West Midlands: remarkable restaurants, romantic houses and country-pub escapes
A West Midlands gourmet break can begin beneath the chandeliers of a Birmingham hotel or beside a Shropshire river. The pleasure of this region is its range: ambitious city restaurants, comfortable pubs with bedrooms, moated manor houses and the honey-coloured villages around Broadway. You can spend an afternoon at the theatre, walk a ridge in the Malvern Hills or settle into a spa, then make dinner the centrepiece of the evening.
The most satisfying choice depends on the occasion. Birmingham and Lichfield are particularly appealing when you want a destination restaurant; Stratford-upon-Avon puts food and theatre together; Shropshire rewards a slower country stay. Around Malvern and Broadway, the landscape becomes part of the hotel experience. These are our favourite ways to put the region’s hotels and restaurants together.
Our best-for choices
- Best for a destination dinner: The Grand Hotel Birmingham with Opheem, combining an elegant city base with Aktar Islam’s two-Michelin-starred cooking.
- Best for a smaller Michelin occasion: The George Hotel with Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, a Lichfield stay built around a personal, inventive tasting-menu evening.
- Best for a spa break: Dormy House, for House Spa, a welcoming country-house atmosphere and two contrasting restaurants.
- Most romantic historic stay: New Hall, where the medieval house, moat and gardens give a short break a sense of escape.
- Best for views and fine dining: The Cottage in the Wood, pairing Malvern’s wooded hillside with the three-AA-Rosette 1919 Restaurant.
- Best for a dog-friendly country retreat: Pen-y-Dyffryn, for Welsh-border walks, countryside views and thoughtful pet hospitality.
- Best for a pub-led gourmet break: The Duncombe Arms, with accomplished British cooking and ten bedrooms in neighbouring Walnut House.
- Best for dinner and theatre: The Arden, directly opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
- Best for garden-to-table food: Goldstone Hall, a Shropshire country house whose kitchen garden gives dinner a particularly strong sense of place.
- Best for a smaller-budget country stay: The Cliffe at Dinham, an attractive Ludlow base with its own restaurant and the town a short stroll away.
Birmingham and Lichfield: make the restaurant the occasion
The Grand makes a handsome starting point for a Birmingham food break. Its Colmore Row address places you among the city’s grand civic buildings, while Madeleine brings the pleasure of a proper hotel cocktail bar: tall windows, chandeliers and richly upholstered corners. Bedrooms range from comfortable Grand Doubles to expansive suites, so the hotel can suit both a restaurant-focused weekend and a more extravagant celebration.
Our standout dinner pairing is Opheem, on Summer Row. Aktar Islam’s cooking explores Indian flavours through techniques drawn from across the world, producing a tasting-menu experience with two Michelin Stars. It is a compelling choice for people who enjoy a restaurant with a distinctive point of view. Staying at The Grand gives the evening a satisfying shape: drinks in Madeleine, dinner at Opheem, then a comfortable city bedroom to return to.
The same hotel also works well with Land’s plant-focused cooking or the creative tasting menus at 670 Grams. The appeal is the freedom to choose your Birmingham restaurant while keeping a stylish, central hotel as your base.
For a smaller city with a major restaurant, choose The George Hotel in Lichfield. The family-run hotel has a traditional feel and rooms that include four-poster options. The cathedral, independent shops and compact streets make an afternoon here easy to enjoy before dinner.
Upstairs by Tom Shepherd is a separate restaurant on Bore Street, around 0.2 miles from the hotel. Its Michelin-starred seven-course menu gives British ingredients an inventive treatment, with influences extending beyond the familiar country-house repertoire. Published dishes include scallop with calamansi and dulse, quail with vadouvan, and a course inspired by Thai green curry. Wine and alcohol-free pairings add another dimension to the experience.
This is our choice for an anniversary or birthday when the table matters more than a vast hotel estate. The short walk between hotel and restaurant makes the city itself part of the evening.
Malvern and Worcestershire: scenery, history and time to unwind
The Cottage in the Wood has a setting that encourages you to arrive well before dinner. Above the Severn Valley on Malvern’s wooded slopes, the hotel offers the pleasure of a terrace drink with a wide landscape unfolding below. It is particularly appealing for couples who want a country escape with a contemporary feel.
The three-AA-Rosette 1919 Restaurant is the main food occasion, with a seven-course tasting menu built around seasonal British produce. Chef Mark Potts and his team give the hotel a serious culinary identity, while the Brasserie offers a more relaxed expression of the same interest in good ingredients. The distinction makes this a rewarding place for a longer stay as well as a single special evening.
We would choose it for a Malvern walk followed by a thoughtful dinner, or simply for an afternoon watching the light move across the valley. For a romantic break, the view and the restaurant reinforce each other: the landscape gives you a reason to linger, and dinner gives the day its finale.
New Hall: romance beside the moat
New Hall Hotel & Spa, in Sutton Coldfield, is our historic romantic choice. The late-medieval house stands within its moat, surrounded by gardens, creating an arrival that feels wonderfully removed from the nearby city. The architecture provides the atmosphere: old stone, distinctive rooms and a sense of having reached somewhere with its own story.
The Bridge Restaurant has two AA Rosettes and serves seasonal British food in keeping with the house. A leisurely restaurant dinner suits the setting, while the spa and pool give you something equally enjoyable to do beforehand. The Princess Elizabeth Suite, with its four-poster bed, roll-top bath and separate sitting room, is a particularly evocative expression of the hotel.
New Hall is a good fit for couples who enjoy history but also want the comforts of a modern hotel. The moat supplies the memorable photograph; the gardens, spa and restaurant make the stay more than a beautiful exterior.
Ettington Park: a country-house celebration
Ettington Park, near Stratford-upon-Avon, offers a different kind of architectural romance. Its neo-Gothic mansion rises above landscaped grounds, with towers, elaborate stonework and historic church ruins creating a theatrical backdrop. Inside, characterful bedrooms and ornate public rooms continue the sense of occasion.
The hotel’s two-AA-Rosette dining draws on seasonal British ingredients. The Great Drawing Room’s decorated ceiling and chandeliers, together with the Oak Room’s wood panelling, give the food an impressive setting. It is a particularly attractive choice for people who want their hotel to be a destination in its own right.
Choose Ettington for a grand country-house mood, New Hall for the intimacy of a moated manor, or The Cottage in the Wood for an open view and a more contemporary atmosphere. Each creates romance in a different way.
Broadway: a spa retreat at the Cotswold edge
Dormy House: our spa-and-dining favourite
Above Broadway on the Farncombe Estate, Dormy House combines a comfortable country-house feel with a strong spa identity. The appeal lies in how naturally the day comes together: a village wander, time in House Spa, a drink in the hotel and dinner without a further journey.
House Spa brings together a pool, thermal experiences and treatments in a setting designed for relaxation. Bedrooms and suites continue the hotel’s welcoming style, making this one of our strongest choices for a weekend in which spending time at the hotel is the point.
Dinner offers two appealing directions. The Back Garden celebrates British ingredients in a relaxed restaurant setting. MO is a more intimate chef’s-table experience, with an eight-course tasting menu and just twelve seats. The former suits an easy evening after the spa; the latter puts the cooking and interaction with the kitchen at the centre of your night.
For couples seeking a complete spa escape, Dormy is our first choice in this selection. Its character is warm and sociable, with enough culinary interest to make dinner a highlight rather than an afterthought.
Shropshire and Staffordshire: smaller places with strong personalities
Pen-y-Dyffryn: the dog-friendly countryside choice
Pen-y-Dyffryn sits in the hills near Oswestry, where Shropshire meets the Welsh border. This fourteen-bedroom country hotel suits people who enjoy the rhythm of a walk, afternoon tea and a good dinner, with scenery that makes even a quiet hour feel well spent.
It is our leading dog-friendly recommendation here. The welcome includes practical touches such as bowls, towels and treats, and the surrounding countryside offers plenty of scope for exploring together. Bedrooms in the former stable buildings and those with private patios make particularly appealing country bases.
The restaurant’s two AA Rosettes support the food-led appeal, with a four-course dinner forming a natural part of the stay. Its scale makes Pen-y-Dyffryn feel personal. We would choose it for a restorative couple of nights, especially when a dog is part of the holiday and the view across the hills matters more than city entertainment.
The Duncombe Arms: an excellent pub with a proper place to sleep
The Duncombe Arms, in Ellastone, is the choice for a country-pub evening with more culinary ambition than the phrase might suggest. Its British cooking follows the seasons, with local produce, game and changing specials giving the menu substance. The wine list and local ales help the pub retain its sociable identity.
Walnut House’s ten bedrooms stand beside the pub, bringing hotel-style comfort to a small village setting. That arrangement gives the evening a pleasing simplicity: dinner is close at hand, yet the bedrooms have their own sense of retreat. The location also works well for exploring the countryside towards the Peak District.
Choose the Duncombe when you want a lively dining room, accomplished food and a comfortable bedroom rather than the formality of a grand mansion. It is one of the region’s most appealing combinations of good eating and an easy country stay.
Goldstone Hall: dinner rooted in the garden
Goldstone Hall, near Market Drayton, has a particularly tangible connection between setting and supper. The Georgian house stands in celebrated gardens, and its substantial kitchen garden supplies produce that shapes the restaurant’s modern British cooking.
This is a lovely choice for guests who are interested in where their food comes from. A garden stroll provides context for the evening meal, while the hotel’s AA Red Stars recognise the quality of the wider hospitality. The atmosphere is that of a small country house where the grounds deserve as much attention as the dining room.
We favour Goldstone for garden lovers and for a rural food break with a strong local identity. Pen-y-Dyffryn offers the more expansive border-country outlook; Goldstone draws you closer to the cultivated landscape immediately around the house.
The Cliffe at Dinham is a useful value choice for a Ludlow getaway. Its setting faces the castle and River Teme, with the historic town a short walk away. You can enjoy the food shops, streets and riverside scenery, then return to a quieter base on the edge of town.
The restaurant and lounge bar make staying in for the evening appealing, with local beers and a comfortable restaurant-with-rooms atmosphere. It is an attractive way to enjoy a town known for its food without making the hotel itself an extravagant purchase. Choose it for castle views, easy exploring and an uncomplicated country-town break.
Stratford-upon-Avon: two ways to put food and theatre together
The Arden: the simplest theatre pairing
The Arden stands directly opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre on Waterside. That location gives it a clear advantage for a theatre-led stay: the river, performances and town are all part of the immediate surroundings.
No.44 Brasserie provides relaxed, award-winning dining, with seasonal British cooking and a well-established pre-theatre offering. The terrace adds another pleasant place to spend time beside the town’s cultural heart. We would choose the Arden when the ideal evening is dinner, a performance and a short return to a comfortable bedroom.
Hotel Indigo and The Woodsman: for the food as much as the play
Hotel Indigo Stratford-upon-Avon brings boutique comfort to a historic building in the centre of town. Its restaurant, The Woodsman, has a distinct culinary identity built around fire, wild food and nose-to-tail cooking.
The open cooking style and interest in game give the restaurant a more earthy personality than a conventional hotel brasserie. It is a good choice for diners who enjoy robust British ingredients treated with imagination, with the hotel providing a characterful place to stay afterwards. Choose the Arden for its exceptional theatre position; choose Indigo when the restaurant is an equally important reason for the trip.
Which kind of West Midlands break suits you?
| Your priority | Our choice | What makes it appealing |
|---|
| Destination dining | The Grand with Opheem | Two-Michelin-starred cooking and city-hotel glamour |
| An intimate food occasion | The George with Upstairs | An inventive tasting menu in compact, historic Lichfield |
| A spa weekend | Dormy House | House Spa and contrasting restaurant experiences |
| Historic romance | New Hall or Ettington Park | A moated manor or a dramatic neo-Gothic mansion |
| Views and walking | The Cottage in the Wood | Malvern scenery and three-AA-Rosette dining |
| A break with your dog | Pen-y-Dyffryn | Thoughtful pet hospitality and Welsh-border countryside |
| A pub with excellent food | The Duncombe Arms | Seasonal British cooking and Walnut House bedrooms |
| Garden-led dining | Goldstone Hall | A kitchen garden at the heart of the food experience |
| Theatre and dinner | The Arden | The Royal Shakespeare Theatre directly opposite |
| A value-focused country-town stay | The Cliffe at Dinham | Ludlow, riverside scenery and a restaurant at your hotel |
Make a short break feel like a proper escape
For Birmingham, spend the afternoon around the city’s galleries and central streets, then give the evening to your chosen restaurant. Lichfield works beautifully at a smaller scale: explore the cathedral quarter, settle into The George and make Upstairs the main event.
For the countryside, let the hotel shape the day. A Malvern walk leads naturally back to The Cottage in the Wood; a Broadway wander pairs well with Dormy House; Shropshire’s gardens and border hills reward time at Goldstone or Pen-y-Dyffryn. Stratford gives the weekend an easy cultural focus, with the river, Shakespeare’s town and the theatre close together.
Explore more gourmet breaks nearby
For a closer city comparison, explore our Birmingham guide. For more village inns and country houses, continue into the Cotswolds or compare East Midlands. Our North West England guide and Wales guide offer further food-led escapes beyond the region. You can also browse our romantic hotels and UK dinner, bed and breakfast deals.
