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Visitors to the picturesque and hauntingly beautiful Cheddar Gorge and Caves can stop by at the Galleries Inn for a refreshing gastronomic experience. Situated at the entrance to the gorge, this charming gastropub is not far from the cheese factory and is surrounded by awe inspiring natural beauty.

They have a range of hot and cold starters as well as delicious main courses such as tender Priddy Good rump steak, cooked to your liking with onion rings, mushrooms, chips and salad. The homemade chicken and mushroom pie holds its own among other delights such as pork faggots and mash in red onion gravy. A child friendly menu focuses on small but nutritious portions to appease the little ones. Sip on their extensive range of ciders, ales, lagers and stouts while you anticipate a trek to the famous sightseeing places nearby.

Franks is a family run Restaurant specialising in Modern French cuisine with only thirty two covers situated at the foot of the picturesque Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. The Restaurant, which has been open since 2003, has gained a reputation for food of excellence, with a wine list to complement that. The menu changes every three weeks to accommodate all their many regular diners.

They also incorporate local Somerset produce in the menu whenever they can. Typical main courses might include supreme of Cornish hake sat over sautéed garlic mussels accompanied by a crab and ginger broth or four bone rack of West Country lamb roasted pink accompanied with an apricot and Marsala sauce.

Bank House Café opened in Spring 2007 but has already established itself as one of the more interesting places to eat and drink in Somerset. As a result it was chosen by The Times as one of the fifty best places in Britain to eat outdoors - the latest in a series of generous reviews the café has received in the few months since it opened.

The Times writer Hattie Ellis says: "Rambling roses and a tumbling mill stream are part of the secret garden with dining tables at the Bank House Café, a Georgian house in a medieval town at the foot of the Mendips".

Other favourable responses include Mark Taylor's five-star review for the Bristol Evening Post: "There are always those occasional chinks of light in the culinary wilderness and it's those that make this job so rewarding. The Bank House Cafe is more than simply a chink of light. It's a veritable beacon.

The Bank House Cafe occupies the ground floor of a stunning Regency house. It feels slightly Bohemian and almost like a grand old French chateau and, on the lunchtime I was there, there wasn't a spare table to be seen. This was a lunch that made me grin from ear to ear all the way home. Proper food - cooked with integrity by people who care."

The setting for the café - the medieval Square in Axbridge- is itself the hub of a superb visitor destination. Rising up behind the cafe, the Mendip hills are designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - offering first-class walking, cycling, riding, rock-climbing and even caving and potholing.

The Mendips give fabulous views over the Somerset Levels, one of the hidden gems of the South-West At Bank House there is café menu on offer during the day, with a wide range of restaurant-quality meals and drinks at lunchtime and dinners three evenings a week ... a fitting reward to people who been active in the Mendips throughout the day.

The much-praised food is locally sourced wherever possible and is mostly organic. It is complemented by European wine, including ones from the West Country, and local fruit juices, ciders and beers. The café also invites groups to pre-book for lunches or dinners. The red room in particular works really well as a venue for special occasions and celebrations - whether buffets or a la carte meals. The richly-planted walled garden - complete with tumbling stream - is a great venue for pre-dinner drinks or meals for small groups.

Bank House Cafe features a growing list of special events, from wine and food tastings, through musical evenings to relaxed discussions on a wide range of subjects.

Dishes from their menu might include - salad of broad beans, asparagus and Somerset smoked trout with crème fraîche and chilli jam; wild venison fillet steak with balsamic lentils; organic chocolate torte on a hazelnut base. Whilst, if you are not looking for something so posh, they have an interesting selection of imaginative pizzas.