Places to eat in Cirencester

Where to eat in Cirencester

The places to eat in Cirencester are close together, on and around Castle Street and Cricklade Street. All are a few minutes' walk from the Market Place and the Corinium Museum. Sam & Jak, at 2 Cricklade Street, opens with its bar from breakfast and cooks with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, with dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. Igloo, at 37 Castle Street, is family-run and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with cocktails.

For a pint and a plate, the Black Horse on Castle Street is a Marston's pub with cask ale, a beer garden and food all day until 9pm. Gilbertine Deli on Black Jack Street, from the team behind the Gilbertine Kitchen in Tetbury, makes sandwiches to take away. On the Burford Road just outside the town, the Organic Farm Shop at Abbey Home Farm has a café on a farm run organically since 1990.

Who it suits

Cirencester's places are built round a day in the town. Breakfast is easy at Sam & Jak from 8.30am, Tuesday to Saturday, or 9am on Sundays, and at Igloo. For lunch between the museum and the shops, the deli and the Black Horse are the quickest. Families are welcome at Sam & Jak, where high chairs can be added to a booking, though prams may not fit on busy days, and the Black Horse has high chairs.

Days, booking and prices

Mondays are the day to watch: Sam & Jak and the deli are closed, and at the Organic Farm Shop the café is closed and the shop opens only until 12.30pm. Sam & Jak serves dinner Wednesday to Saturday only, and its bar stays open until 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays. Booking is recommended at Sam & Jak and at Igloo, online at both.

We have left prices out: none of the five publishes a priced menu we could check this season, so look before you go. On the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, a farmers' market is held in the town.

Parking and dogs

Dogs are welcome at the Black Horse, downstairs at Igloo, where the dog tables go first, and in the bar and downstairs at Sam & Jak. None of the town-centre places has a car park. The Black Horse points drivers to the council's Brewery car park, which takes card or PayByPhone but not cash, costs £2 for an hour and is free for up to three hours with a Blue Badge. The Organic Farm Shop has its own car park, with three 7kW contactless chargers in the overflow car park, and asks drivers to put Barnsley village into sat nav rather than its postcode, which leads onto the fast A429.

For a bed, see where to stay in Cirencester.

For the museum, the amphitheatre and the park, see things to do in Cirencester.