survey result

Summary

£200
£££££
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.

“Still at the top of its game” and “very much worth the trip” – Sat & Amanda Bains’s converted motel remains Nottingham’s flagship destination, even if its location leaves a little to be desired (just off a large dual carriageway, next to an industrial estate, beside a National Grid pylon and the concrete banks of the River Trent). Once inside, the stylish interior lives up to the high ambitions of the extensive tasting menus: either ten courses for £195 per person; or blow out with the 15-course option at £275 per person. In either case, reports say “the flavours are so well-crafted that you want to give each mouthful plenty of time, and before you know it you are well into your third hour”. One or two reporters find it hard to get over the “extortionate price tag”, but even they describe the cooking as “outstanding”. (Aside from the main dining room, which seats 28, other options for a meal include the Tasting Room for 4-6 diners, and the kitchen Tasting Bench for 4 people).

Summary

£199
£££££
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.

“Having wanted to visit for a long time, I was not disappointed despite the strange location!". – Amidst motorway flyovers, industrial estates, electricity pylons and the concrete banks of the River Trent, Sat & Amanda Bains’s converted motel remains one of the UK’s more offbeat gastronomic adventures and is entering its twentieth year as a flagship of Nottingham dining. Here, one of the most expensive and ambitious tasting menus is served in a “high-class” if low-key setting: “a stunning 10-course extravaganza” where regulars note “increasing use of subtle spice” and the continual introduction of “many new dishes”. For those who stay, there are “great rooms and a lovely breakfast too”. Having topped our Top 100 UK Restaurants last year, ratings slipped a fraction this year: some regulars noted (as they have at some other top places this year) both pressures on service (“I felt standards had dropped since pre-pandemic days”); and concerns over value (“I have been eating at Restaurant Sat Bains since 2006… prices nowadays are becoming astronomical”).

Summary

£190
£££££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Just outstanding in every way.” It is testament to Sat Bains and wife Amanda’s hospitality that they have created one of the country’s best-rated gastronomic destinations in a former motel, on the outskirts of an industrial estate, amidst the flyovers on the edge of the city (near the banks of the Trent). “Once you find it, you will keep going back for more” on all the accounts we received this year, thanks to its “superb cuisine and a correspondingly varied wine list, full of surprises”. In 2022, they will be presenting a ten-course tasting menu at £195 per person or you can eat at the Chef’s Table and/or the Kitchen Bench at £225 each. There’s also a development kitchen – ‘Nucleus’ – although its future direction has not yet been announced.

Summary

£134
£££££
5
Exceptional
4
Very Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Sat Bains’s “special” cuisine “doesn’t miss a beat” at his much-acclaimed foodie Xanadu, which remains one of the country’s foremost culinary destinations. “Much is made of the bizarre location” – a converted motel amidst flyovers, “on the fringe of an industrial estate at the edge of the city”“but once inside, you are cocooned in luxury” (including, if you stay, in the “quite reasonably priced bedrooms”). Both seven-course and ten-course tasting options are “hugely inventive and utterly brilliant with a superb matching wine flight”. The “chef’s table is an exceptional experience” and many regular diners also report “experiential touches like a tour of the busy kitchen after dinner with a signed menu”. “Top waiting staff too: friendly and knowledgeable, but more importantly, keen”.

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).

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Restaurant details

6, 4
No dress code
28
8+

Restaurant Sat Bains Restaurant Diner Reviews

Reviews of Restaurant Sat Bains Restaurant in NG7, Nottingham by users of Hardens.com. Also see the editors review of Restaurant Sat Bains restaurant.
Darren F
Just amazing. Not overly formal - friendly ...
Reviewed 9 months, 17 days ago

"Just amazing. Not overly formal - friendly service. Amazing food. Relaxed pace - one service so no hurry "

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Prices

  Cost Availability Courses
Menu1 125.00 Lunch only 7
Menu2 165.00 Dinner only 10
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £25.00
Filter Coffee £4.00
Extras  
Service 10.00%
Lenton Lane, Nottingham, NG7 2SA
Opening hours
MondayCLOSED
TuesdayCLOSED
Wednesday5 pm‑7 pm
Thursday5 pm‑7 pm
Friday5 pm‑7:30 pm
Saturday1 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑7:45
SundayCLOSED

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