William’s Table Pub and Kitchen, Bath

“Wow, this is exactly how I want our new kitchen diner to look!”

Okay, so that’s not a typical start to a restaurant review. But perhaps it should be; after all, loving the environment you’re in before you even settle down to eat is surely a Very Good Thing, while going out-out for your dinner while feeling right at (plans for a new-look) home makes it an even nicer experience.

It may be relatively new to the Bath independent hospitality scene, but William’s Table Pub and Kitchen — which magpied into the space recently vacated by Town+House, which itself made a home in the iconic London Road/Thomas Street corner pub formerly known as the King William back in 2019 — is a very out-out but at home kinda place, seamlessly blending proper pub/bar personality with dining spaces both upstairs and down that offer broad appeal to gastropub denizens and folk who simply want to extend a night down the local with a coupla plates of upmarket, affordable but beyond thoroughly decent grub. 

Chef Radek Ostrowski is no stranger to serving thoroughly decent grub; having served his time at the hob in several Bath neighbourhood hotspots including The Scallop Shell and The Moorfields, he knows what he’s doing. Radek’s business partner Justyna, meanwhile, runs front of house with the kind of smooth, welcoming efficiency that gives the overall venture a calm, confident, long-established vibe. 

Having taken personal inspiration notes about the environment around our gorgeous little rear-of-ground-floor table for two (silky, grey-tone paintwork: tick! A little vase of fresh flowers on the table: tick! Cool artwork; sturdy wooden furniture; comfy, colourful cushions: tick, tick, tick!), we started our kitchen supper with super-moist, subtly spicy Tandoori Chicken Bites accompanied by a velvety, herbaceous, garlicky dip, and intensely flavoursome Larkhall [note to selves: local sourcing goes large here] Pork Rillettes, the decadent richness of this classic French-inspired treat offset by lively pickled shallots and sweet mustard. Yum!

For mains, for me, Herby Lamb Goulash: slow-cooked, supremely tender lamb melting into a thick, herb-infused sauce/gravy, uplifted by pickled red cabbage and levelled out again by perfect mash. For him, super-fresh seabass fillets teamed with aromatic red lentil dhal, crispy potatoes and an invigorating cucumber salsa — an unexpected combination that, as it turns out, works exceptionally well. 

As I suspected, Radek knows his stuff… and he further proved that point with the deeply satisfying, beautifully-balanced Sticky Toffee Pudding that went straight to the top of our very carefully considered, well-researched STP charts at first bite.

Quiz nights, live music nights, board game nights and beer deals: there’s a lot in the pipeline for this stylishly lively neighbourhood merrymaking zone that’s already setting tasteful tongues wagging in Bath. But really, you don’t need any bonus excuses to cosy up at William’s Table — just turn up for lunch or supper (prices are, by the way, are reassuringly down-to-earth) and your out-out/at home needs are beyond met… and new kitchen inspiration interest piqued to boot.