RestaurantsShropshireLudlowSY8

survey result

Summary

£86
 ££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Ideal for a “hideaway date night in the shires”, with a “combination of discrete modern features melded into an ancient, beautiful and comfortable building” (whose stone dining room was built at the time of the Norman Conquest) – Pippa & Willem Vlok’s country-house guarantees a “really great experience”. “Truly remarkable staff” include head chef Nick Bennett, whose “highly skilled cooking” produces meals to savour.

Summary

£81
 ££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Absolutely lovely surroundings, worth a 6/5 for ambience!” – this medieval-to-Georgian country house with its own cider press, just outside Ludlow, is a “glorious” setting for newly installed chef Nick Bennett’s “tip-top”, “creative, inventive and delicious” cooking; and his “set menus offer just enough choice over a 3-night stay”. Pippa & Willem Vlok are “such friendly owners”.

Summary

£75
 ££££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“In an area known as a haven for foodies”, and bathed in “an ambience of rustic charm” (a farmhouse conversion in a “wonderful garden setting”) this “traditional yet warm dining room” is “a delight”. The accomplished and accoladed cuisine spans a “superb tasting menu” and à la carte with “the best of local produce beautifully presented and served”. “Very high-standard bedrooms” are equally “outstanding value for money”.

Summary

£73
  £££
4
Very Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Very attractively converted from an old farm with barns and a mill, this restaurant-with-rooms a short drive from Ludlow has its sights set high when it comes to the high quality of its cuisine, and Karl Martin’s cooking – awarded a rare four rosettes by the AA – “shows a high degree of skill without confronting diners with too many tastes”. One or two reporters find the experience too costly, but all rate the victuals here as good or better.

For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Old Downton Lodge?

Restaurant details

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No dress code
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Old Downton Lodge Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Old Downton Lodge Restaurant in SY8, Ludlow by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Old Downton Lodge restaurant.
Mike E
The combination of discreet modern technolo...
Reviewed 2 months, 12 days ago

"The combination of discreet modern technology melded into an ancient and most beautiful and comfortable building, with truly remarkable staff made the experience quite wonderful. The matched wine list was exceptionally good - so good it was difficult to decide which came first - the wine or the matching meal. The staff make the experience even better- we left feeling we had friends there."

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Prices

Availability 2 courses 3 courses coffee included service included
Dinner £50.00 £60.00
  Cost Availability Courses
Menu1 85.00 Dinner only 6
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £30.00
Filter Coffee £3.50
Extras  
Service 10.00%
Downton on the Rock, Ludlow, SY8 2HU
Opening hours
Monday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Tuesday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Wednesday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Thursday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Friday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Saturday6 pm‑8:30 pm
Sunday6 pm‑8:30 pm

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