Review
Some of the best fine dining I’ve had in the UK has been outside London, and my lunch at Osip proved it again. Osip was truly excellent, inspiring and certainly worth the journey. And what was so special about it was that every dish on the tasting menu hit the spot.
At Osip, precision and purity shape the cooking. Seasonal ingredients, sourced with a farm to table approach, are transformed into bold and expressive dishes. Beneath the apparent simplicity lies disciplined French technique, giving structure and depth to every course.
Around two hours by car or train from London, Osip is set in a 300-year-old former farmhouse in the lush Somerset countryside, where you can stay overnight in one of the four beautifully decorated rooms.
Originally from Devon, chef Merlin Johnson trained in Michelin starred kitchens before becoming sous chef to Kobe Desramaults at In de Wulf. Back in the UK, he opened Portland, earning a Michelin star within nine months at just 24. He now runs Osip, a one Michelin star restaurant in rural Somerset and one that, for me, deserves more. And the cooking is far more solid than at many higher rated restaurants in the capital.