The story
The Great Bustard is a countryside pub and restaurant with rooms in Great Durnford, Salisbury, serving modern British cooking from Great Durnford, SP4 6AY. The AA awarded it 2 Rosettes for 2026, and the Good Food Guide lists it as Good (2026).
Jordan Taylor leads the kitchen, and the menu draws on produce from the Great Durnford Estate, game from the surrounding woodland and trout from the chalk streams. Reviewers described a terrine of estate game with layers of pigeon, pheasant and partridge in a chicken mousse flavoured with dried apricot and tarragon. A loin of estate hare, served with celeriac fondant, is another dish from the same menu.
The ten bedrooms sit above the pub and in the courtyard outbuildings, each named after a bird reintroduced to Britain. Oak floors, sisal rugs and thick linen curtains set the tone, and breakfast is included. The restaurant has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the garden, while The Black Grouse private room seats up to 12 just off the bar.
The Sunday roast uses Great Durnford lamb and Springbottom Farm beef, served with crisp potatoes and Yorkshire pudding. The pub menu includes battered cod, a burger and wood-fired pizzas. On warm days, the courtyard tables sit under a canopy beside the hydrangeas and lavender beds. The wine list includes Otarda red from the family estate in Tuscany, whose name means Great Bustard in Italian.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Readers were quick to alert us to the transformation of the former Black Horse and how good the food was. Now a stylish restaurant with rooms, an early look found us settled in the very pubby bar with a drink, the cosiness that only a beamed ceiling, wingback chairs and an inglenook fireplace can induce willing us to settle in for the night. We could, of course, have stayed put and ordered from the full carte but then we would have missed the rather chic dining room. Located in a newly built wood-clad extension, floor-to-ceiling windows look out onto a heated terrace and small garden. Exposed brick walls hung with modern art and two back-to-back brushed black leather banquettes lend the room a sophisticated metropolitan feel, while a picture window into the kitchen, framed by a display of fine wines and stemware, signals the pub’s serious gastronomic intent. Jordan Taylor’s CV takes in Restaurant Gordon Ramsay and Moor Hall and that high-end pedigree is evident in a menu that celebrates produce from the estate and other local suppliers. Our meal produced a visually stunning terrine of estate game – layers of breast of pigeon, pheasant and partridge surrounded by a chicken mousse flavoured with dried apricot, fermented cep and tarragon – and tasted as good as it looked. And we enjoyed a generous loin of estate hare wrapped in cabbage, served with celeriac fondant, purée and remoulade, plus roasted hen of the woods and a copper pan of leg ragu on the side. But among all the culinary fireworks, Taylor hasn’t forgotten that he is also cooking for a local community of regulars and offers a hearty Sunday roast (Great Durnford lamb, Springbottom Farm beef, served with crisp roast potatoes and roots, spiced creamed kale and fluffy Yorkshire pudding), as well as a list of pub classics including battered cod and chips, steaks from the nearby Springbottom Farm, and a very appetising looking burger. And we found service as friendly and enthusiastic as it is polished and professional.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
Facebook
Instagram