The story
Fern is a Mediterranean restaurant at 7 High Street East, Uppingham, inside The Falcon Hotel on the edge of the market square. The Good Food Guide lists it as Good for 2026, and it holds one AA Rosette for 2026.
The menu follows what is growing, reared or landed nearby. The food menu changes often to match what the kitchen can source, so the dishes you see on any given visit may differ from the sample menu online. Plates are designed for sharing, which suits a table that wants to try several things at once.
Recent dishes have included a Snowball onion with rose-petal harissa and confit garlic aioli, and a generously filled raviolo of braised beef. The sample menu also lists baked Cornish king scallops with charred lime and a pistachio and orange mafalda corta with basil crisp. Cheese and dessert options, such as a milk chocolate cremeux tart with pecan praline, close the meal.
The drinks list leans toward organic wines and British aperitifs. An early-evening aperitivo hour offers drinks and light snacks, a relaxed start before a small-plates supper. Cocktails are also well regarded by the Good Food Guide.
Recognition
Details
History
An agreeable feeling of pastoral prosperity characterises the ancient market town of Uppingham, and Fern, housed in the honey-coloured Falcon Hotel on the edge of the market square, fits right in. Once you step out of the rather traditional foyer, the restaurant has a very distinct vibe and its roster of Mediterranean-inspired dishes suits customers to a T. The best bit, explained one regular, is the reasonable pricing – ‘you can comfortably give in to temptation and order several things which are perfect for sharing’. The kitchen looks to the Shires landscape (and the nearby market) to provide many of the ingredients for the table, while the menu changes regularly depending on what’s in season; there's also plenty of 'ingenuity and boldness of flavour’ on show here. Recent highlights have ranged from a dramatic-looking Snowball onion with rose-petal harissa and moreish confit garlic aïoli to a generously packed raviolo of braised beef and a red mullet dish pointed up with sharp grapefruit and umami pickles. Staff are lovely, house wine is £29, cocktails are good, and on a Friday there’s a £15 ‘Market Plate’ with a glass of wine.
1 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
Location
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