The historic town of Warwick sits at the heart of ‘Shakespeare’s Country’. It’s full of ancient and significant buildings like the timber-framed Lord Leycester Hospital, Eastgate and Westgate, the old Georgian Doric Gaol, and, of course, the famous Castle, the most impressive in England. Warwick is full of great places to eat too, with lots of culinary cultures on show. Here’s ten places to check out.
Tailors is known as one the top food spots in the Midlands. Run by two chefs , Dan Cavell and Mark Fry, it’s located on the Market Place right in the middle of Warwick. Make sure you book ahead as it can be busy. The building that houses Tailors used to be just that, a gentleman’s tailors, from 1858 until 1950. The restaurant is also listed in the Michelin Guide, the Good Food Guide and Harden’s Guide, and they have won two AA Rosettes. On the menu are main courses like Cotswold lamb served with goat’s cheese and pistachio, or the innovative ‘Fish Finger Sandwich’ made with pollack fillets, soda bread, broad beans and wild mushrooms.
Sited on Swan Street just off High Street, right in the middle of town is The Art Kitchen, a Thai restaurant with a big reputation for quality food. It opened up in 2004 with a team of experienced Thai chefs, including Executive Chef Wanchai who previously worked at major 5 star hotels and as the Thai food chef on the Orient Express. Small plates available include duck or vegetable rolls with dipping sauces, scallops with pineapple and chili, or chicken, prawn and crab cakes. Then for mains you can choose from tamarind duck, Thai green curry, or the Art Kitchen signature dish of fillet of Aberdeen Angus beef marinated in Thai herbs and cooked pink and served with oyster sauce.
Catalan serves up Spanish tapas in the center of historic Warwick. Based on Jury Street, that runs through the heart of town, the restaurant has been open since 2004. You can sit yourself down inside or out on the terrace to dine al fresco. There’s regular live music too, to add to the relaxed, easy going feel of the place. The menu features vegetable, fish and meat tapas as well as main courses like salt cod fillet, and mussels in white wine, cream, leeks and garlic sauce. Tapas plates include options like Manchego cheese with quince jelly and walnut, Serrano ham and béchamel sauce, and pig’s cheek with chorizo.
Another good spot for food on the Market Place in Warwick is Micatto. The food is Italian with a menu of classic rustic dishes, and a wine list that offers vintages from all round the country, including Tuscany, Puglia, Veneto, and Sicily. You can get started with traditional Sardinian breads topped with tomatoes, basil, and garlic, or mussels, calamari, or chicken livers as antipasti. Then move onto a primi of duck leg risotto with porcini, tagliatelle of white clams, pasta ribbons with lobster and prawns, and secondi of braised pig’s cheek and grilled apples, fillet steaks, or confit duck leg.
7 Square Restaurant is close to St Mary’s Collegiate Church, which is, along with the Castle, one of the main landmarks in Warwick. The restaurant is housed in an elegant Georgian building and has an exquisite dining room within. And the menu is suitably elegant too, offering up Continental classics. On the à la carte menu are starters of asperges a la maltaise (rolled asparagus with Serrano ham), moules marinieres, Coquilles St Jacques on a bed of guacamole, and snails in garlic butter, then mains of roasted quail or rack of lamb in rosemary and garlic.
At The Aubergine you can find a taste of Turkey in Warwick. Chef Sezai Aslan set up on Smith Street, the eastern continuation of Jury Street and High Street, and named after Francis Smith of Warwick, the architect of many of the fine buildings in the town, in 2005. Customers think it’s the best place for Turkish food anywhere in the Midlands. There are lots of mezzes to start, then main courses are cooked on the ocakbasi, a traditional Turkish open barbecue.
At the far end of Smith Street is The Roebuck Inn, the oldest pub in this ancient town, dating back all the way to 1470. Timber framed inside and out, the Inn is packed with character and serves up good food and good ale, too. They even have their own Roebuck Red Ale for you to try out, and much of the food is sourced from local suppliers on contemporary style pub menu. The starters include game terrine with chutney, or smoked salmon with tiger prawns. And the main courses include 28-day aged sirloin steaks with chips and garlic butter, and gammon loin with egg and chips.
Aqua Food & Mood Lebanese Restaurant, Warwick | Courtesy of Tasca Dali
Aqua Food and Mood
Aqua Food and Mood is the place to head for Lebanese cuisine and a touch of Arab life with a Bedouin style tent on the terrace. Here you can sample the shisha pipe through which you smoke fruit scented molasses. (It’s common in the cafes of the Arab world where it’s brought out to all patrons). At Aqua it’s not just Lebanese food you can try but Lebanese wine too, some of the finest vineyards in the Levant are in the Lebanon. On the food menu are exotic dishes like farrouj mashwi, or chicken in garlic sauce; and kharouf mashwi, lamb shanks in herbs and spices served up with rice.
Tasca Dali is located on the High Street, just up from the famous Lord Leycester’s Hospital and the Westgate. As you’ve probably guessed from the name Tasca Dali serves up Spanish cuisine and they emport lots of produce like olive oils and sauces from Jaen in Spain. They use them in the dishes, of course, but you can also buy them to take home and use in your own recipes too. There’s tapas available and a menu that changes daily, however expect to find things like paella, mussels, prawns, pork medallion and chorizo soup. Five courses are priced at just £25 per head.
The Rose and Crown is located in a 17th century building on the Market Place. They serve up fresh, seasonal cuisine, good beer and wine.. It opens up early in the morning, if you’re working in the center of town and need some breakfast and if you’re out late there’s an interesting drinks menu including lots of types of gin like Hendricks, Tanqueray, and Whitley Neill. The food menu is really seasonal and main courses include sirloin, ribeye or rump steaks from Aubrey Allen’s butchers in nearby Leamington Spa.
