The story
The Charlton Arms stands at Ludford Bridge, Ludlow, SY8 1PJ, serving modern British food in a riverside inn on the Teme. The Michelin Bib Gourmand for 2026 recognises good quality, good value cooking, and the menu bears that out, from fish and chips and a chargrilled burger to a bavette steak with café de Paris butter.
Head chef Krisztian Ballogh has been part of the kitchen for more than ten years. The team works directly with local farmers, butchers and producers, and bakes its own bread and makes desserts by hand. The AA has awarded the restaurant two rosettes for culinary excellence in 2026.
Diners single out the haddock and chips and the fish soup, and one recent reviewer described the beef carpaccio as a highlight of a dinner visit. The sample menu also lists a confit tuna niçoise salad, a chicken and chorizo Scotch egg with butter bean ragout, and a sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce.
Recognition
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Details
History
good quality, good value cooking
Just on the other side of the ancient bridge over the river Teme, this busy inn has been a stopping point for travellers for centuries. Try to secure a table by the window – the view of the river, with its attendant ducks and geese is utterly beguiling, as is the roofscape of the vibrant old town that rises from the far bank. Run by Cedric Bosi, younger brother of the much-lauded Claude (of Hibiscus and Bidendum fame), the kitchen turns out some pretty good food. The mainly British menu does allow the odd French slip: a Scotch egg, cooked to runny-yolk perfection, is encased in merguez-style sausage; a fish soup is delivered complete with rouille and Gruyère; a café gourmand comes with a very French range of petits fours, including chocolate opera cake and delicate macarons. But locals are just as likely to order fish and chips or a fully loaded burger from the chargrill, considering that 'this is the best and most relaxed way to eat out in Ludlow at the moment'. Staff are happy to bring a pint through from the pub, but the restaurant focus is on the reasonably priced wine list.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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