The Stag - Menu

The Thorold

➤ Main St, Grantham, United Kingdom

Fish • Wine • Coffee • British

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"Had Sunday lunch there for first time. Very impressed both with the food and service. The roast beef and the pork shoulder were cooked to perfection as where the roast potatoes and parsnips. Overall an excellent repast. We will definitely be going again. Rooms: 4 Service: 5 Location: 5"

The Stag

➤ Church Street, South Kesteven, United Kingdom

Meat • Steak • Salads • Chicken

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"The Stag Inn is a delightful looking pub overlooking the small green in the village of Barkston near Grantham. Internally the pub is clean and tidy with a range of two and four seater tables with New England shades of light blue on the painted table legs in the restaurant area. We didn’t venture into the pub side so can’t vouch for the decor in there. We arrived unannounced just after opening time of 12 and were offered a table with no difficulty. There was a menu of the usual offerings of fish and chips and a range of burgers together with roast salmon, chargrilled pork chop, a leek and cauliflower cheese pot pie, ham egg and chips and a vegetable lasagne amongst others. A specials chalkboard hung on the far wall and the crab and prawn salad with Mediterranean bread sounded so good we both opted for it. That was a mistake as we were to find out. The meals were reasonably quick to arrive and were served up in two large bowls with a dusting of paprika round the edges. What hit me immediately was the large flaccid green lettuce leaf draped over the edge of the bowl, together with a whole half-a-lemon that we each had. A small wedge would be perfect. The bread tasted sweet and was as far from the Mediterranean as it could possibly be apart from the occasional input of sundried tomato. What irked me most though was that the bread was delivered up pre-buttered with what looked like some bright yellow catering spread. A small ramakin of real butter between the two of us would work so much better. When asked if everything was okay I mentioned this and was told that chef would be informed. Having said all that the crab and prawn salad was full of flavour and sat on a nice mixed salad of red peppers, lettuce, red onion and cornichons. A word of advice to the wise….. don’t sit at the table near the restaurant counter as this is where the pub’s phone is located. On at least two occasions the phone was left to ring unanswered by the staff, presumably as they were busy elsewhere (the pub was by no means full) and was right behind my head! The volume of the ringer was high and it would have been a more pleasant experience for us if, firstly, it was answered and, secondly, the volume was turned down. On the plus side the staff were polite and helpful but the food not so great."

Harry's Place

➤ 17 High Street, Great Gonerby, NG31 8JS, South Kesteven, United Kingdom

Fish • Lunch • French • British

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"This has been an enormously successful restaurant over a number of years and is mentioned in the Michelin guide for the quality of its food. The experience is enhanced by the feeling that you have been invited to a private dinner party and the dining room is very personal to the owners. I liked the modest sense of theatre about the whole evening and the welcome was warm and service very attentive without being over-bearing. The food is very accomplished and the only small criticism I would have is that if you only offer two main courses then it is unwise to wince if a guest wants the meat cooked to their taste and not the chef's. It was done perfectly as requested. We were being treated to this meal so I cannot say how much per head with wine and aperitif you would have to allow but my suggestion is around £70 a head. If you are expecting a complete knock-out meal at this price then I think you may be disappointed. If you want something slightly unique then I think the cost is reasonable for the high standard you get."

Claret Jug

➤ Belton Woods Hotel, South Kesteven, United Kingdom

Full • Steak • Lunch • British

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"I visited recently with my partner in order to get dinner, and we were not disappointed. Although not necessarily table service, the staff were friendly and chatted with us, which made the whole experience feel very personal. The menu has a good range of options for all, and isn't overly expensive. The food arrived quite promptly, and the portion sizes were very respectable, so much so that I couldn't finish my meal. The atmosphere was light and breezy, the music and television not too intrusive, and all in all it was a lovely way to spend an evening. I have visited the Claret Jug before, and I certainly will again."

Belton Woods

➤ Belton, Grantham, United Kingdom

Seafood • British • Chicken • European

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"Very disappointed. We booked afternoon tea as a birthday present for my 88 yr old mother. In the booking I asked that maybe you could do something special for her. I wasn’t expecting balloons and a fanfare, but just a nice little touch to mark the day would have been good. We got nothing, not a mention, nothing. The food was fine but waiting service was terrible. He never spoke to us apart from bare basics, and was not attentive at all, and considering we were the only ones there in the dining room, we felt quite neglected and undervalued."