Huntingdon Restaurant Guide

“This institution has been a feature of Cambridgeshire life for 50 years” – an ivy-clad Georgian hotel in a “lovely location” overlooking the Great Ouse, owned for almost 30 years by Master of Wine John Hoskins, whose expertise is reflected in the “exceptional wine list” and on-site shop. Some diners feel the food is “pretty average” by comparison, but others feel it is “imaginative” enough and with “top-quality local ingredients”. For wine buffs, though, the cellar is sufficient attraction, as “the hotel has an excellent wine shop with two Enomatic wine dispensers, allowing for a great wine tasting experience as well as underpinning an exceptionally large by-the-glass selection”.

“Great pub dishes executed well above the norm and a very decent wine list” are on the menu at this “lovely old thatched inn on a village green”, re-launched in 2021 by chef Martin Russell and his partner Zoe. “How can you not highly rate any pub that has a traditional suet pudding stuffed with beef bourguignon on the menu?”

This “gem in the Bedfordshire countryside” – a whitewashed gastropub with sixteenth-century origins – is “an oasis of consistency in a sea of mediocrity” under “brilliant” owners Martin & Jayne Lee. “We’ve been going regularly for over 15 years and have yet to eat a meal that was below their high standards”. Top Tip – “always leave room for the soufflé”.