Many Lincolnshire restaurants enjoy an established reputation, and some achieve a reputation for excellence, too. However, South Rauceby’s Bustard Inn is an exceptional example of what constitutes a really popular Lincolnshire restaurant, despite being just three years into its custodianship of owners Liz and Alan Hewitt.

We’ve always been impressed with the transformation the couple have made of the former public house, and even more impressed with the restaurant’s menu.

However, the Bustard Inn’s most impressive feature is the duality by which it can be a formal restaurant with bespoke dining room and impressive food, but also an imaginative high quality gastropub serving, in the bar area, a dedicated and appealing menu of less formal dishes.

Liz originally came from Ayrshire and Alan, slightly nearer to the county, from Leicestershire. The couple met in 2003 and enjoyed dining together, but longed to transform the village’s pub into a high quality restaurant.

When the property came onto the market in Spring 2006, the couple used their own local dining experiences as a blueprint for their venue, but took a further six months to create the restaurant and really ensure things were right.

The building was completely gutted, with walls in the old brewhouse sandblasted back to life to restore the Grade II listed building’s Ancaster stone. In addition, the kitchen was relocated and refitted with brand new equipment created from head chef Phil Lowe’s wishlist. The gardens and car park were tidied up and two areas in which to dine were created, each with their own menus.

The formal dining room features a porcelain floor with underfloor heating for the winter months, furnished with hand-made tapestries. Equally well-considered are the bespoke solid ash tables created locally and custom ironwork from Anwick Forge.

To complement the stylish, tasteful 66-cover dining room is an à la carte menu comprising five starters, and six main courses, plus five desserts and fromagerie option with local producers’ cheese.

In terms of starters, Home Made Tomato Soup with Pesto & Parma Ham and Melon &?Mozzarella Cheese are solid options, whilst a third dish of Pan Fried Scallops are accompanied by a Lemon Salad and Crispy Bacon. Pescitarians will also appreciate the option of Pan Fried King Prawns in Garlic Butter, Sweet Chilli and Mango Salsa. In all cases, options change monthly and are accompanied by bread freshly baked by the small but dedicated brigade.

Main courses change just as frequently, and during our visit, the menu comprised a sound selection of Lincolnshire favourites from Fillet of Beef with Rösti Potato, Buttered Cabbage, Mushrooms & Madeira Sauce, and Glazed Breast of Gressingham Duck with Braised Red Cabbage and Fondant Potato with a Red Wine Sauce.

Other options include Sea Bream, Roast Chump of Lamb and Roast Breast of Chicken, whilst the consistant red meat, white meat and fish options are also accompanied by a vegetarian option; in this case, Tomato, Aubergine and Chick Pea Fondue with Grilled Halloumi and Tzatziki. The latter is an example of the fact that vegetarians are given more than a token offering of the usual, poor quality vegetarian lasagne, but rather an imaginative and skilfully presented dish.

Desserts are created entirely in-house, as are ice creams and sorbets. A Crème Brulée with Raspberry Sorbet is a crisp reflection of summer, whilst the venue’s Warm Triple Chocolate Brownie with Clotted Cream and Chocolate Sauce is a true favourite... our photograph should demonstrate why! Following your meal, freshly ground coffee and Homemade Chocolate Truffles are available.

In the flagstone-clad bar of The Bustard Inn, South Rauceby, ten bar meals are available, prepared with the same quality ingredients freshly to order but featuring simpler dishes available as starters or main courses with optional side salad, chips or bread and butter (all home made, of course).

Examples include Beer Battered Fish & Chips, Shin of Beef, Rib-Eye Steak, Hot Pot, Pork Burger or student favourite Eggy Bread. In all cases, meals are rich, satisfying and hearty, and with an average price of £12... they’re also exceptional value.

Suppliers for each menu include Abbey Parks for vegetables, M&J Seafood, Peterborough Game and for the venue’s meat, Millstream Butchers in Sleaford. Cote Hill?Blue, Pipers, and Batemans also feature at the Bustard Inn.

Finally, the venue also provides great entertainment, with monthly ‘Gourmet Nights’ - with Tapas, Game and Curry Evenings recent examples. The Bustard Inn also hosts Jazz Evenings on the last Wednesday of every month with Tony Giles’s All Stars appearing recently.

The venue was originally built in 1860 on the Rauceby Hall estate, reconstructed following the demolition of a previous pub nearby for estate workers.

Back then, it was designed to provide refreshment for labourers, but whilst today’s clientele is a little more refined, the emphasis on service and relaxation remains.

However polished the venue is though, Liz and Alan never lose sight of the fact that the customer comes first. Previously host to King George VI and Prince Charles during their Cranwell days, the venue remains, three years into its new tenure, fit for a king!

Visit The Bustard Inn, South Rauceby for fine English dining using the freshest Lincolnshire ingredients.