Root Wells

Expect ‘beautiful local food’, vivid flavours, vibrant colours and inspired creativity by the bucketload at this vegetable-led, sharing-plates restaurant – part of Josh and Holly Eggleton’s Pony Restaurant Group. Chef Rob Howell (who opened the original Root in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf) incorporates influences from around the globe into his daily changing seasonal menu. In springtime that might mean new season’s potatoes with ranch dressing and ancho BBQ sauce or asparagus dressed with sauce gribiche and hazelnuts. Snacks, including ethereal Old Winchester cheese puffs with brown sauce (one of the kitchen’s signature dishes), are definitely worth a nibble, while desserts stay close to home for the likes of oat-milk lemon posset with poached cherries and crumble. An open kitchen adds some theatre to the elegant and comfortable dining room, where service from a team of engaging professional staff is singled out for special praise. Organic, biodynamic and low-intervention bottles dominate the short, mostly European wine list, which offers great value across the board.