The story
Corkage at 5 Chapel Row in Bath is a modern British restaurant with a strong wine focus, and it holds a 1 AA Rosette for 2026. Small plates and grills sit at the centre of the menu, served in a room that works as both dining room and wine bar.
The modern British kitchen cooks nose to tail, with whole fresh fish and local vegetables on the board. The Good Food Guide rated the restaurant Good for 2026, describing a short, regularly changing menu shaped by the Mediterranean basin and the seasons. Some dishes change daily, depending on the best produce available.
Recent menus have included pan con tomate on homemade focaccia with anchovy, crispy polenta with sundried tomato dressing, and pollock crudo with citrus, cucumber and labneh. Meat dishes such as crispy lamb belly with sauce vierge sit alongside pork cheek with fennel and orange, and a chargrilled pork ribeye. Desserts have included a lemon posset with strawberry and shortbread, and a rose panna cotta with salted peanut baklava.
The long, narrow dining room has chunky wood furniture, a snug front bar and a timbered terrace at the back. The wine list is extensive and kindly priced, with classic European bottles, skin contact wines and a good selection by the glass.
Recognition
Details
History
Corkage has always felt like the kind of neighbourhood restaurant that can give a neighbourhood a good name. The original manifestation was in an engaging tiny space quite a way up Walcot Street and was so successful a larger branch opened in Chapel Row, just off Queen Square. Post-pandemic, only the Chapel Row branch has survived. A long and narrow dining room with chunky wood furniture, bookended by a snug front bar and a timbered and tented rear terrace, it’s instantly appealing, a very attractive operation with rough edges but with its heart in the right place. It works as a wine and small-plates bar, offering great value, breezy, friendly service, and bags of atmosphere. The short, regularly changing menu is reflective of the Mediterranean basin, the seasons, and the chef’s enthusiasms. Thus you’ll find cured-and-torched mackerel fillet with soured cream, vermouth jelly and breadcrumbs alongside lamb sweetbreads with a mix of peas, broad beans and shallots, a dab of labneh and a smear of herb oil. Or there could be slow-braised shoulder of lamb with butter beans, lemon and greens, and nicely charred octopus atop chickpea purée with a red pepper and onion salad. Pudding might be a tart (perhaps lemon with crème fraîche) or a special of burnt Catalan cheesecake. Not the least attraction of the place is the long list of kindly priced wines, a mainly classy Eurocentric coterie with skin contact and 'funky' offerings, plus a good by-the-glass selection.
1 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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