Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Stamford
Hardens guides have spent 33 years compiling reviews of the best Stamford restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 14 restaurants in Stamford and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Stamford restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Stamford 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 Lake Isle
British, Modern restaurant in Uppingham
16 High Street East - LE15
This “small and friendly restaurant (with rooms)” occupies a small 17th-century building just a stone’s throw from the cute marketplace of this scenic Rutland town, and has been a feature of the area for decades. It serves a “fine seasonal menu” – “original without striving for effect” – and “the service is efficient, professional and pleasant”, adding to the joys of the “lively” atmosphere and “very reasonable” price tag. Those who have been coming for decades (“we held our wedding here in 1994 and visited last night to celebrate our Pearl anniversary!”) report that it’s “excellent still”, and after a visit “a walk around Rutland Water 15 minutes’ drive away is enjoyable”.
3. 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” (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.
4. The Blue Bell
British, Modern restaurant in Glinton
10 High Street - PE6
“An ever-dependable gastropub in a delightful village north of Peterborough” – Will and Kelly Frankgate have run this attractively extended property for over 10 years now. It serves a menu of high-quality fare, supplemented by some “mostly Italian” dishes.
5. The Fox and Hounds Hotel
British, Traditional restaurant in Exton
19 The Green - LE15
2021 Review: This “very smart and much-renovated old coaching inn” sits on the village green of one of the settlements bordering Rutland Water, and serves “high quality” fare in a cosy traditional setting.
6. 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 a biblical wine list assembled by former sommelier Lawrence Hoskins, who passed away last year. 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.
7. Prévost at Haycock
Mediterranean restaurant in Wansford
Haycock Manor - PE8
“Exquisite food with fabulous presentation, every time” is again hailed at Lee Clarke’s relocated venue, which moved in 2021 into the revamped Grade II-listed Haycock Manor Hotel, in a lovely village near Peterborough. “My wife and I had eaten three times at Prevost when it was in town – standards have remained high as Lee’s imagination and the technique of his chefs is perhaps even more precise here, with a multi-course menu that’s a delightful taste journey”.
8. 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!”.
9. 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.
10. The Chubby Castor
British, Modern restaurant in Castor
34 Peterborough Road - PE5
Adebola Adeshina (ex-Gordon Ramsay) left London to set up this restaurant in a Grade II-listed thatched pub. Fans say that this fine diner is “very romantic” and “superb all round” – while, for the odd critic, “dishes are picture perfect but tastes lack follow-through”. PS – Adeshina has now developed the open space behind the pub into a casual summer lunch spot, The Yard.
11. Hitchen's Barn
British, Modern restaurant in Oakham
12 Burley Road - LE15
“Bravo Hitchens!” – this “consistently excellent” barn conversion is “a template for the perfect neighbourhood restaurant, owned and run by a talented chef and his charming wife” (Neil & Louise Hitchen, who met working at local powerhouse Hambleton Hall more than 20 years ago). “The interior is bistro-esque and relaxing”; and the “beautiful seasonal food” delivers “real value for money”: “flavour combinations are carefully created, with each dish superbly planned and cooked to maximise taste. Fish has to come from afar (Cornish turbot on the bone) but nearly all else is sourced from local suppliers”. Top Menu Tip – “game in season is a standout”.
12. Tap & Kitchen
British, Modern restaurant in Oundle
Station Road - PE8
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.
13. Cloisters
restaurant in Stamford
9 Saint Mary’s Street - PE9
2023 Review: “Should you be visiting Burghley House, make sure to take some time to stroll around one of England’s most beautiful towns”. To eat, consider this “lovely Italian” where the food is “quite traditional, but great quality ingredients elevate the overall platter”. “After lunch, pop next door and shop for the same ingredients in their deli.” Top Menu Tip – “the polpette made with pork and a smidge of ‘nduja, which gives it a lovely scented and spicy undertone”.
14. The Slanted Door
International restaurant in Tixover
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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