Osip chef to relaunch the Old Pharmacy wine bar in Bruton

Merlin Labron-Johnson is to relaunch the Old Pharmacy wine bar in Bruton as the Pharmacy and Pharmacy Field Kitchen.

Labron-Johnson, who is also behind the Michelin-starred Osip in Somerset, has brought on two new head chefs to lead the project, which sees the addition of a new experiential dining and events concept.

Zsuzsanna Toth joins the Pharmacy and Pharmacy Field Kitchen as joint head chef after a decade working in editorial and creative production. The self-taught cook trained at Forsthaus Strelitz, a family-run farm-to-table restaurant in rural Germany, and co-founded Gaia, a summer restaurant project based outside of Berlin. She has also worked at the likes of Aux Des Amis and Dame Jane in Paris.

She will work alongside joint head chef Marc Ackland, who joined the Pharmacy team in 2024, having previously worked with Australian chef Rachel O’Sullivan. He has also cooked at the Rose in Deal and the Fort Road hotel in Margate.

Pharmacy Field Kitchen specialises in catering for private gatherings, brand launches, vernissages and weddings, and will launch this summer with a series of outdoor dining events in partnership with the likes of Bocca di Lupo.

Meanwhile, the Pharmacy will offer “simple peasant cooking” influenced by regional French and Italian cuisine, with a focus on showcasing vegetables sourced from Osip’s two working farms and its neighbouring suppliers.

The all-day restaurant is housed in a 16^th century, former village pharmacy building, and now offers 22 covers.

Guests can start their day with coffee and house-made cakes, as well as pastries from the Newt in Somerset, and end with a selection of small and large plates such as pork collar tonnato, roast poussin with pink fire radish and aioli, fettuccine bolognese and dark chocolate and espresso mousse with rhubarb.

The Pharmacy also serves an à la carte lunch menu consisting of dishes such as local mozzarella and pickled radicchio and Tokyo turnip Caesar salad.

Labron-Johnson said: “I’m thrilled to be entering this new chapter at the Pharmacy with Zsuzsanna and Marc, and to be launching Pharmacy Field Kitchen with them. We’re really excited to bring our approach to seasonal cooking, playful aesthetics, and hospitality out of Bruton, and into the wider world.”

The Pharmacy first opened its doors in March 2021 as a grocery store and later expanded its offering into a wine bar and dining room.

Image Credit: Olivia Anderson