heritage.
At first the restaurant didn’t look particularly large, with a ground floor split into two: a chic dining area with just a handful of tables; and then a café/bar occupying the other half, cosy and casual, with rustic brick walls and soft seating. On further exploration, there is also ‘The Winery’, a secluded basement room for business dining, private parties, even cocktail master classes, plus two further dining rooms on the second floor, The Gallery and The Lounge, each with differing styles and décor that combines both a classic & contemporary feel.
So with such a variety of rooms on offer, all with their individual charm & ambience, the restaurant reaches a wide clientele, offering something for everybody. The staff were helpful and friendly, and the food itself was good quality, immaculate in presentation and generous in portion size, yet not overstated with pomp nor price!
The kids were given some colouring materials to occupy themselves with while waiting for our meal, but for particularly ‘active’ children it may be worth taking some extra ‘entertainment’ with you! (Not that the wait was long, just that for younger children there wasn’t much to keep them out of mischief!) Still, the staff were on hand to help and the children’s menu covered all the usual favourites at £7.95 each for a main course and pudding
The girls chose the Mac ‘n Cheese – cheesy macaroni and sausage, chips & beans, followed by brownies & ice cream for dessert. Generous portions meant that we adults got to sample the goodies and it really was very good indeed.
For us grown ups, we shared the recommended starter of Goats’ Cheese, Butternut and Tomato Bruschetta (£7.50), which was delicious and again served as a very generous portion. John chose a Chicken Caesar Salad (£10.95) for the main (to save room for one of the delectable puddings he’d spotted on the menu!). It did not disappoint – large medallions of chicken breast a-top a mound of crispy bacon, lettuce, crutons and slices of parmesan, all washed down with a pint of Bath Ales’ Gem.
I went for the fish of the day, a succulent fillet of hake, served in a tomato and saffron sauce with new potatoes, followed by a melt-in-the-mouth sticky toffee pudding accompanied by rum & raison ice cream (£7.25) – to share!
Overall we were really happy with our family meal at the Roman Baths Kitchen. The portions were generous, the prices reasonable and the service very good indeed. All in all it was a fun and family-friendly meal out, right in the heart of the city, and ideal to combine it with a visit to the Roman Baths!
