The Castle Hotel, Taunton, Somerset
The Castle Hotel is a family-owned business set in a beautiful historic building, right in the heart of Taunton, clad with wisteria in the springtime. Their ethos here is to offer guests a warm welcome and excellent service and to uphold their reputation for fine food, good wine, and comfort. And what a grand job they are doing of it; instead of seeing The Castle as somewhere to go to eat, you should view it as an experience where you’re well fed and well looked after in gorgeous surroundings.
The Bow Bar is a dignified backdrop to a quiet drink or snack, the kind of place you could easily settle down with the newspaper or catch up with a friend. By day the bar is open for healthy breakfasts and lighter lunches, on Friday and Saturday evenings it’s the perfect spot for cocktails before popping round the corner to Brazz for dinner.
If you’re a fan of afternoon tea, you’ll adore Castle Bow and you won’t find anywhere better in town for it. It’s worth dressing up for, with Art Deco elegance all around as you sip tea from china cups and nibble on dainty sandwiches, pastries and freshly baked scones with West Country clotted cream and jam. It’s polite and refined – in short, it’s exquisite. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t opt for a glass of champagne with your tea. No one will mind.
Opening times:
The Bow Bar: Mon-Thirs 9.00pm-3.00pm
Fri-Sat 9.00am-11.00pm
Sun 11.00am-3.00pm
T: 01823 272671
Castle Bow: every day 2.00pm-4.30pm
T: 01823 328328
All information correct at the time of writing