Pony Chew Valley in Bath and North East Somerset

Really needs a vibrant pub at the front of it to make it work. Very souless which is a shame as so much effort has gone into the place. Food was insanely priced. We live in London and still balked at £40 for a main. Some of the dishes were great, some good and one very poor (poached Cod). Really not nice. Service was friendly and polite. I hope this place works long-term. Would be so nice to see a pub at the front, a more reasonable menu and better atmosphere (roaring log fire? Dimmer lighting?)

Food and service was excellent. The setting and the view was stunning!

Fabulous lunch for hubby's birthday! Food excellent, lovely bottle of Pinot Gris and a fabulous view to admire.

We visited The Pony for Sunday Lunch. We have wanted to visit for many years. The venue and view are very special. The staff do customer service properly. The food was as amazing as we had hoped. The roast beef was cooked perfectly as was the cheese wellington. The side dishes of vegetables and cauliflower cheese were immense and delicious. The sticky toffee pudding was a pure delight. The wine list is extensive and includes some very reasonably priced wines. Josh himself was Head Chef on the day we visited.

Highly recommended Chefs menu and beautiful location for couples, families and friends. Well enjoyed tasting menu and hard to choice a favourite. Staff were friendly and all knowledgeable on all menu items. wine is reasonably priced. Great garden to walk around and explore vegetable garden.

Very long wait times - tasty food but service needs significant improvements to deserve the price point. Arrived at 1pm. Ordered snacks, which arrive just before 2. Mains didn’t arrive until 2,45. At this point our table was dispersed including keeping kids entertained walking the grounds. When we chased our mains we were told our food would not be served until everyone was sat at the table. Food was delicious when it arrived, but we were almost too famished to appreciate it. Wouldn’t return or recommend sadly, as I’m sure we would have felt differently had food been served more timely.

Came for Sunday roast. The dinner was lovely and showcased the wonderful produce. It wasn't over seasoned and every element was cooked beautifully. The desserts were also delicious. The service was impeccable, going above and beyond, even finding suncream for my very pale husband. All of this set on a backdrop of the stunning English countryside.

It was a little quiet on a Wednesday evening and had to sit in the bar as we had the boss (Jed the chihuahua!) with us. The service was great and food was absolutely brilliant. Had the three course set menu which was £30 including a side dish. Incredible value and the tiramisu was insane. If you can find a lovely warm weekend summer lunchtime, leave the dog at home and book a seat with a view. Stunning.

I spent a fun morning at The Pony Cookery School with Vivian Lloyd who taught our small class how to make Devonshire splits and raspberry and chocolate jam. Vivian was easy to listen to and explained each technique clearly, checking our understanding and helping if needed. I came away with 9 scrumptious Devonshire splits and a couple of jars of jam, that friends found delicious. Just to add it was a lovely sunny day and views over the garden and neighbouring countryside was amazing.

What a hidden gem! Saw tje sign post off the main road and gave it a go. Top class!

Really lovely meal, food was excellent, the service was great, felt quite cosy and not at all pretentious. The views outside are amazing.

I've just been on one of the Pony cookery classes and it was an amazing experience. Thoroughly recommend.

With the beautiful views enhancing the delicious food served at the Pony how could you improve anything? but the engaging and attentive staff made a great evening even better. The food is truly excellent, fulsome, generous and packed with interesting flavours. Perfectly judged!!

Cannot recommend The Pony highly enough; we had a fantastic evening! The food was delicious and the staff we super - thank you! Very excited to come back in the future!

Excellent meal here in the refurbished dining room. We had an early dinner and went for the 3 course fixed price menu which was delicious. Roast beef and Gazpacho starters were both excellent. The mains were similarly very good and pudding too. We ordered the vegetable sides - carrots with marmite were stunning!

Stunning views from an elegant conservatory. Attentive and friendly service. Gourmet food plus simple pub classics - great idea.

Lovely lunch, beautiful surroundings and lovely gardens. Came here with my family (2 adults and 1 child and a baby). Staff were lovely, children welcome and food very tasty and beautifully presented. The gardens in June were gorgeous and it has a lovely relaxed atmosphere. Not giving 5 stars as very expensive, and whilst the food was great it was not a par on their prev Michelin star menu but still retains the high price (£150 for 2.5 people for lunch). Would recommend and return again for special occasions.

We had not been to the Pony for many years, in fact it was called the Pony and Trap back then. We enjoyed our evening and the meal was excellent. The staff were very helpful, with a lot of knowledge about the food and the local area. We walked through the gardens as the sun went down.

My friend and I popped in for a drink, strictly speaking it's a posh restaurant, although we were made to feel very welcome. The setting is exquisite, the food smelt and looked amazing.

Came here for an amazing Sunday lunch. Our group included visitors from Canada, Aston and Bristol. We reserved the room (seating 10) for my 60th Birthday. The meals were delectable and the portions were generous. The staff were amazing as well - very attentive and a great sense of humour. We capped-off our lunch with a visit on the back hill with some amazing views. This will definitely be on my list on my next visit to the UK.

Four of us had a lovely meal on Saturday evening. The food was delicious and staff really went the extra mile.

Our experience was really great. Attentive staff and out standing food

The best roast I’ve ever had, worth every penny. Staff were so friendly and we felt very accommodated. The apple and celeriac soup with rarebit was the best starter I’ve ever eaten. The non alcoholic ALT sparkling Chardonnay was amazing too! We sat in the pub area which is dog friendly- they brought our dog a bowl of water straight away and there was a lovely garden to walk her in before and after the meal.

We had Sunday lunch and asked if we knew the format? It's basically select the 3 courses in one hit! It's a set price menu to help the kitchen run smoothly on a Sunday as the cost seems slightly less to the menu during the week. Plenty of vegetables that was set too and arrived at the same time as the roast beef. The staff are very friendly and helpful, l spotted the Chef gave him a wave as they follow me on Instagram but seemed too rushed to be sociable. It's only open 5 days a week so l expect trying to make it viable in just 5 days with a Cooking School thrown in. I should have stuck to 2 courses but paying for 3 you want to get the full experience and opted for the Mince lamb and my wife had Trout which looked Instagram ready and pretty as a picture. Although free Wi-Fi is available it seems to be a secret password so Google doesn't even know l was there so not letting me upload the photo's with this review. We both had the roast beef, obviously no choice it comes as the Chef thinks you should be eating it, which was fairly rare and my knife struggled to cut it. I thought the cutlery looked worn out. The meal was very tasty and the roast potatoes were amazing the best ever, nice surprise in the Yorkshire pudding with a pickled onion inside, no idea how he does that. I had Sticky Toffee pudding, no different to any other pub and definitely not Instagram worthy my wife had the Rhubarb and apple crumble, bit boring and not much flavour. Not sure if l would dine during the week as the cost is eye watering and as l said the Sunday roast is much more affordable as a treat for Easter. I did notice no condiments on our table and accepted that the Chef thinks we do not need them but then noticed other tables did, so maybe just an oversight. Nice wine list and local cider but this place is in the middle of nowhere, so just had to stick sparkling water. Did l mention its dog friendly, a water bowl was provided in the bar area, although a much bigger bar in the main restaurant, dog owners have to sit away from all the action. We did walk the extensive grounds and garden and it leads to a county walk through the fields. Would l return to this Michelin star restaurant, maybe for a Birthday treat on a Sunday.

Such a joyful greeting. First class atmosphere and the food was top class.

The staff and setting is lovely but unfortunately the food is not and what made matters worse it’s really expensive. For £40 you get for small steak which has a burnt outer taste a tiny side salad. The only thing which was nice was the chips. Lower prices to normal pub food prices your not a posh restaurant.

Came on Friday to do a cookery course which included dinner. Really loved the whole experience, cookery course was fun and informative and dinner was beautiful. Every staff member was lovely. The renovated space is fab. Thank you!

Wow! Absolutely amazing food, service was impeccable and what a great setting!

Last Visit Feb 24' - still every bit as good. ❤️ One of our favourite local restaurants. Josh, Holly and the team create a wonderful experience of great food and warm hospitality from the breathtaking spot the pub occupies in Chew. We visited for Steak night on this occasion and had pre-ordered the Chateaubriand to share. Perfectly cooked, fine locally sourced ingredients.. Attentive, friendly service at all times. Very clued up on Dietary needs (gluten free), with my wife being Coeliac she needs to be confident that a restaurant understands and can adapt dishes and manage cross contamination risk. Pony and Trap doesn't disappoint ❤️ We also saw Josh on the way out and were able to offer our congratulations for what has been an epic rebuild and investment in the pony 👌

Delicious tasting menu with lovely contrasting flavours and textures. Perhaps vegetable light, but fine as a special treat.

Such a beautiful place with absolutely fantastic food!

Lovely staff, delicious food. Well worth a visit.

Has maintained its excellence over the years and still doesn't disappoint. I ordered a starter that wasn't really my kind of food, for various reasons, and was still impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I can always rely on being pleasantly surprised, ordering in or out of my comfort zone here.

10/10 for the Vegan menu! Don't get me wrong, everyone loved their food, but this was by far the best vegan food I have ever had. Thank you.

I really wanted to enjoy this, it was our first visit but unfortunately we weren’t blown away. The staff are amazing and I couldn’t fault any of them. Unfortunately I do agree with the 3 star reviews already written. We are foodies and have visited some very nice restaurants, In my opinion I do not think the food compares to some of the restaurants we frequently visit in the centre of Bristol. We weren’t asked how we’d like our steak cooked so this came out borderline medium-well. I think a filet should cut like butter but it was more like cutting a rump, I couldn’t taste any seasoning either. The gravy was nice. We were waiting a little while so we were presented with a free croquette? That was lovely. My fiancé enjoyed his pudding (choux) but unfortunately I wasn’t impressed with the apple tart. We don’t mind the 10% compulsory service charge.. but £168 and we came away a little disappointed. We’ve spent less elsewhere and enjoyed it a lot more. I shall give it another go in the summer with a basic meal and see how that fares.. I won’t write it off over one experience. I think three stars is fair for now

First time visiting The Pony for my husband and I. We always wanted to go to the Pony and Trap, however unfortunately didn’t manage to go before it closed. We were very happy with our visit to The Pony on Saturday evening. The atmosphere was relaxed and service was attentive. The chef was very accommodating and amended specific items on the chefs menu based on my pregnancy. The courses were delicious and cooked/presented excellently, I would be surprised if The Pony didn’t receive a Michelin Star in the near future. We will be back again.

Lovely space. I feel the cotê de boeuf was overcooked.The waiter said to have it medium but there was no pink. This dish doesn’t come with any chips. At £75 for just this I feel is overpriced. Starters where lovely, a crab risotto and mushroom pate. The Apple and almond tart wasn’t good in my opinion. It tasted like mincemeat you get in mince pies and not of apple and almond. Overall we spent more than we expected and was still hungry afterwards. Bill came to £180.

Our first visit to the relauched restaurant. A truly wonderful day. Some of the best prepared and tasty food we've experienced in a long time. Beautiful surroundings, relaxed atmosphere, friendly and enthusiastic staff. Well done Ponies, you should all be proud of yourselves

I would eat here again, but there was a lot of crying babies & children so it did get too much after half an hour, the beef was a bit too chewy for me, the red cabbage overstewed, yoghurt on the toffee pudding I'm no fan of, the waitress escalated an issue that I was forced into, so there was a lot wrong with the experience, it's charging top dollar & delivering mediocre so there's a lot to improve on. Btw I was in the industry for over 10 years & have eaten at a lot of places, this was an experience that went from initially excellent and descended into a debacle. But if you're a family with a load of spare cash & are chasing clout then by all means book up. There's a level of pretentious that this place attracts and that's a shame.

The Pony completely exceeded our (admittedly already pretty high expectations). We went for the chefs taster menu and were impressed with every course. We were there celebrating our engagement and were treated amazingly well. Can't recommend highly enough, was lovely to meet the head chef too 😊

Found this place by chance. Popped in for a drink and stayed for dinner. Ate near the bar but the restaurant downstairs looked amazing. Excellent food and great service!

Such a wonderful place to go for a meal. The food is absolutely amazing, the atmosphere feels very homely yet special and very reflective of the fantastic views. I’ve always found the staff to be knowledgable, helpful and kind, and we’ve loved the beautiful gardens. The values of the owners are reflected in the building, food, decor and events. The price is always a bit on the treat end for us, but always absolutely worth the money and never feels too expensive for what you get. Highly recommend.

Amazing....all round. Best Sunday lunch ever.

Truly stunning food! The best scallops I have ever eaten. If you can make a trip here then you should. The staff are wonderful and truly hospitable. The gardens are beautiful. I can't wait to come back.

Beautiful views , food was ok not great . Was asked to order all 3 courses at once as they were busy which I found a bit off . Maybe it will improve once they have been open longer as it takes time .

We had an amazing Sunday lunch. One of the best I’ve ever had! Nothing was too much of a problem. They catered for our child who would not have eaten a roast. Service was efficient and friendly, food was delicious. The view and gardens was amazing. We will be going back.

We had a perfect lunch at The Pony with beautifully crafted food, a great drink selection and a lovely setting.

We had our wedding breakfast at Pony Chew Valley following our registry office ceremony, and the experience left an indelible mark on our hearts. I find myself constantly reminiscing about just how perfect it all was. Holly and the team's attention to detail and commitment to ensuring everything ran flawlessly was remarkable. The canapés were such a hit the trays barely got to me, but the team provided my new husband and me with a specially made vegan tart, which was the perfect bite of flavours. Working with Holly and Josh on a specially curated menu made our wedding unforgettable - the way the team included my beloved Filipino dish had our guests praising the food for weeks afterwards, and we couldn't have been happier with the selection. If you're seeking a venue that combines exceptional planning, a delectable menu, and outstanding service, Pony Chew Valley is what you need.

Steak and Seafood taster menu was a huge hit with all four of our group. Service was amazing and the wine pairings excellent. Will definitely return. Thankfully only a short distance from home.

We had a lovely meal here, arrived early and had a few cocktails which we enjoyed in the beautiful quiet garden with nice views, our food was fantastic and the wine complemented it well. Finished it off with a few more delicious cocktails including probably the best espresso martini I’ve had and a lovely pudding with a candle in it to mark my wife’s birthday. The service was very warm and friendly and I thought that £100 per head for a table of 5, although a pricey Wednesday night meal, was very reasonably considering the standard. They also do a more reasonably priced ‘pub food menu’ which I thought was a nice touch in a place of this quality. Overall highly recommend.

Very nice meal and drink here would highly recommend

Steak Night - I never order steak when i dine out - why would i? i cook the best steak! but a treat for the husband saw us on the Steak Night at The Pony, We shared a T Bone, WOW it was fabulous, as was the rest of the meal. Loved everything, great restoration job, that view, amazing, we even had early evening sun with a rainbow. An expanse of Glass framing a delightful garden, even caught sight of the chef collecting his booty presumably for the next meal! A wonderful place to sip sup nibble gorge and meander. What a delight. Sunday lunch here we come.

We attended to Foraging course followed by a class with Josh about how to cook what we had foraged. Absolutely fabulous day, very enjoyable and amazing food, worth every penny, thank you

Wow - stunning location and stunning food Was our first time visiting as a thank you from a very good friend, the staff were excellent, Richard our waiter was attentive and so knowledgeable which was so rewarding, the food was amazing and we can’t stop talking about the excellent Sunday lunch - the whole experience was faultless and one to remember. To round off our experience we were able to communicate our appreciation to Josh Eggleton, we are definitely 2 new regular customers to the Pony @ CHEW Looking forward to our return visit.

Delicious lunch! Creative twists such as gooseberry and elderflower garnish with the oyster. Stunning location and beautifully designed restaurant. Attentive service. Will recommend and come again.

If you’re looking for a phenomenal dining experience, look no further than The Pony . We have just experienced The Steak night , everything was cooked to perfection. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the staff are all friendly and attentive, making this visit a true pleasure . This is our second visit to the pony& we can’t wait to return again soon . The pony is truly a must-visit destination for any food lover.

First visit. Reassuringly expensive.Visited on a Sunday and there is a set 3 course. Upon entering you are welcomed by a fresh airy dining room with plenty of light and a stunning view.Staff were very attentive and the food was very tasty. Portion size was good.I wish I’d been seated away from the bar as that’s where the waiting staff congregate and it felt a little awkward.

It is a delightful place, with fabulous views. The only thing was two female and two male toilets for about 100 people.

The renovation is lovely. Nice & open showing the stunning view with a terrace. Food was gorgeous as always & no faults with the very friendly waitresses. Only thing that surprised me was the torn & stained carpet. But I'm sure that's already in plans to fix. Definitely going again soon.

My partner and I were driving past a couple of weeks ago and decided to pop in. Despite not actually being ‘open’ yet we were welcomed at the door and invited in to have a drink and look around. What an absolutely stunning dining area and immaculate garden with beautiful countryside views! All of the staff that we met were super friendly and welcoming. We will most definitely be back to try the food as it looks delicious

Stunning place and great food. Lamb was cooked to perfection. Loved the wine selection and aperitifs. Perfect place for a romantic date or special occasion! Thank you 😊

A fantastic feast for the eyes and the taste buds from the garden to the food on the plate. The excellent friendly service provided by the staff and their attention to detail made time itself disappear.

Stunning. It's been many years since I've eaten here and it's still outstanding. The far reaching views are breathtaking, with cattle, sheep and birds of prey to be seen for miles. The garden is extremely well kept and fantastic for a quick run around if you have restless little ones. The Sunday lunch is £45 for 3 course, which is very well priced considering the standard and locality of the food. We had 2 courses and were charged £30. I don't take pictures of food I'm afraid but I'm not sure it would have done justice to the roast anyway. The lamb shoulder with Tarragon Salsa Verde was fall apart outstanding but it wasn't even the star of the show. There were plenty of small cut very crispy fluffy roasters, red wine reduction red cabbage, rainbow Carrots, cauliflower and leek cheese (really cheesey) massive Yorkshire and buttered spring greens. All cooked to perfection. The staff were, friendly and attentive and the service was prompt but not rushed. Absolutely blindingly perfect Sunday lunch.

Went to the fish and seafood night and I was super impressed. Outstanding service from all staff (knowledgable on food and wine), the view was absolutely remarkable (probably the prettiest I've seen in Somerset), and I wouldn't hesitate to go back there. Great value. Loved the scallop with pickled turnip, the trout with tartare macaroni and the final hake dish. All delicious. Need to book in again!

High quality, great tasting food. You can tell how much care and attention has been put into creating all of the dishes with exceptional produce. So glad I booked this place.

Had a post-christening event here. Excellent food and good staff. Nice views of the garden and across the valley.

Excellent service from Emma and the team. Perfect for a special occasion or even "just" ham and egg and chips (for £15! Bargain). We splashed out a bit and had 4 courses, with the star being a delightful John Dory dish... all went home exceedingly happy! The gardens are going to look great come summer.

Amazing view. Food was ok but overpriced and very small portions. Wine also over priced. Not worth it. Disappointing

Lovely new refurbishment, great food and friendly service, and still dog friendly.

Just had another amazing meal at The Pony. This time was Sunday roast which for the quality and amount of food we had, was excellent value! We are really glad to have the Pony back open during the week, with a vast choice on the menu and themed nights, it makes an awesome choice for a mid week treat! Thanks so much to the team who were all so professional and friendly. We are so lucky to have a restaurant and chef of that calibre in our area!

2023 As others have said it's now The Pony. The place is a bit weird, a tent with underfloor heating and a great view but somehow the whole space has no soul. Staff were very pleasant and helpful but a bit uninterested. Pork terrine pleasant enough but not outstanding. Rump cap beautifully cooked with excellent sauce. Cheese was OK - perhaps a tad tired, but thankfully at the correct temperature. Margaret liked her mussels and her leeks but wasn't singing their praises. Wine OK but like everything ******* expensive, in fact ridiculously so. £150 for 3 starters, 1 main, 1 dessert and cheese with a bottle of wine, some water and elderflower really is taking the Michael when there are so many other places in the Bath / Bristol area that are as good or better for less £££. ************************************ Good food, bit poncey and pricey

Super delicious 3 course roast today. Really enjoyed every mouthful, particularly the beetroot and goats cheese starter and the sticky toffee pud. Loved the panoramic views out the back & looking forward to coming back in summer to eat in the garden. Lovely treat :)

Extremely disappointing dinner. We booked dinner with great enthusiasm and expectations based on its reputation. The “snacks” of salami with a few gherkins was below average and with no imagination. The beetroot salad was lacking of possibly a walnut element; and the lemon sole was so over cooked that was unpleasant if you had full dentition; Finally the choux had the consistency of bread… Overall, it was very much overpriced and nothing exquisite.

Lovely food, and I'm very hard to please growing up in East London around Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine. Really tasty

The Pony is currently closed for renovation.

Lovely location with probably the cleanest toilets I've ever seen in a pub. We were only there briefly, but it appeared top notch. Lovely beer garden with great view...

Loved it. Even our dog got biscuits and drrink from the bar

Where to begin? Michelin is the mark of excellence and this place has a single star. Whatever the guide itself says, for me this indicates really good food worth a journey to enjoy, and this is almost always borne out by a happy visit. Two and three stars suggest to me that the food is beyond excellent and reaches towards the unimaginably wonderful, usually with ambience and service to match. Most pubs serve food that you eat because you are hungry, and for no other reason. Our lunch was somewhere on that scale rather than anywhere on the stellar trajectory we were expecting. Do the inspectors judge pub meals on a different measure? Surely not. The Pony & Trap has had a Michelin Star for donkey's years. Maybe it deserved one once, perhaps it did yesterday or will tomorrow, but it seemed to me that on our visit its star was an insult to the many wonderful venues that fully live up to this honour, not to mention the even larger cohort of non-starred places that also serve really excellent food and are just a hair's breadth away from the accolade. Yesterday, 1st of October 2018, Michelin again awarded a star. Perhaps I really am missing something here as I have only made a single visit. But I have no intention of risking another disappointing meal. And now, a year on in 2019, this place retains its star. This cannot be right. I welcome any challenge to my observation that this must be based on something other than the quality of the food in what I judge to be a pretentious and self-satisfied little tourist trap. My meal here was the most disappointing of any I have ever had after arriving with serious expectations, and I welcome comment from the chef or from Michelin. It's all very disappointing and confusing. NOW CLOSED in the lockdown. But planning to reopen under a new name in Spring 2021. Thus it will no longer have a Michelin Star. Perhaps I will be able to stop complaining about an absurd and questionable award to what is nothing more than a pub with food...

Ate at the breaking bread festival. The food was high quality, and perhaps not representative of the standard I would expect at the restaurant. But I think every single course I had (including dessert) had too much salt in it. Particularly the lamb for main.

Great tasting menu. Nice atmosphere.

The epitome of what a great British pub should be, the rustic setting buried in the beautiful chew valley country side is unbeatable, paired with the incredible ever changing menu with locally sourced ingredients and great customer service this place is a must visit after lockdown!!!

Excellent Sunday roast. Beautiful setting and faultless service. Highly recommend a visit!

Quite good overall. Service was great again but the vegan option was a bit sub-standard. Felt a bit ostracised when given a kids plate. Why does everyone think vegans only want to eat ta tiny amount of food!

Very adventurous menu, that worked perfectly. Pricey, but worth it.

Our anniversary was just perfect here, I know you have to reserve we'll we'll in advance but such a divine place to eat and will be returning so thank you!

Amazing restaurant located in the countryside. Fresh local produce. They could offer more vegetarian options. Views are breathtaking!

Exquisite menu, great beer and cider selection in a cosy setting.

Great food and service! although the room temperature was rather cold when sat for a time

Staying locally and walked to The Pony & Trap on a Saturday lunchtime. Should have booked as no tables as there was a wedding party. Just had a couple of drinks to build up strength for the walk back. Plus home made crisps and a dip. If this way again will book and go for a meal. Food looked good and staff were excellent.

Roast dinner was by far the best I've had in Bristol area. Amazing views, will be back in summer!

Absolutely incredible. Food was insanely delicious and the staff were so wonderful, couldn't ask for a better lunch. Best carrot I've ever had. Thank you so much, can't wait to come back.

Lovely pub in Chew Magna. We went for a birthday treat, the food was lovely, the staff were great and we had a lovely evening. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

Couldn't recommend more highly. Not only did the food live up to its reputation but the service was also really warm and attentive. A huge thanks to all the team.

We were disappointed, food wasn't great quality..

Hands down one of the best boutique restaurants in the UK on both food and service quality. As usual, chefs tasting menu highly recommended.

Love this place always worth a visit

Fantastic food, and great relaxed atmosphere - well worth a visit.

Amazing food and service. A real treat.

High quality food and service. Recommended.

Really nice place wonderful food somethings better than other but will definitely be going back