Restaurants in Lincoln: The Duke William Hotel
This month we’re enjoying autumn dining at one of the Ever So Sensible group’s restaurants. Located on Lincoln’s Bailgate within a stone’s throw of Newport Arch, The Duke William Hotel offers exceptional character, and satisfying dishes at any time of day
Blink and you might have missed it. That was summer, believe it or not. A week of near-volcanic heat and speculation of an impending climate catastrophe, followed by a thunderstorm and a hosepipe ban.
Perhaps we used up all of our summer credit in the spring, which was relentlessly dry, leading to an early harvest that was over almost as soon as it had begun.
Happily, the appeal of this month’s Lincoln-based dining out recommendation is enduring all year-round, and it’ll be a much longer-lived pleasure than what passes for summer these days. The Duke William Hotel on Lincoln’s Bailgate is approaching its 10th anniversary under the custodianship of the Ever So Sensible Group of pubs and restaurants.
Their portfolio of 10 venues includes The Horse & Groom, which impressed us back in our February edition, and Bailgate’s Royal William IV.
The Duke William is located in Uphill Lincoln, opposite Bailgate Methodist Church just past Newport Arch. The place was created in the 1700s, it commands a Grade II listing, and it’s well located, in Uphill Lincoln, but far enough along Bailgate to ensure it doesn’t have crowds of people streaming past. As a result the Duke William has a good mix of tourists and locals, giving it a nice friendly feel at any time of day.
Speaking of any time of day, our arrival was in the morning, when the last of the overnight guests were checking out following one of the very successful Cuffe & Taylor concerts at Lincoln Castle over the summer. Before leaving they were tucking into brunch and I remarked how good it looked.
Happily, Head Chef Carl Steer was one step ahead and was already preparing one for us to photograph… subject to my refraining from the temptation of putting the camera to one side and tucking in to proper Lincolnshire sausages, toasted sourdough, hash browns et al. Other brunch options for those dining before 11am include shakshuka, eggs (both florentine and royale), and buttermilk pancakes.
For those dining a little later in the day, lunchtime service runs from noon until 5pm, with a two course set lunch menu for £21, plus gourmet baguettes such as the short rib beef option with roquefort and red onion.
The à la carte constituent of the menu comprises seven starters, four salads, three fish options, eight main courses and grill options, a couple of sharing platters and six desserts. There’s a decent provision of dishes for vegetarians and vegans too, ensuring those diners are not just an afterthought.
Most of the dishes are notable simply for being delicious but we’ll draw your attention to the Heliburger, which is also available at the group’s two other Lincoln venues. For every Heliburger or plant-based Heliburger sold, the company donates £1 to the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance.
As well as the main menu, there’s also a Sunday lunch menu with five options, from a vegetarian Wellington to slow-roasted lamb shank for the present Mrs Davis; beef for our son… and pork belly with crackling for me.
Finally, a couple of specials are available, used by Carl and the team to trial new dishes or make the most of suppliers’ recommendations.
Speaking of suppliers, Owen Taylor and Sons is a family-run butchery, who have been providing high-welfare meat since 1922 and it supplies beef, lamb and pork to the Duke William.
Direct Seafoods provides daily deliveries of fresh fish, whilst fruit and veg is sourced from Winster foods. Desserts, focaccia, ice creams and sorbets are all made in house too.
“We do put a good deal of effort in, but it’s effort that the customer always recognises, so it’s always worth the investment,” says Carl. “Because we have so many regular diners we feel that it’s always a good idea to keep the menu innovative, but we recognise that there are some staples on the menu that we can never replace. A really good quality homemade pie, a fish and chip dish and a high quality steak will always be popular.”
“The whole team in the kitchen is invested in suggesting dishes and coming up with ideas.”
“It’s important because we want all of our chefs to feel that their opinion and the experience they gain over the years with us is valued. We’ve a team of nine chefs which is quite a large number, but it’s deliberate.”
“You could run the kitchen with a smaller team but as a company we believe that everyone should be well-rested when they come to work.”
“Burn-out is responsible for many chefs becoming disenchanted with the job, so ensuring that all of our team have a good work/life balance means we retain good team members, everyone performs well and we retain continuity in the team, which in turn means we offer consistently excellent dining.”
“It also makes it a happier place to work, which is naturally reflected in how busy we are.”
“The other week we served up over 400 Sunday lunches, and the feedback on every single one was positive which we think speaks volumes about how well we work together and the fact that we love what we do.”
Highlights for autumn will include the addition of game to the menu, with mushrooms and the use of umami truffle for a proper taste of autumn. Accordingly, the Duke William’s gardens will become less well-used and instead, the stripped pine tables nearest the open fire in the bar will be most sought after.
Like the rest of the Ever So Sensible Group’s pubs and restaurants, The Duke William offers a superb experience, proper character and really good dining. Highly recommended for autumn, we reckon a visit will prove very satisfying indeed.
The Pitch: “Dine, drink and dream at The Duke William, Lincoln. A historic building that has recently been completely refurbished creating a stylish and comfortable hotel, pub, and restaurant.”
Opening Hours: 8am – 11pm Mon – Sat; 8am – 10pm Sunday.
Breakfast 8am – 11am Mon – Sun. Food served, 12 noon – 9pm; Mon – Sat; 12 noon – 8pm Sun.
Duke William Hotel: Bailgate, Lincoln LN1 3AP. Call 01522 532753 or see www.dukewilliamlincoln.com.
See our full feature in the October edition of Lincolnshire Pride at https://www.pridemagazines.co.uk/lincolnshire/view-magazines?magazine=October-2025