Juliet, the acclaimed restaurant on London Road in Stroud, has been named one of the country’s top eateries by renowned food critic Giles Coren.
Coren ranked Juliet number two in his personal top ten restaurants of the year, describing it as the only restaurant he reviewed in 2024 to receive a perfect score across cooking, service, and location.
The restaurant is the creation of artist and restaurateur Dan Chadwick, who restored Stroud’s landmark Old Music Centre before relaunching it as Juliet in October 2024, naming the venue after his wife, Juliet Chadwick. Chadwick also owns and has run the historic Woolpack Inn in Slad for more than 25 years.
Commenting on his ranking, Coren told The Times: “It’s the ones you have to leave out that hurt… in a less wonderful year for restaurants, there would have been room for many other dazzling establishments. But this year, there was room only for ten outstanding restaurants, and Juliet is firmly among them.”
He continued: “Juliet is something you almost never get. A timeless, friendly, entirely unpretentious modern bistro, serving perfectly executed, classically inspired dishes, quietly and elegantly, on the main road in a town three quarters of British adults haven’t heard of.”
Coren also highlighted several standout dishes: “Panisses – a foot long and covered with grated parmesan like cheesy churros – were the best I’ve had all year. I loved the hogget chop with fine beans and anchovy, the bavette frites, the matchstick zucchini, and the Amalfi lemon tart. The wine list is excellent, and the bill is perfectly reasonable for four diners.”
Despite giving Juliet perfect scores across all categories, Coren admitted the restaurant’s second-place ranking was “something of a scandal”, joking that mathematically, it deserved to be first.
Since opening, Juliet has quickly established itself as a destination dining spot, earning national recognition while remaining firmly rooted in Stroud’s local character.
