Harden's says
Restaurant and bar in a stunning converted Victorian schoolhouse.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“The stunning building” – a school built in 1854 that looks like a church – underpins the appeal of this bar-restaurant deep in the West Country (part of the swish rural group incorporating The Woodspeen). Reports lacked the inconsistency of last year’s feedback, with stronger all-round praise for its high quality, if rather ambitiously priced, fare.
Summary
“An absolutely gorgeous building (a former school, very similar to a church)” that has won beauty awards from Condé Nast Traveller plays host to this “upmarket rural” restaurant by Luke Sutton, who honed his craft at the acclaimed L’Ortolan in Berkshire. A number of visiting Londoners feel the “well-executed” modern British cooking is rather “hyped” and “expensive with a capital E, even for Sherborne”. More positive reporters would say that just highlights the “remarkable value” set menus (three courses £29 per person), and if you’ve change to spare, you can visit the equally glamorous bar on the mezzanine.
Summary
A “beautifully renovated building” – originally an 1860s school, with impressive vaulted ceilings and now a mezzanine bar – plays host to this exceptional outfit on the Dorset/Somerset border. Chef Luke Sutton (ex-the acclaimed L’Ortolan, in Berkshire) oversees the “varied” and “very interesting” British menu, which remains of note for its particularly “good-value” set menu.
Summary
Chef Luke Sutton’s “consistently excellent and interesting” cooking, from a “delicious locally sourced menu”, is served in the “beautiful setting” of a high-ceilinged hall with exposed wood beams – a “fantastic conversion of an old school building” from the 1860s. The set lunch and early evening menu is particularly “great value”.
For 34 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 The Clockspire?
Gainsborough, Milborne Port, DT9 5BA
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £40.00 | £50.00 |  |
|
 |
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £22.00 | £38.00 | £13.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £18.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £5.50 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Gainsborough, Milborne Port, DT9 5BA
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑3 pm, 6 pm‑9:30 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑4 pm |
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