The Farmers Arms, West Hatch, nr Taunton, Somerset
Drive down a narrow winding lane towards West Hatch, high hedgerows either side, and before long you'll get to the Farmers Arms. It doesn’t get much more bucolic than this; the perfect setting for a country pub, surrounded by glorious Somerset countryside.
But this is a pub with a difference because besides the tasty pub classics they serve, there’s also a good choice of authentic Punjabi dishes, like Beef Keema, Tuna Sabji and Rajma Daal. Not what you’d expect in a Somerset country pub, but it works – after all, who doesn’t like a good curry, especially when it’s cooked by someone who knows what they’re doing?
In a previous existence the Farmers Arms was a farmhouse, so a lot of the original features have been retained; thick stone walls, old wooden floorboards, a big inglenook fireplace to one end, to the other a smaller one with a wood-burner. Settle yourself down on the leather sofas in front of it at the chillier times of the year and you won’t want to go home. In the summer take a drink out to the beer garden and sit and chat taking in the clear country air; the views out over the fields to the hills in the distance are the perfect backdrop.
The people who run the pub have an ethos of serving good food using the freshest local ingredients they can get, and bringing the community together. They open from 11:00am-10:00pm every day and from Monday to Wednesday dinner service starts at 5:30pm – handy if you’ve got children with you, or if you just prefer not to eat too late.
Being open all day, this is a good one for after a walk at Staple Hill just up the road. If you come on horseback there’s even a tethering point for your nag.
T: 01823 480980
All information correct at the time of writing