A restaurant just over the Wiltshire border has been named the second-best in the country at a prestigious award ceremony.
Osip, located between Bruton in Somerset and the Wiltshire border, not far from Wiltshire National Trust spot Stourhead, has ranked number two in the UK at the National Restaurant Awards 2026.
The Michelin-starred restaurant, which is run by renowned Devon-born chef Merlin Labron-Johnson, is known for their daily changing menu and locally-sourced ingredients.
In the National Restaurant Awards’ breakdown of the restaurant says the rural restaurant has put Bruton “on the culinary map”.
The Awards’ guide for the restaurant reads: “Former Portland and Clipstone chef Merlin Labron-Johnson’s departure from the capital was a blow to London’s food scene but its loss has been Somerset’s gain. While he made his name as a chef in the UK in London, much of Labron-Johnson’s cooking career has been spent in more rural locations, such as Belgium’s In De Wulf, so his move wasn’t a complete surprise.
“Osip launched in 2019 within boutique hotel Number One Bruton but has since moved to much larger digs about five minutes’ drive east of the upmarket Somerset town. Set within a carefully renovated 18th century former pub, Osip 2.0 is being billed as a ‘complete re-imagining’ of the Michelin-starred farm-to-table concept.
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“The menu is described as evolving daily and is an expression of the Somerset landscape. At lunch a slightly shorter menu is served alongside longer standard and vegetarian options.
“Drinks follow a similar theme, with Osip’s wine programme focused on small-scale sustainable growers and featuring some of the biggest names on the low-intervention scene. There are also a fair few locally-made spirits and ciders on offer including Osip Cider, which is made with a blend of apples that are native to Somerset.
“In June 2025, Osip introduced onsite accommodation with four rooms named after rivers in Somerset - Avon, Brue, Somer and Pitt - making the pilgrimage to taste Labron-Johnson’s food even easier.”
The impressive ranking comes off the back of a landmark 2025, in which Timeout named it the best in the UK, and it was named Restaurant of the Year by The Good Food Guide.
In a testament to the strength of Bruton’s place “on the culinary map”, Briar also found its way onto the National Restaurant Awards’ top 100, coming in at 68.
Sam Lomas’s restaurant moved into Osip’s original location at Number One Bruton in 2024, and has quickly established itself for its focus on “farm-to-table restaurant…rooted firmly in the West Country”, the Awards guide says.
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