A\u2008perfect pub restaurant for hunkering down and waiting out winter with good food, good drink and good company… this month, we enjoy a visit to The Horse & Groom in the centre of Lincoln<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\ufeffIf there\u2019s anything better than a really lovely pub, serving really good food, when it\u2019s cold and miserable outside… well, we\u2019re simply at a loss to suggest what that could be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes a course of action is just eminently sensible, like hunkering down in the winter and waiting for spring to come along with decent company and decent food & drink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of things that make sense, the Ever So Sensible group of pubs and hotels appears to share our love of a decent pub dining experience, because that\u2019s exactly what they seek to offer across their collection of ten venues, comprising of pubs, restaurants and bars including their four Lincolnshire venues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Duke William on Bailgate, Brayford Wharf\u2019s Royal William IV and Washingborough\u2019s Ferry Boat are all shining examples of what the company stands for, but on this occasion we opted to visit The Horse & Groom on Lincoln\u2019s Carholme Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each of the company\u2019s premises are individual yet each one is nudged in a particular direction by its customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Duke William, for example, is especially popular with tourists thanks to its location in Uphill Lincoln, to its characterful 17th century premises and with its nine individually-designed bedrooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, the Royal William IV\u2019s location on Brayford Wharf ensures plenty of footfall and attracts those enjoying the waterfront with its array of restaurants, as well as shoppers, cinemagoers and students of the adjacent university campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ferry Boat, meanwhile, is a homely country pub with a friendly local feel, a village location and plenty of riverside walks by the Witham nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The unique selling point of the Horse & Groom meanwhile, is its character and quality dining, and the fact that it feels like a proper independently owned and run dining pub, with a team that are all personally invested in the experience that their customers enjoy, all rightly proud of the reputation that the place has in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Supporting evidence of this includes the presence of General Manager Charlotte Reidie and Head Chef Daniel Bremner. The company itself was founded by Chris Bulaitis in 2009 and now employs nearly 250 people in total. The Horse & Groom was the company\u2019s first premises in Lincoln, founded in 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charlotte worked in the Horse & Groom when it first opened and since then both she and Daniel have been based at other premises in the group but a little over a year ago, Charlotte took over as General Manager and Daniel joined the place as Head Chef in autumn. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel heads up a team of five chefs and has introduced a fresh menu of dishes available from noon right through to evening service that provides quality British pub menu dishes but also expands their potential. Two of the most popular dishes underwrite this philosophy; a braised beef & Guinness pot roast with homemade soda bread which diners adore in winter, and Daniel\u2019s pork belly dish with its thyme flavoured crackling and dauphinoise potatoes as featured on our opening spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a total of six starters, nine main course dishes, plus a few ciabattas and sections on the menu for fish and grill dishes, as well as a really good fish \u2018n\u2019 chip dish and the pub\u2019s Heliburger. The latter is an exceptional burger <\/p>\n\n\n\n
which benefits the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance with a contribution to the charity with each one sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As well as supporting their nominated local charity each year, the Horse & Groom has also committed to supporting another local charity long-term, the Darren Munnelly Foundation, whose namesake was a community fundraiser and a much-loved regular who lost his life breaking up a fight in the city. Both last summer and on New Year\u2019s eve the pub held events to raise money for a discretionary fund from which a number of local charities benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regional suppliers are favoured where quality and consistency permits, with Owen Taylor providing butchery, Direct Seafoods providing daily fresh fish deliveries and Winster Foods providing fruit, veg and artisan bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\u2008recommendation, too, for the Horse & Groom\u2019s Sunday lunches from \u00a322.95\/two courses, including the availability of a slow-roasted lamb shank, roast beef and pork belly with crackling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To accompany your meal there\u2019s a wine list curated by the Horse & Groom in conjunction with Majestic, as well as four local ales from regional breweries like Timothy Taylor and Lincoln\u2019s Ferry Ales with additional dedicated craft ale lines for speciality ales such as the Tiny Rebel and Hopical Storm during our visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our visit to the Horse & Groom took place in the run up to Christmas, but in February the winners are expected to be announced for Destination Lincolnshire\u2019s tourism awards, including the awards\u2019 coveted Pub of the Year title, for which the Horse & Groom has been shortlisted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking forward, spring will also see the pub restaurant continue last year\u2019s renovation of its terrace with the addition of beach hut-style outdoor dining pods overlooking Brayford Wharf. We look forward to trying them when the weather improves but there\u2019s really no point in waiting until spring comes along. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Horse & Groom is a perfect pub restaurant all year round, and one we\u2019re definitely happy to recommend if you\u2019re looking to escape dark nights in favour of good food, good drink and good company… not to mention exceptional service courtesy of a really committed and friendly team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n