Celebrating 10 years of hospitality, Jason Allen\u2019s community pub restaurant offers quality dining, value for money and a warm welcome… support your local this summer, by enjoying drinking and dining in the sunshine, supporting Rutland and Stamford\u2019s independent businesses!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten years ago, publican and champion of Rutland tourism Jason Allen reopened his North Luffenham pub restaurant, The Fox, and above the bar is the promise that there are \u2018no strangers in the place, only friends you haven\u2019t met.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
400 pubs called last orders and closed their doors in 2024, bringing the number of operational British pubs below 40,000 for the first time since records were kept. Happily, some are performing very well and helping to challenge preconceptions about the state of the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fox is just such a pub, but it isn\u2019t happening by accident: \u201cSometimes running a pub seems like the hardest job in the world,\u201d says Jason. \u201cBut happily, there are a far greater number of days when you realise that it\u2019s a really enjoyable profession too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve a superb team, we\u2019re in a lovely village and we\u2019ve very loyal regular customers who ensure we\u2019ve both restaurant diners and a good wet trade too. To remain successful we need to look after both markets, and to make sure that our guests have a great visit every time and leave feeling like the pub is their pub.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today\u2019s pub restaurant diners no longer accept that restaurant dining has the edge over pub food. As customers our expectations have been elevated to demand first class dishes from every local village pub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happily, Jason has worked alongside Richard Page, for a decade and a half, and along with another equally well-valued, long-standing member of the team Kay Lambert at front of house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team provides dining out during both lunchtime and evening service, via a single menu which comprises six starters, seven pub classics, four specials, and six dessert options, all freshly prepared in house with blackboards providing a couple of additional ad hoc specials based on supplier recommendations and the availability of really special ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe idea was never to be a gastropub,\u201d says Jason, \u201cIn fact the term is less relevant than ever these days. Instead, we want to provide satisfying home-cooked food with dishes priced as competitively as their quality allows, and using local ingredients and suppliers where possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Butchery is supplied by Owen Taylor, established for well over a century and specialising in supplying beef, pork and lamb from Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. Fish is delivered each day, as is fruit and veg, although as Pride goes to press the team are eagerly awaiting the first crop of Manton strawberries and a fresh crop of asparagus from The Fox\u2019s kitchen garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Equally local are a number of the ales and spirits pulled behind the bar. Two permanent ales are Oakham Ales\u2019 JHB and Grainstore\u2019s Cunning Fox, the latter exclusive to the pub. There are always two guest ale pumps too, from 14 local microbreweries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dishes feature a key ingredient which is allowed to shine, without fussiness or competing elements, portions are generous \u2013 too generous according to some diners. Presentation is clean and stylish, and the team is happy to accommodate food allergens and accommodate those with meat-free or vegan diets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Naturally you\u2019ll expect a country pub to have that cosy feel, and all year round there\u2019s something to delight at The Fox. In the cooler months there\u2019s a couple of wood burning stoves, chunky beams and wing chairs in which to get comfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By summer, however, the outdoor terrace is a delight with lots of lovely hanging baskets brimming with fuchsias and chunky outdoor tables with parasols for a welcome bit of shade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The restaurant itself is very pretty, with chunky oak furniture, Lloyd Loom chairs and low ceilings. As well as the restaurant, locals can also avail themselves of The Den, which is an unofficial village hall for residents of North Luffenham and home to community groups such as Rutland Musical Theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Also in the summer months, live music on selected Sundays is provided by Uppingham Soul and Jazz bands and similarly well-regarded artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whilst Jason, as a publican, is understandably keen to send a message to support The Fox and every other village pub, it\u2019s also important to him in respect of his work with Discover Rutland. The official destination management organisation for the county was established 15 years ago, with Jason serving as its chairperson for the last five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With over 140 members across Rutland\u2019s retail, caf\u00e9, pub, restaurant and tourism sectors, the group\u2019s collaboration allows businesses to nurture the \u00a3170m benefit that tourism has to Rutland, encouraging 1.51m visitors to the area each year, and support 1,600 full time-equivalent jobs. It\u2019s vital, Jason says, that as a county we remain proactive about encouraging people to enjoy Rutland, including those businesses providing food and drink to locals and to those from outside the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, as Jason approaches his 10 years at The Fox, he\u2019s already planning a summer of celebrations to mark the milestone. Having left a career in retail to refurbish and manage The King\u2019s Arm at Wing in 2003, and the Horse & Jockey a few years later, he\u2019s come to realise how a well-run pub can benefit the community and the visitor economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTen years ago we recognised that the village deserved a really good pub. We closed The Fox for the best part of a year and completed a back-to-brick refurbishment that saw us completely reimagining the place, with an insistence that the place and its food and drink offering would result in a pub restaurant for locals and visitors offering good food and good value. Ten years on we stand by that, and the fact that we\u2019re still thriving, we believe, validates that philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fox, Pinfold Lane, North Luffenham Oakham, LE15 8LE. Call 01780 720991 or see\u00a0www.thefoxrutland.co.uk<\/a>. Enjoy our full feature on The Fox in our July edition at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/issuu.com\/pridemagazines\/docs\/rutland_pride_july_2025<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Celebrating 10 years of hospitality, Jason Allen\u2019s community pub restaurant offers quality dining, value for money and a warm welcome……<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1528,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[285,423,26,25,27],"class_list":["post-1526","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-and-drink","tag-fox","tag-north-luffenham","tag-pub","tag-restaurant","tag-rutland"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1526"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1531,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1526\/revisions\/1531"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1526"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1526"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1526"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}