'A serious lunch in a brand new Corsham classic': TOM PARKER BOWLES reviews Corsham House

Updated: 21:00 EDT, 25 September 2026 Corsham, like most other smallish Wiltshire towns in the early to mid-1980s, offered precious little for the trencherman tourist. There was The Dolphin, next to the town hall on the high street, which did decent fish and chips. And Jaipur, over the road and a few doors down, for curry. Not that we ever tried so much as a poppadom, the food of the Indian subcontinent – albeit with a markedly British accent – not being part of our daily bread. You could get a curling sandwich at The Methuen Arms, alongside a pickled egg, and there were always fine pies at Love & Sons, the butcher. But for serious eating – or at least a dreary burger and rack of desiccated ribs – you had to head down the road to Bath.Things are rather different these days. The Methuen Arms has been bought by the Butcombe Brewing Co, and given a boutique facelift. Although the food standards seem to have dropped. While Love & Sons is now the excellent Mother & Wild, baking proper Neapolitan pizza. More exciting still is the arrival of Corsham House, the new opening from the team behind The Beckford Bottle Shop and Beckford Canteen in Bath, both of which I’ve reviewed, and both of which I loved. Excellent wine, good service and food you actually want to eat. ‘Sweet and subtle’: fresh crumpets with anchovy butterCorsham House is their most ambitious project to date, a handsome neo-brasserie with 11 bedrooms, sitting in what used to be the local Lloyds bank. It’s a large, elegant room, with soft, oxblood leather banquettes, pressed-tin ceiling and walls daubed in discreetly expensive shades of neutral. Service is young, charming and on the ball, cocktails expertly shaken.We eat fresh crumpets with anchovy butter, sweet and subtle, and a reassuringly bosky pig’s head fritter, dragged through a sharp gooseberry ketchup. Deep-fried Westcombe cheddar curds, served with Marmite mayo, have a joyously squeaky bite. You’ll definitely want more.Halibut is beautifully cooked, sitting in the most light and lovely of chicken jus, and studded with fresh peas. It’s the finest dish of the day and testament to the kitchen’s art. Less successful is the Devonshire crab salad, where the obvious freshness of the meat is smothered in gloppy, overpowering remoulade. Avoid. For pudding, burnt butter ice cream (sublime) and a couple of espresso martinis. A serious lunch in a brand new Corsham classic.About £40 per head. Corsham House, 13 High Street, Corsham SN1; corshamhouse.comRating: