Reviews in Wells

brilliant pub by the river, fantastic food, excellent music, loads of real ales proper ciders and Belgium beers, they have really interesting decor, and a charcoal oven from Barcelona that’s truly awesome

We have been going to Goodfellows since Adam opened and having eaten there so often over the years I can honestly say all the food I have eaten there has been outstanding. I even took my very fussy Mum in Law for Dinner and she raved!! Amazing because she never raves about anything! Our repeated visits say alot because my husband usually refuses to go back to a restaurant more than twice! Well done and we are trying out the Goodfellows in Shepton this weekend - all my little boys are very excited because they also get delicious food to eat and not just the usual children fayre of frozen food beans and chips... You get our vote Goodfellows!

How amazing to find everything to please all generations in one venue. Goodfellows is a favourite for young and older in our family alike. The service is excellent and the food has always been superb both in flavours and in presentation. This is the same for the fish restaurant and the delightful street front cafe, both of which bring a flavour of the continent to beautiful Wells. There is no better venue for business lunches or for evening dining with a friend or two. The dishes are always subtly and beautifully balanced in flavour and look so appetizing and the wine list has never disappointed. The menus consist of the best of the fresh and seasonal so are short and interesting with plenty of variety. It is well worth a visit...then another....and another....and.......

food was very modern and had great flavour combinations, such as scallops and black pudding with sweet shallot puree and bacon foam wonderful!! and shin of beef presented with such class its pub food but at rosette level. a must for foodies

There are three great reasons to visit the ancient city of Wells in Somerset – the Cathedral (one of the most beautiful in Europe), the market (it’s been held for centuries in the town square) and the relatively new kid on the block, Goodfellows. This is a café, brasserie/patisserie and restaurant with attitude. It was bustling on the day we visited, there was an air of success and excitement about the place and the staff oozed quiet, courteous confidence. There are two sections to the restaurant, the first on the ground floor is an intimate, theatre-like space fronting the pass and the busy kitchen specialising in fish sourced from the day boats in Devon and Cornwall – if you like a front seat to the chefs’ activities while you eat then this is the place for you. No room for Ramsay tantrums here just quietly spoken craftsmen talking each other through the routines of the food prep. For those who like to hear themselves eat there is a private, more peaceful restaurant upstairs away from the hustle and bustle. The lunch menu choice is confidently short and, similarly, the wine list which is well-balanced and carefully selected at prices that don’t choke. The menu also included a six course taster compilation for the more ardent luncher. There is more than a whiff of la Belle France about this place, we were received and served by the very French waiter who knew what he was about. Chef Patron Adam Fellows’ wife, Martine, is also French – together they bring a beneficial Gallic flavour to this West Country experience. There was excellent service throughout and good grounded advice on the wines, this kind of professionalism is not thick on the ground. My wife’s a great one-courser, she thought she’d skip the starter but beautiful in-house prepared olives and home baked bread served to fill the gap. The Continental bakery provides delight at both the beginning and the end of the dining experience. We began with a complimentary surprise gaspacho, text book stuff from taste to temperature. I followed with a brilliant little ballotine of wild salmon and a silky disc of fois gras both served on dressed puis lentils and piquant sliced pickled walnuts – a dazzling virtuoso compilation as good as anything I’ve had in years. Next, we both plumped for Cornish brill on crushed potato with wild girolles – is there a better fish? It was matched perfectly by a very fashionable bottle of Vermentino. And so to the puds…… I played good boy and settled for an ace espresso, my wife chose from the bakery selection – plum and frangipane tarte ticked the boxes (I nicked the odd spoonful!). Adam and Martine Fellows have every reason to be proud of Goodfellows, recently voted Somerset Restaurant of the Year, it is an honest, professionally-run business, delivering delight and value for money in equal proportions. We sat between two regulars on one side and two newcomers, like ourselves, on the other sharing oohs and aahs and my god isn’t this good throughout the lunch. Hospitality is live and kicking in Wells – forget Paris for the weekend break take in Wells Cathedral, the market and finish off at Goodfellows. Vous ne regrettez rien!!

Have eaten here many times and it is one of most consistently good restaurants in the west country.The flavours are exceptional,the chef has a faultless palette and cooks classic dishes with great finesse.The £15 lunch has to be one of the best bargains around.

I have had the joy of eating at Goodfellows just one time. I had the taster menu and in the seafood restaurant and it was amazing. The preparation, execution and presentation of the food was second to none. The atmosphere was pleasant and unassuming. The were staff courteous and keen to ensure that your evening was as pleasant as possible without being in your face. The decor was simple, understated and without pretention which made the overwhelming good standard of the food even more amazing. This is a restaurant I would recommend to any friends or family that were to visit Wells and I certainly would enjoy eating here again.

My Wife booked us a table as my birthday treat, from a recommendation from a friend, a table with 'Moat views' and we got what we asked for. We chose a Saturday evening, which was busy but not 'too' busy. Both of us had Starter, Main course and Desert with Coffee, all very good value and were well cooked. There were a couple of large parties seated, one in the main entrance area, the other in the centre of the restaurant, there was some noise but who wants a silent room where you can hear the clicking of everybodies knives and forks? I can't fault the meal to be honest, the food was good, the service was prompt and polite and the setting is very good also, Wells Market Place next to the Town Hall, backing onto the Bishops Palace and Moat. Will definitely go again!

I recently visited the cafe piano bar with my family.I understand the restaurant has recently been taken over and i would very much recommend a visit.The staff are attentive, lovely atmosphere.The food is wonderful i had the salmon which was beautifully cooked in a delicious light sauce served with seasonal vegetables

We went to the cafe piano bar for Sunday lunch , the food was outstanding. I had roast beef which was beautifully cooked, very tender meat.Vegetable and roast potatoes outstanding all very freshly cooked. Lovely atmosphere with a piano playing quietly in the background would very much recommend a visit. My mum and Dad have been back twice already and apparently the lasagna is outstanding

In reply to Pilton5 saying that Goodfellows should have a Michelin star, Adam Fellows did gain one when he was Head Chef at Charlton House Hotel in Shepton Mallet, but said he didn't want to be inspected for one when he opened Goodfellows. I quite agree that the standard of food - both ingredients and beautifully creative presentation - is the highest in the region.

This is a case of what you see is not what you get - the restaurant is unassuming and simple in decor - but the food is outstanding, and far outshines some of the flashier and more well known eateries - both locally and I would say in London too. Having eaten out in London a great deal, I love coming back to Goodfellows for the way respect is paid to the integrity of the ingredients. It should have a Michelin star -Top place!

The views are brilliant of the Cathedral, dishes are imaginative and the food is good, but it isn't the best restaurant in Somerset. That accolade goes to one just across the road in Wells - Goodfellows.

I wouldn't say it's the best restaurant in Somerset by any means. But it's in a pleasant position, with a door to the Cathedral Green and the menus are creative and good

Magic and quirky restaurant; ordinary pub-like exterior but surprisingly light interior, with strange and interesting artworks on the walls. Chef Ashley Rainbow has a wonderful talent and his dishes are a delicious combination of tastes and textures, using local ingredients wherever possible. There are five havetobeseentobebelieved bedrooms; one of the bathroom doors is made out of a single slab of wood, including the handle). Lovely, friendly staff.

Peter & Veryan have run this pub with grace, harmony, excellent beers and ciders and very good food for several years. They are very proactive within the village and organise lots of different events - from vintage car rallies to cider & cheese evenings. We've never had a bad meal, nor anything other than a smashing welcome.

Good reviews of The Old Spot in Wells led me to book a table for six to celebrate my daughter's 18th birthday. On arrival we were presented with an almost empty restaurant, lacking in atmosphere; a situation which remained largely unaltered throughout the evening. The licensee was, sadly, somewhat ill-informed about the licensing laws relating to youngsters, despite one of my guests identifying himself as a policeman with expert knowledge of the subject. Not the end of the world in this particular case, but not a perfect start to the meal. The menu was sensibly limited although with a good range of choices. Too large a variety can often lead to lack of quality I believe. The food was good, served beautifully and reasonably quickly, but overall it lacked the sparkle that previous reviews hinted at. Moreover, the relatively high prices were not reflected in the quality of the meal which, whilst good, was certainly not outstanding. The fire alarm went off twice during the course of our meal along with two large crashes in the bar for which no explanation or guidance, worryingly in the case of the fire alarms, was forthcoming! In order to spare my daughter any embarrassment on this special occasion we left before coffee and port without making any comments to the staff. Overall I feel that The Old Spot has an enviably wide range of wines on offer and a good, albeit unexceptional menu, but is let down by lack of atmosphere and relatively high prices. Could do better!

Creative cooking of a brilliant standard-the best in the SW since Blunos in his prime!