Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Bourne
Hardens guides have spent 34 years compiling reviews of the best Bourne restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 8 restaurants in Bourne and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Bourne restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Bourne Restaurants
1. The Olive Branch
British, Modern restaurant in Clipsham
Main St - LE15
Co-owner Ben Jones together with two friends rescued this property off the A1 25 years ago to create a then-cutting-edge gastropub, and it’s an “old and reliable friend” to long-term fans, with the “atmosphere is of a bubbling country pub that attracts regular clients from a wide area” (and is still one of the top-100 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll). Probably it’s fair to say it’s “not quite as good as it was in its heyday, but it’s still a very good bistro-esque pub” serving “an interesting and varied menu of seasonal delights”. “Have a pint at the bar or in the summer outside in the garden, and then sit down to an excellent, comfortable meal. The well-appointed rooms in a house opposite are ideal for those that like to sleep where they have eaten”.
2. The Blue Bell
British, Modern restaurant in Glinton
10 High Street - PE6
THE BLUE BELL GLINTON
The Blue Bell Glinton is an idyllic village pub dating back to the 18th century. The pub is run by Head Chef Will Frankgate and his wife Kelly and offers a cosy, old-world interior with decked out gnarled oak beams and crackly log fires.
Along with a main ...
3. The Fox and Hounds Hotel
British, Traditional restaurant in Exton
19 The Green - LE15
The Fox and Hounds Hotel is a handsome former 17th Century coaching inn that dominates the Green in the picturesque Rutland village of Exton. The building oozes character, with a number of fireplaces for cosy winter evenings and a pretty garden for lazy summer evenings. Privately...
4. Hambleton Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Hambleton
“You can gaze at Rutland Water” and “sitting on the terrace before and after your meal is an experience in itself” at Tim & Steffa Hart’s “very traditional country-house hotel” (a building once owned by the Hoare banking dynasty, and long predating the 1970s reservoir that nowadays surrounds it). A scenic drive and the crunch of gravel as you pull up herald an “old-fashioned gastronomic delight” in the pretty dining room of this luxurious mansion, where service is “always impeccable”. Chef Aaron Patterson has been at the stoves for 34 years now and is the longest holder in the UK of a Michelin star. His classic cuisine “never fails to deliver top- quality food”: “even old favourites like roast beef have an added dimension”. “It is just so reliable and such a relaxing place”, if with a slight formality to the proceedings. It remains one of the top-25 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll outside London and inspired no words of criticism this year.
5. The George Hotel
British, Traditional restaurant in Stamford
71 St Martins - PE9
“The George in Stamford is a lovely old hotel” – in fact it’s questionable if there is any grander coaching inn anywhere in the realm to rival it – and “dining is offered in a range of areas including the garden room, out in a large courtyard and a formal dining room”. The price shown is for the latter, ‘The Oak Room’ – an extremely fine if old-fashioned chamber that’s “ideal for business”. The cuisine here is not cutting edge, with pricing that would not seem out-of-place in a top hotel in Mayfair, but you are paying for the overall experience, including the biblical wine list assembled over many years. Top Tip – the £60 per head prix fixe menu here, with the option of both carved beef and puddings from their respective, gleaming vintage trolleys, is probably the best bet if you are budget-conscious.
6. The Wheatsheaf
British, Modern restaurant in Greetham
Stretton Rd - LE15
“A go-to destination in Rutland” – “always deservedly very busy and utterly recommended for its delicious and different dishes (especially fish and seafood)”, this “part pub but mostly restaurant” has won widespread recognition over the past 16 years under ex-Bibendum chef Carol and her waiter husband Scott Craddock. Top Menu Tip – “escargots in garlic butter as a homage to the past!”.
7. Finch’s Arms
British, Modern restaurant in Hambleton
Oakham Rd - LE15
“Always a favourite”, this 17th-century country inn is a “lovely old” place – “at least in the bar and older parts” (there being a “less lovely modern bit on the back built to take advantage of the location with fine views over Rutland Water”). The “food is pretty much standard gastropub fare”, but makes for handy refuelling before a walk round the reservoir.
8. The Slanted Door
International restaurant in Stamford
43 Saint Mary’s Street - PE9
Opened in 2020 and now a firm part of the Stamford scene, Oliver & Joseph Regis’s quirky venue is a “delightful, if slightly cramped, space” in one of the town’s gorgeous 16th-century buildings, where Dameon Clarke (ex-of Rywell’s ‘Wicked Witch’) oversees the “well-accomplished food” – be it the small plates available in the bar or the relaxed fine-dining menu on offer by night.
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