Harden's survey result
Summary
“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
“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
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”.
Summary
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 32 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
Restaurant Sat Bains Restaurant Diner Reviews
"I would unhesitatingly recommend this restaurant. Undoubtedly it is expensive, but the skill and artistry shown in the food makes it value for money, even if one might have to sell a kidney to eat there. The menu is a set 10-course tasting menu, with an occasional special that can be substituted for a course. The wine flight, though expensive, was well chosen. Some dishes may be divisive- I loved a horseradish panacotta that came with a Granny Smith granita. My wife was less impressed, but still recognised the skill. Other dishes were sublime. We particularly enjoyed a dish of smoked eel with a chicken veloute sauce. I would happily drown in that sauce! Other courses were delicious. An unannounced amuse Boucher was both surprising and slightly theatrical. Service was excellent, attentive, but not obtrusive. The accommodation is very comfortable. For a special occasion the expense is worthwhile. Raid the piggy bank if necessary."
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £25.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
Lenton Lane, Nottingham, NG7 2SA
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 5 pm‑7 pm |
| Thursday | 5 pm‑7 pm |
| Friday | 5 pm‑7:30 pm |
| Saturday | 1 pm‑2:30 pm, 5 pm‑7:45 |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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