Lincolnshire Restaurants: The Jew’s House

Celebrating 20 years at The Jew’s House Restaurant, Gavin Aitkenhead and Samantha Tomkins continue to champion thoughtful, flavour-led cooking and gracious hospitality, offering an intimate and highly refined dining experience in one of Lincoln’s most historic buildings

I’m very lucky. Driving into Lincoln the sun was beaming down, and the sky was a perfect blue. The daffodils were in full bloom by the A15 and the Red Arrows were overhead, putting on a display just for me. 

I enjoy every single day of my working life but this was an exemplary indication of just how enjoyable it is to serve as the editor of Pride. That feeling only continued upon my arrival at The Jew’s House Restaurant in Lincoln where I met up with old friends Gavin and Samantha, anticipating what dishes they would present for these pages.

Work can be a chore, a job, a career, a vocation… or it can be a way of life. For me, being a magazine editor is the latter, and for Gavin and Samantha running their business (creating some wonderfully enjoyable dishes, whilst offering polished, attentive service) invokes similar enthusiasm and passion.

This year represents the couple’s 20-year anniversary running their restaurant on The Strait, at the foot of Steep Hill in Lincoln. It would be a bit hackneyed to call The Jew’s House a ‘fine dining’ restaurant, so let’s park that phrase.

Instead, we’ll say that Gavin’s dishes are foremost about flavour and cooking techniques. There are no gimmicks, trends or ‘concepts.’ Nor is there a baffling series of menus.

For the past three years, Gavin has committed to offering a tasting menu format for the restaurant, rather than à la carte dining. It was a change he’d been keen to implement for some time, but he was concerned that diners might feel denied more choice. He needn’t have worried.

I’m a fan of tasting menus. They’re more practical for restaurants offering the chance to hone the composition and presentation of each dish, until it’s perfect, without having to worry about the demands of a larger menu.

I also think it’s a reflection of a chef’s skill to design a menu, confident in the knowledge that the diner will definitely like those dishes. As a diner, I like being in the hands of a chef who wants to nudge me slightly away from the dishes to which I’d gravitate, in favour of trying something different.

For the restaurant, too, a tasting menu is a preferable format. It means control over artisan ingredients and letting each one of them speak for itself. 

Service is also more predictable: as a chef you know what’s on the menu, you can complete more preparation in advance and the whole operation becomes more organised, allowing you to concentrate on quality and presentation, putting more effort into fewer dishes. I also rather like the fact that tasting menu dining tends to mean a longer, more relaxed and more sociable dining experience.

The Jew’s House is open from Wednesday to Saturday, from 6pm-close, exclusively for evening dining. Although Samantha and Gavin are immensely proud of their tasting menus, they understand that not everyone can manage four or six courses. On Wednesday and Thursday, diners can enjoy a set menu of three courses, each with a choice of two options per course, for £88. 

From Wednesday to Saturday, there’s a tasting menu with four courses (£99) or six courses (£130), with an optional flight of wine. Gavin’s implementation of tasting menus also means he can be more dynamic in terms of the way his menus evolve. During our visit he noted that asparagus and rhubarb were especially early this year. 

Instead of completely new menus season by season, Gavin constantly adapts to take advantage of which ingredients offer the quality and consistency that he needs to provide the foundation of a really great dish.

In terms of sourcing ingredients, The Jew’s House blends some of the best local producers with other exceptional suppliers from across Britain. Grantham’s Sophie Arlott provides her exceptional Lavinton Lamb, for example. However, the restaurant also uses Wagyu beef from a Yorkshire supplier slightly further afield. Likewise seafood (including fresh day boat fish) is also sourced from down in Cornwall to right up in the Isles of Skye and Orkney (e.g.: hand-dived scallops).

Naturally everything from the restaurant’s snacks, to their breads, to the petit fours (sweet treats served with coffee) are made in-house by Gavin.

Then, there’s the wine. Samantha is responsible for a warm, attentive and knowledgeable front-of-house experience, but she’s also the curator of some exceptional wine pairings, and she takes a great deal of pleasure from ensuring a flight of wine complements a particular dish. Samantha chooses not to use the title of sommelier, but her knowledge and expertise enhances the dining experience and allows guests to enjoy exceptional wine alongside Gavin’s food.

The Jew’s House is based in a 12th century, Grade I-listed building, with a rich and storied history. From the outside, the cobbled street, medieval stonework and ancient timber beams combine to create a properly traditional look and feel. Inside, your table is yours for the evening, so leave the world behind and enjoy an intimate dining experience where every choice, made both in the kitchen and outside of it, from the ingredients, to the napkins, to the paintings on the wall, has been made with care.

A special mention, too, for the couple’s beloved West Highland terriers, a favourite with guests after service. Molly sadly passed away recently, at the respectable age of 17, but her little sister Bonnie can still be found upstairs enjoying a snooze as guests dine downstairs. She is always as happy to meet doggy-loving diners as Gavin and Samantha are to welcome other well-behaved four-legged guests by prior arrangement.

“We always enjoy visiting restaurants and we’ve taken that joy as our inspiration. We want to afford our customers the same experience and quality as we expect, too,” Gavin and Samantha say. “It’s about more than just running a restaurant. We aim to combine seasonal artisan produce with Gavin’s cooking and provide guests with a real experience, from wine that matches the dish, plus comfort and a warm welcome. It’s been a deeply important and personal commitment for us for the last 20 years.”

On the Menu at The Jew’s House Restaurant

Set Three Courses: £88/person
Tasting Menu: Four Courses £99/person, Six Courses £130/person
Wine Flight: Five glasses, £59.50/person, Three glasses, £39.50/person

Sample Menu
Cured Sea Bream, Blood Orange and Fennel with Pine Nuts, Capers & Golden Sultanas.
Seared Wild Turbot, Jerusalem Artichoke Crisps, Ice Cream with Roast Hazelnuts and Parmesan.
Slow Cooked Pork Cheek in Cider and Apple, Date Purée and Pickled Turnip.
Roast F1 British Wagyu Sirloin, Short Rib and Roscoff Croquette, Potato and Leek  Purée, with Bordelaise Sauce.
Roast Beetroot, Goats Cheese Ice Cream, Candied Walnuts & Liquorice.
Yorkshire Rhubarb Custard Tart, Whipped Baked Cheesecake Mousse, Tonka Bean Anglaise.
NB: Sample menu and featured dishes, subject to availability and change.

The Pitch: “The finest food served by the friendliest staff in a comfortable atmosphere. The Jew’s House’s aim is simple: to offer an experience you remember for its remarkable flavours and polished service. 
Opening Hours: 
Dinner: Wednesday to Saturday 6pm–close (ordering time). Closed Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

The Jew’s House Restaurant: 15 The Strait, Steep Hill, Lincoln, LN2 1JD. Call 01522 524851 or see  www.jewshouserestaurant.co.uk.