Lincolnshire Restaurant Guide

“Set in a very atmospheric old building on Steep Hill” – the second oldest house in the country, circa 1170, according to Historic England – you’ll find what is by many accounts the “best fine-dining restaurant in Lincoln”. “Excellent food and service” are provided by Gavin Aitkenhead, chef-patron for almost 20 years, and FOH manager Samantha Tomkins.

Things look cute and ivy-clad on the outside, and properly quirky on the inside (copper kettles hang from the eaves, there’s comedy taxidermy and, most dramatically, an 18 feet-deep well between the lounge and restaurant), at this gastroboozer in one of the villages on the outskirts of Lincoln. The British pub grub (steak and ale pies, Grimsby-landed haddock) is largely locally sourced and was soundly rated.

2023 Review: A “great local for all the family” in a pretty village in the Lincolnshire flatlands, where Paul & Lorraine Willoughby look after their guests well in this classic seventeenth-century inn.

This relaxed Keralan venture (with, rather unusually for a subcontinental, a Greek name meaning ‘fellowship’), has won a good reputation for its “excellent South Indian food”, which comprises enjoyable dosas and “particularly good” coconut sambal. Top Tip from one reporter who over-ordered – it can be “tricky to gauge portion sizes” so don’t get carried away.

“Exceptional” cuisine is still the norm in feedback on Harry & Caroline Hallam’s quirky, 10-seat venture, which has survived for over 30 years in the front room of their Georgian house, with Caroline front of house and Harry in the kitchen. That said, reports are not as plentiful as once they were, and the times when it had a Michelin Star (until about 2010) now seem a distant memory. Perhaps, despite its ongoing quality, people are just more used to the idea of pop-ups and supper clubs than once they were?

In an “unassuming location adjacent to the A1”, this is a “great little restaurant” (with rooms) where the victuals – from nostalgic classics like prawn cocktails to burgers and pizzas – are never less than “steady” (and sometimes “delicious”, say fans). Top Tip – “the special themed evenings are particularly great”, and might take in tapas or surprisingly upscale Japanese and Indian tasting-menu nights.

In this Lincolnshire town’s Cornmarket, this April 2024 newcomer is the first solo project of ex-Winteringham Fields head chef Gareth Bartram and his wife Lucy. Billing itself as a ‘café restaurant’, it’s a flexible venue where you can drop in for a coffee or cocktail, or make a full meal from the flexible menu which includes both ambitious small or large plates. For £60 per person, you can go the whole hog and opt for a chef’s selection.