The Lake Isle

‘A great return on our first visit after eight years away,’ noted one couple who reacquainted themselves with this endearing local hotel and restaurant. Housed in a Grade-II listed building on Uppingham’s pretty High Street, it's an affable and personable retreat. Most readers combine eating here with an overnight stay in one of the ‘stylish and tasteful’ bedrooms, but food remains the main talking point thanks to the efforts of long-serving chef Stuart Mead, who has been at the helm for more than two decades. Standout dishes are many and varied, from crispy panko scallops with chorizo, ‘seasoned squid’ and black vinegar aïoli to pork fillet with a wild boar pie. The kitchen likes to mix and match globetrotting flavours, as in grilled sea bass with samphire pakora, toasted cucumber, mussels and sorrel raita, although the results are always on-point with ‘consistently high standards’ across the board. Desserts are comforting, boozy delights, from salted caramel custard tart with apple and Calvados to ‘fruits of the forage’ cheesecake with nut meringue and Rutland sloe gin. Warm, helpful service always gets the nod, and there are some ‘high-quality’ offerings on the ever-growing list of around 200 wines. In case you were wondering, the hotel takes its curious name from The Lake Isle of Innisfree , a poem by WB Yeats.

2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence