Restaurant in Wells, Somerset
Restaurant in Wells, Somerset
A restaurant that grew from a wine shop
Tucked into Heritage Courtyard, a few steps from Wells Cathedral, The Pressoir is a small independent restaurant shaped by a lifetime in hospitality, a love of wine and the simple pleasure of giving people a reason to stay a little longer.
Wine came first
Then people wanted to stay
The Pressoir did not begin with a grand plan to become a restaurant. It began with wine: bottles on shelves, conversations across the shop and David helping people find something they might never have chosen on their own.
Then, gradually, the place changed because of the people who came through the door. Coffee gave them a reason to pause. A glass of wine gave them a reason to sit down. Cheese, charcuterie and small plates made sense alongside it. People stayed for lunch, came back with friends and began to make The Pressoir part of their week.
The restaurant grew from there. Not as a change of direction, but as a natural extension of what was already happening around the table.
Long before The Pressoir
Hospitality was already part of the story
David grew up among the vineyards of the Loire Valley and came to England expecting, at least at first, that he would eventually return to France. Instead he met Debbie, made a life here and stayed.
Restaurants and hospitality have been part of both their working lives for many years. They have each spent a great deal of time in the industry and, at one point, even ran a pub together. Food, drink and looking after people were familiar territory long before The Pressoir developed into the place it is today.
Debbie now has a business of her own, although she still lends a hand at The Pressoir from time to time. David's own starting point here was the part of hospitality he had always been particularly drawn to: wine.
From Daniel's kitchen
Food worth coming for in its own right
As the food side of The Pressoir became more serious, so did the kitchen. Today Daniel cooks a seasonal, French-inspired menu using ingredients from local producers, drawing on more than twenty years of cooking rooted in Wells.
Mornings begin with breakfast. Lunch brings croques and tartines, salads, charcuterie, small plates and whatever Daniel has put on the blackboard that day. The menu moves with the seasons, but the approach stays straightforward: good ingredients, cooked properly, served without unnecessary ceremony.
The original thread
The wine shop is still the wine list
Becoming a restaurant has never meant leaving the wine shop behind. David still chooses the wines himself, with a particular affection for European growers and bottles with character, and the shelves around the room remain a working part of the restaurant.
Choose any bottle from the shop and drink it at your table for £10 corkage. It means the wine list is far wider than you would normally expect in a small restaurant, and it keeps the relationship between the food and the shop exactly where it began.
You do not need to know a lot about wine. Tell David what you like, what you are eating or what you want to spend, and let him do the rest.
A little French, very much Wells
Independent, personal and deliberately unhurried
The Loire is part of David's story and you will find a French accent in the food, the bottles and the way the room feels. But The Pressoir belongs to Wells: a small independent place tucked into Heritage Courtyard, close enough to the Cathedral for visitors to find and personal enough for regulars to make it their own.
Some people come for breakfast or coffee. Some find the courtyard while visiting the city and stay for lunch. Others come because David has opened a particular bottle, because Daniel has put something new on the board, or because one of the supper clubs has been in the diary for weeks.
There is no need for an occasion. Come because you are hungry. Come for a glass. Come for coffee and stay longer than you meant to.
Evenings worth planning around
Supper clubs, tastings and special evenings
The Pressoir is not a conventional evening restaurant. Instead, selected evenings through the year are given over to supper clubs, wine tastings and one-off themed dinners.
Supper clubs typically bring a multi-course menu from Daniel with the option of a wine flight chosen by David. Other evenings might explore a region, a style of cooking or a particular group of wines. They are deliberately occasional, and booking is essential.
Visit our restaurant in Wells
10 Heritage Courtyard, Wells
The Pressoir is tucked just off Sadler Street at 10 Heritage Courtyard, Wells, Somerset BA5 2RR, a short walk from Wells Cathedral and the Market Place.
Walk-ins are welcome, although booking is worthwhile if you are making a special trip. To reserve a table, use our booking page or email David at david@thepressoir.com.
More at The Pressoir