Kettering Restaurant Guide

Stephen & Tracey Fitzpatrick’s “popular” 16th-century pub-with-rooms in a village just outside Market Harborough has a traditional bar and a more modern dining room offering a "very good standard of cooking”. There’s enough going on to attract a regular crowd, such as “Monday’s ‘auberge’ nights, three courses for £22, which is packed with locals” (and “can get very noisy”).

2024 Review: This “great local restaurant” from Chris & Abby Ascough has built a solid reputation over 19 years for its “beautifully cooked and presented food” at “exceptionally good value” – including a £20 set lunch and a six-course tasting menu for £48 per person with matching wines for £20 per person.

“A nice old thatched pub just off the A14 with a considerable history of offering fine food and drink to locals and travellers alike”. Most feedback is positive, but the odd “inconsistent” or “disappointing” report this year dragged down its ratings average – perhaps the arrival of new landlord Stevie Norman a couple of years ago will steady the ship: he first worked here as a 17-year-old catering college student before spending 20 years at the highly rated Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon.

2024 Review: This “beautiful old country pub” – thatched and beamed, with a “lovely cosy atmosphere, open fire and low lighting” – serves “top-quality food” from chef Emilie Bull, backed up with an “impressive wine list” overseen by proprietor Tim Hubbard, here for 22 years with his wife Kate. “Kate and Tim know what they’re doing and they do it very well indeed” – “they’re always so friendly and happy to see you again”.

2024 Review: Celebrating its 10th year, this “very lively option with good cooking on Oundle Wharf” is “now a stalwart of the local dining scene”, with an “interesting menu that showcases local produce” – and “the beers are not too bad either, being brewed next door” at the Nene Valley brewery.

“The cooking is always fresh and innovative” at this “thriving” Nepalese/Indian restaurant with a “great menu and impeccable service”.

The “lovely village setting by the river” helps conjure an enticing atmosphere at this tranquil Rutland pub, which was transformed in 2023 from a simple boozer into the kind of “beautiful”, “plush”, “traditional” inn that features in Telegraph Travel. “You’re guaranteed to get served excellent food here” say its local fans – dishes are of the brasserie variety (Butternut squash curry, Caesar salad, Confit duck leg) with much grilled steak and fish from the Josper Grill.

This “lovely restaurant” in a splendid 300-year-old building on the High Street makes a “fantastic new addition to the market town, whether you’re here for a drink at the beautifully designed bar or a full meal” – much of the produce on the eclectic, modern menu is from the owners’ farm just out of town. Founders Ben & Toby Cripps have moved the offices of their property company Langton Homes into the building; their local hospitality group now comprises the Sun Inn, Nevill Arms and Red Lion.