Aldgate Restaurant Guide

“The George in Stamford is a lovely old hotel” – in fact it’s questionable if there is any grander coaching inn anywhere in the realm to rival it – and “dining is offered in a range of areas including the garden room, out in a large courtyard and a formal dining room”. The price shown is for the latter, ‘The Oak Room’ – an extremely fine if old-fashioned chamber that’s “ideal for business”. The cuisine here is not cutting edge, with pricing that would not seem out-of-place in a top hotel in Mayfair, but you are paying for the overall experience, including the biblical wine list assembled over many years. Top Tip – the £60 per head prix fixe menu here, with the option of both carved beef and puddings from their respective, gleaming vintage trolleys, is probably the best bet if you are budget-conscious.

“Always a favourite”, this 17th-century country inn is a “lovely old” place – “at least in the bar and older parts” (there being a “less lovely modern bit on the back built to take advantage of the location with fine views over Rutland Water”). The “food is pretty much standard gastropub fare”, but makes for handy refuelling before a walk round the reservoir.

2024 Review: “Exquisite food with fabulous presentation, every time” is again hailed at Lee Clarke’s relocated venue, which moved in 2021 into the revamped Grade II-listed Haycock Manor Hotel, in a lovely village near Peterborough. “My wife and I had eaten three times at Prevost when it was in town – standards have remained high as Lee’s imagination and the technique of his chefs is perhaps even more precise here, with a multi-course menu that’s a delightful taste journey”.

“A go-to destination in Rutland” – “always deservedly very busy and utterly recommended for its delicious and different dishes (especially fish and seafood)”, this “part pub but mostly restaurant” has won widespread recognition over the past 16 years under ex-Bibendum chef Carol and her waiter husband Scott Craddock. Top Menu Tip – “escargots in garlic butter as a homage to the past!”.

“Bravo Hitchens!” – this “consistently excellent” barn conversion is “a template for the perfect neighbourhood restaurant, owned and run by a talented chef and his charming wife” (Neil & Louise Hitchen, who met working at local powerhouse Hambleton Hall more than 20 years ago). “The interior is bistro-esque and relaxing”; and the “beautiful seasonal food” delivers “real value for money”: “flavour combinations are carefully created, with each dish superbly planned and cooked to maximise taste. Fish has to come from afar (Cornish turbot on the bone) but nearly all else is sourced from local suppliers”. Top Menu Tip – “game in season is a standout”.

2024 Review: Adebola Adeshina (ex-Gordon Ramsay) left London to set up this restaurant in a Grade II-listed thatched pub. Fans say that this fine diner is “very romantic” and “superb all round” – while, for the odd critic, “dishes are picture perfect but tastes lack follow-through”. PS – Adeshina has now developed the open space behind the pub into a casual summer lunch spot, The Yard.

2024 Review: Celebrating its 10th year, this “very lively option with good cooking on Oundle Wharf” is “now a stalwart of the local dining scene”, with an “interesting menu that showcases local produce” – and “the beers are not too bad either, being brewed next door” at the Nene Valley brewery.

Opened in 2020 and now a firm part of the Stamford scene, Oliver & Joseph Regis’s quirky venue is a “delightful, if slightly cramped, space” in one of the town’s gorgeous 16th-century buildings, where Dameon Clarke (ex-of Rywell’s ‘Wicked Witch’) oversees the “well-accomplished food” – be it the small plates available in the bar or the relaxed fine-dining menu on offer by night.

2023 Review: “Should you be visiting Burghley House, make sure to take some time to stroll around one of England’s most beautiful towns”. To eat, consider this “lovely Italian” where the food is “quite traditional, but great quality ingredients elevate the overall platter”. “After lunch, pop next door and shop for the same ingredients in their deli.” Top Menu Tip – “the polpette made with pork and a smidge of ‘nduja, which gives it a lovely scented and spicy undertone”.