The Lake Isle - Oakham

Lovely place to stay in lovely Uppingham. Chef beware of over sweetening your savoury dishes. Rooms: Stayed in the main building and the room was very nice and comfortable. Good bath and shower products, good power shower and all nice and clean. Bed good and slept well. Food drinks: We ate dinner in the restaurant. The service was very good, efficient and friendly. The food was well presented but I found much of what I had too sweet. I started with the Stinking Bishop Brûlée, which was served cold. I found it stodgy and claggy as a result of it being cold. As it was a brûlée I had expected a crust but possibly something more savoury than sugary. I took it off and left it as it was overpowering. The biscotti’s were also sweet, a little dollop of apple sauce was very sweet and the little apple and cress salad was sweet. There was a dollop of a balsamic reduction but not enough to temper all the sweetness. I had the halibut for main. It came with a cheese crust. The fish was a good portion but it was way overcooked probably due to the cheese crust. Again there was a lot of sweetness on the plate with very sweet celeriac purée. There was a gammon and leek side and the leek was sweet too, so I found myself trying to get a bit of gammon on every mouthful to again temper the sweetness. There were 3 of us that all had the same starter and main and we each found it all very sweet. The 4th in our group had the Indian spiced cauliflower starter, which was great, and the Seabass main, which was also good, however the rice dumplings were like rock hard bullets. We didn’t have dessert as felt like we’d already had it! We stayed in the hotel and the breakfast was superb. I had the Traditional Full English and there was no sweetness messing about confusing my tastebuds, I’m pleased to say. It was great with nice locally sourced quality ingredients.

In terms of safety, if you are disabled, there are stairs leading down to the restaurant, and access to the hotel restaurant is through an alley on the left side of the restaurant front. The door may be locked, but there is a sign instructing you to use the alleyway. It is unclear if this can be opened for disabled individuals, so I would recommend asking when booking a table.

My favourite place in Rutland. Foodie heaven. Wonderful veggie choices bursting with texture and flavour while looking like a masterpiece. Always an outstanding meal Service: 5 Location: 5 Hotel highlights: Great value

The room is comfortable, clean, and nicely decorated. The shower has plenty of hot water and there are ample towels provided. Delicious homemade biscuits on the hospitality tray. The breakfast is of great quality. The bed was a bit too firm for my liking. Overall, I would rate the rooms, service, and location as 4 stars each. Hotel highlights include the quiet atmosphere and great value for the price.

The location is great, right in the centre close to various bars/pubs. I didn’t stay in the hotel so can not comment, 5 of us came for dinner. The place itself is warm and cosy, although you do have to navigate down a rather dingy alleyway to get to it. Once inside we were greeted and offered drinks by staff. Staff were somewhat attentive, we were probably waiting about 30 minutes while we had a drink before someone took our food order. Not a complaint, we could of asked sooner if we wanted in fairness. We waited initially in the lounge area, seating was comfy, I would probably rearrange the seating though as we were quite a distance from each other the way it worked. Once food was ready we were shown into the dining room. The tables were well spaced and we didn’t feel crowded at all. I would say too much random stuff on the table though, felt like a wall down the middle of the table. I had the trout to start. Well made and playing was beautiful. It was genuinely tasty, slightly bland though. I had Plaice for Main, butter sauce and mash were excellent, plaice well cooked. Again the whole thing just slightly bland, like it was missing seasoning essentially. I did sample the Pork fillet and Duck mains which were excellent. The plating of everything was beautiful. Worth a visit, not sure I would run back if I’m honest though.