A review of The Holcombe restaurant with rooms in Somerset offering delicious food and views

The sweeping views stretching across acres of fields from The Holcombe to the impressive neo-Gothic Downside Abbey church are breathtaking as we visit this country inn on a fine summer evening.

Owners Caroline Gardiner and Alan Lucas have transformed the 17th-century coaching inn from a pub into a restaurant with rooms with a hushed, homely atmosphere. If trudging through the Mendip Hills with your dog is your idea of ​​heaven, then this is an ideal place to lay both heads.

As well as lovely walks through the village and surrounding countryside, the inn offers two dog-friendly lodges. It’s all about the details here. Barlake where I settle down with my spaniel bumblebee, has a water bowl, a soft dog bed and a blanket. Directly in front of the door is a large field where hunting dogs can sniff and work in the evenings.

Alice Smellie is staying at The Holcombe in Holcombe, Somerset, with countryside views and a “low, cozy atmosphere”.

Shown is a room with a freestanding bath. Alice describes the inn as a “luxurious little oasis”

For humans, the lodge is a luxurious little oasis, with freshly baked cookies and a wood-burning stove in the bedroom, and a free-standing bath and Noble Isle toiletries in the bathroom.

The only sound from outside is the cooing of wood pigeons.

The eight rooms in the main house are appropriately rustic, with clever contemporary twists; There are hand-printed fabrics and soft goose down duvets and pillows.

“The eight rooms in the main house (one pictured) are appropriately rustic, with clever contemporary touches,” notes Alice

There’s plenty of space to sit, and both the dining room and small living room (upstairs) have wood-burning stoves – “perfect if you’re visiting on a rainy day,” says Alice

Sustainable food is a big focus at The Holcombe, sourcing as much locally as possible and growing seasonal produce from the kitchen garden

Above is one of the inn’s dishes, dotted with the garden’s edible flowers

The inn is on the edge of Holcombe which is surrounded by villages such as Kilmersdon, famous for its very steep Jack and Jill Hill, and Mells, which has lovely walks and an excellent village shop and cafe. The magnificent Downside Abbey church, built in 1878, is a five minute drive away.

Regarded as one of England’s great neo-Gothic churches, it is peppered with exceptional historical details, such as the console of its organ – crafted from wood from HMS Bellerophon, the ship to which Napoleon surrendered shortly after Waterloo in 1815.

Sustainable food is a big focus at The Holcombe, with as much as possible sourcing from local and seasonal produce grown in the kitchen garden’s impressive raised beds and polytunnels.

“If your idea of ​​heaven is trudging through the Mendip Hills (pictured) with your dog, then this is an ideal place to lay both heads,” says Alice of the inn

Holcombe is surrounded by villages such as Mells which has lovely walks and an excellent village shop and cafe. Above is the village mansion, Mells Park House

The magnificent Downside Abbey church (pictured), built in 1878, is a five minute drive from The Holcombe

A Somerset sirloin steak is served with mizuna and herb pesto and roast rack of lamb with eggplant salsa, sour cream and pomegranate. It’s hardly standard pub fare, and the presentation is exquisite — the dishes are sprinkled with the edible flowers of the garden, a chef’s trademark.

We dine at a long table on the terrace, watching the sun set over the fields, while the last golden rays envelop the spire of the distant abbey church. There is an arch full of wisteria at one end and the gardens are lined with bee-friendly flower beds.

Inside there is plenty of seating space and both the dining room and small living room have wood burning stoves – perfect if you’re visiting on a rainy day.

Bumble and I have breakfast at the bar and I can tell his review would be just as glowing.