Recently upgraded 11-bedroom restaurant with rooms located in the village of Holcombe, Somerset

Gastronomy is a focus of owners’ Alan and Caroline; professional chefs focused on providing guests with an exciting food offering that is both locally sourced and sustainable

Located in the heart of Somerset, just 30 minutes from Bath, The Holcombe is a recently upgraded 17th century grade II listed restaurant with 11 bedrooms. It is set on the highest point of a small parish in the northeast of the Mendip Hills with views across to Downside Abbey.

Recently opened following an extensive upgrade, which was overseen by designer Annabelle Holland, The Holcombe is owned and run by Alan Lucas and Caroline Gardiner, both trained chefs passionate about growing food, sourcing locally from artisan producers & protecting the environment.

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After 30 years spent running successful London based catering & event companies, Alan and Caroline decided to “escape to the country” and bought The Holcombe Inn in November 2019. COVID-19 restrictions forced their closure just a few months later and whilst closed, they took the opportunity to renovate and rebrand as The Holcombe.

Commenting on its opening, owner Caroline Gardiner said: “The Holcombe is all about affordable luxury and is a great location for exploring Somerset. Through our recent redecoration we not only offer great house amenities but focus on a garden to plate dining experience.

“On purchasing The Holcombe, our vision was for it to be a beautiful country Inn, concentrating on affordable luxury and delicious food, home grown in our kitchen garden and sourced from local suppliers.

“We are delighted to now be open and certainly hope visitors to The Holcombe can have an unforgettable stay and enjoy seasonal contemporary dining in our beautiful setting.”

The 11 bedrooms at The Holcombe all slightly differ in style and size with a set up also in place for families wishing to have two rooms connected by a small entrance hallway. The Holcombe also caters for guests wishing to bring dogs with two lodges set within the garden grounds.

Both Caroline and Alan, along with their team, are passionate about sustainability and are focused on reducing food waste by using as much as they can of everything they purchase. They source local, free-range produce, and work with suppliers to reduce as much of the plastic packaging as possible, encouraging everything to be packed in paper. They have also endeavoured to buy furniture, linens and tableware from The British Isles.

The key focus of The Holcombe is the kitchen garden and poly tunnel which takes over the majority of the gardens – their passion has always been to grow more and deliver a fantastic garden to plate experience. The RHS trained gardeners work tirelessly, alongside Alan, to deliver ingredients that make for a great menu and prior to opening more raised beds were installed to enable year-round growing.

The Holcombe endeavours to use all produce – if it’s not on guests’ plates it will be added into stocks. Homemade infusions for gins and vodkas are also produced using ingredients from the garden.

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