The story
Juliet is a relaxed, bistro-style restaurant on London Road in Stroud, offering a compact dining room with a small bar and window counter seating. The restaurant’s cooking takes inspiration from France and Italy, celebrating seasonal produce sourced from local farmers and butchers, as well as from its own Victorian walled garden at Lypiatt Park, just two miles away. This commitment to short supply chains and sustainable practices has earned Juliet a Michelin Recommendation, recognising its thoughtful, ingredient-led approach.
The kitchen’s menu changes regularly, built around what is ripe and ready. Dishes are designed for sharing, ranging from appetisers and smaller plates to larger items cooked on the grill. The restaurant’s own two-acre vegetable plot, managed by head grower Tomer Shaltiel and apprentice Alex Middleton, supplies salad, herbs, and speciality vegetables throughout the year. Using organic, biodynamic and no-dig methods, the garden focuses on soil health and biodiversity, with fresh produce harvested twice a week for both Juliet and its sister pub, The Woolpack. Food waste from the restaurants is returned to the garden as compost, creating a closed-loop system that prioritises flavour and nutrition.
Juliet’s responsible ethos extends beyond the plate. The interior design incorporates recycled materials and second-hand furniture, while front-of-house uniforms are made by a small London manufacturer using British yarn. Wines are sourced from small European producers using organic or biodynamic farming, and the coffee comes from Bristol-based Triple Co Roast, which buys directly from South American farmers. The restaurant also supports a female-founded, B-Corp distillery for its spirits. By butchering its own meat and keeping packaging to 95% recycled materials, Juliet aims to minimise waste and environmental impact.
With its counter seating, bar, and attached Piano Bar, Juliet is designed as a neighbourhood meeting point – a place for a glass of European wine and a considered meal. The team’s focus on generous pay, training, and community involvement reflects a belief that hospitality is a respected career. Whether you stop by for lunch, a small plate at the bar, or a full dinner, the atmosphere is unpretentious and warm, anchored by a deep connection to the land and the seasons.
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The sophisticated big sister to Slad’s Woolpack Inn, this all-day bistro marries a modern European menu with a decidedly old-world French vibe. Large windows flood the long, narrow white room with light, while linen-draped tables, black leather banquettes, rich mahogany sideboards and a parquet floor evoke the understated elegance of a bygone era. The menu is arranged as a series of sharing plates of escalating size, brought in order, so that one might start with an oyster or oeuf mayonnaise from the snacks, before a more substantial dish of clams with Tropea onion and asparagus or beef tartare with pommes allumettes. Portions are generous, with the final dishes (maybe a butterflied mackerel scattered with agretti and bottarga) the size of a conventional main course. Will Rees (formerly head chef at Wilsons in Bristol) and Oliver Gyde spin magic from sustainably sourced local ingredients, including salad leaves grown in owner Dan Chadwick’s walled garden at nearby Lypiatt Park. Lashings of grass-green olive oil, presumably not locally produced but none the less delicious for it, enriches many dishes and looks so pretty against the white plates. The standout from the short dessert menu is a decidedly grown-up apple tarte tatin, caramelised to within an inch of its life and served with crème fraîche. Should you wish to take advantage of the impressive list of low-intervention and artisanal wines, Stroud train station is a mere stumble away. Service from the team of young, passionate staff brims with pride and enthusiasm.
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