Melton Mowbray Restaurant Guide

An “excellent special occasion” is recommended by fans of this well-established venue, which also has two rooms available for staying guests, set in a smartly modernised old building in a village in the Charnwood district of Leicestershire. Chef Danny Jimminson and his wife Sandra offer an array of menus including a three course selection of £65 for three courses (available Tuesday-Friday), while on Saturday night they serve a seven-course meal for £95 per person. Its superior cooking as acknowledged by its hard-to-achieve award of three AA rosettes.

“An unalloyed joy” – “Neil & Louise Hitchen’s exceptional family-run restaurant” is “a wonderful, happy home of good food and charming service, delighting all who visit” with their “lovely bistro-style” meals. “Not the poshest, nor the starriest and thankfully not the most expensive, but possibly the best ‘local’ restaurant in Rutland and for miles around”, with “some innovative cooking”. Top Menu Tip – “the marmalade ‘croissant’ bread-and-butter pudding is a knockout”.

A “wonderfully atmospheric place, with idiosyncratic but comfortably plush surroundings” that was born when founder, the late Imogen Skirving, decided to open the doors to her family home three decades back. This country house oasis is now run by her granddaughter Lila Arora, with chef Gary Booth continuing their longtime focus on locally sourced produce, from Belvoir game to “truly delicious soufflés of the savoury and sweet variety”. Further praise this year for the “professional yet friendly service” – clearly this “quirky place knows what it’s doing” after all these years.

“A village pub, but one which serves really good French bistro food (escargots, oysters) and is excellent for fish” – owners Carol & Scott Craddock worked in London ‘fine dining’ (Bibendum, The Dorchester) before decamping to rural Rutland in 2008, creating a venue that is “more restaurant than pub, but retains a friendly local welcome and atmosphere”. Carol’s “well-sourced-and-cooked food” is backed up by “husband Scott’s truly first-class wine list” – and if it’s “a tiny bit predictable, perhaps that’s not a bad thing”. Top Menu Tip – “save room for the desserts!”.

“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.

“Not your usual Indian”, down to the bright, café-style décor – this “totally authentic” icon on the Golden Mile was founded in the 1970s, and is still run by the Lakhani family; it’s built a huge reputation over the years for its “vegetarian, mostly Gujarati-style, home cooking” – and, surprisingly, its afternoon tea, acclaimed by TV chef Rick Stein, and offering unlimited sweet and savoury snacks washed down with masala chai. Top Tip – “try as many new dishes as possible – they won’t disappoint!”

“Not your ‘bog standard’ Indian” (“don’t look for chicken tikka masala, onion bhajis and poppadums here, you won’t find them”) – this stalwart Leicester local – now with offshoots in Nottingham, Leamington Spa and West Byfleet – instead specialises in “innovative” Keralan dishes “using the likes of rabbit, pork or salmon” that “never fail to hit the spot”.

Nisha Katona’s Liverpool-based operation has two branches in London (Charlotte Street and Westfield Stratford) offering her “very tasty” Indian street food – “with the occasional hint of raw spice”. The Lancashire-born former barrister launched the business in 2014 and now has 28 outlets around the country, whose “enjoyable, authentic food” is “really great for a chain”.

You’ll look online in vain for the website of Harry & Caroline Hallam’s quirky venue – one of the country’s earliest supper-club-type experiences, which has seen them serving up to 10 guests in the red-painted front room of their Georgian house for the last 30 years (and which had a Michelin star until about 2010). Harry is still in the kitchen and Caroline still front of house. It only inspires a couple of regular fans in our annual diners’ poll nowadays but they continue to say it’s an exceptional experience (if one whose ambience necessarily derives somewhat from your dining companions on the evening).

“Owned by ex-England cricketer Stuart Broad, this country pub has hit a rich seam of form with its “great vibe”, “interesting menu of well-cooked food” and “super Sunday lunch”. It’s also enjoying a second innings, having been refurbished to the tune of £1.3 million following a disastrous fire in 2022.

Chef Richard Stevens grew up on the farm housing this cosily lit barn – complete with corrugated iron roof – which since September 2022 has become an ambitious venue for sampling his 20-course tasting-menu for £120 per person, with service from his wife Grace. Our reporters all rate it highly – “a proper hidden gem with a stunning location and setting with brilliant food and team”, although it skipped our highest rating due to the odd quibble (“I understand everything is local but just felt the prices were high in relation to the portions”). Certainly the Sunday Times’s Charlotte Ivers is a fan – in her November 2024 review she declared herself “in love – utterly enthralled” with a “magic” meal “you’ll remember forever”.

“Remember to order oysters in advance if you go for the Thursday seafood special” at this contemporary restaurant in a thatched building (dating from 1590), in a Leicestershire village near Loughborough that’s home to arguably England’s most famous fox hunt. Each night has a different culinary theme or style and it was well-rated all-round this year.

Having recently celebrated its first birthday, this “largish, newish” Indian dining spot was launched by sisters Shweta, Shivani and Natascha Joon. The “premium location” and décor set the tone for some “excellent” and “affordable” food, ranging from street-food nibbles to eclectic small plates and mains.

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.