{"id":2310,"date":"2022-03-11T10:59:07","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T10:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/stamford\/?p=814"},"modified":"2022-03-11T10:59:07","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T10:59:07","slug":"dining-out-at-the-six-bells-witham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pridemagazines.co.uk\/rutland-and-stamford\/food-and-drink\/dining-out-at-the-six-bells-witham\/03-2022","title":{"rendered":"Dining Out at The Six Bells, Witham"},"content":{"rendered":"

An epic village pub restaurant that\u2019s family run, now with second generation restauranteurs at the helm. This month we\u2019re enjoying the hospitality of The Six Bells at Witham on the Hill where siblings James & Lauren are ringing the changes, having taken over from parents Jim & Sharon Trevor…<\/h3>\n
\"Image:
Image: Barney Staniland, bgsphotography.co.uk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hell\u2019s Bells! The Six Bells beats seven bells out of pretty much\u00a0 every pub restaurant in the area. Phenomenally lovely people, super dining, and a great setting… rubbish weather, though.<\/p>\n

The present Mrs Davis expressed frustration at my apparent complacency towards Storm Eunice when I\u2008insisted on keeping our dining out appointment at Witham on the Hill\u2019s best-in-class pub restaurant. Some people\u2019s glass is half-full. Others have a half-empty glass. My wife\u2019s glass, though, is completely empty, it has just fallen of a cliff and it is now on fire. Typically I dismiss all of her misgivings with self-assured machismo (\u201cIt\u2019ll be fine…\u201d will probably be the last words I\u2008ever speak before meeting a comical end). But on this occasion, she might have had a point.<\/p>\n

The winds were blowing around the Grade II\u2008listed Edwardian pub restaurant upon my arrival, and there was something of an air of armageddon with the vortices, driving rain and grim skies.<\/p>\n

Hopefully it\u2019ll be much calmer, much warmer and much brighter as you read this. If it is, and you\u2019re ready to venture out and enjoy spring dining, we\u2019ve a hell of a recommendation for you, here.<\/p>\n

The Six Bells is home to the Trevor family, not to mention a place of work and an immense source of pride. Jim & Sharon Trevor took over The Jackson Stops in Stretton in 2000 and ran it until 2006. they latterly founded Stamford\u2019s Jim\u2019s Yard and Jim\u2019s Bistro, plus The Beehive.<\/p>\n

Son James pursued an economics degree in the US and worked in the three-Michelin star Alinea before returning to the UK to work with his sister Lauren, when the two siblings took on The Queen\u2019s Head at Bulwick.<\/p>\n

The family consolidated their businesses into The Six Bells so that James and Lauren could gradually take on the day-to-day running of the restaurant, and whilst all family members remain keenly involved, from Autumn 2021, the second generation\u2019s influence on the business became more apparent.<\/p>\n

James and Lauren worked with Head Chef Ben Poulton to create new menus, they curated a new wine list, and they rebranded the place. Lauren has also welcomed into the world the third generation of Trevor dynasty which should be useful if they\u2019re short of a potwash in, oooh, 16 years or so.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a single menu with seven starters, six main courses plus three \u2018take them off the menu and the punters will mutiny\u2019 classics; fish \u2018n\u2019 chips, bangers \u2018n\u2019 mash, confit duck leg.<\/p>\n

In one corner of the pub is a traditional stone pizza oven for the pub restaurant\u2019s provision of Napoli-style pizzas. Fired by wood, the dry residual heat from the oven is also used to roast sirloins of beef and joints of pork for Sunday lunch service.<\/p>\n

The place also has a rotisserie, which in the summer month sits just outside the entrance enticing customers in. And, as someone who adores French cooking with all of its cream and butter and naughtiness, I\u2019m personally thrilled to note an auberge menu every Monday, with three dishes for a tout petite \u00a319; pressed ham hock, B\u0153uf Bourguignon and Chocolate Nemesis? C\u2019est magnifique!<\/p>\n

Joyously, everything at The Six Bells is made in-house. The pub restaurant\u2019s eight-grain bread, for example, is baked daily, with a little extra for customers to purchase and take home. Chutneys, sauces, desserts, ice creams and sorbets are made by the brigade of five chefs, and even the truffles and petit fours served with coffee are homemade.\u00a0Local suppliers are used where possible, with venison from Grimsthorpe and Duck,\u00a0Woodcock, and Rabbit all shot within a mile or so of the restaurant.<\/p>\n

Asparagus and strawberries from farms near Rutland Water will all make their presence felt on spring and summer menus, whilst a specialist fish supplier provides diver-caught scallops, Cornish monkfish and so on.<\/p>\n

James and Lauren\u2019s new wine menu has been produced in association with Enotria,\u00a0 and provides a choice of 11 white, 11 red and 11 ros\u00e9 options, plus six fine wine options topping out at \u00a390 and including very fine Montrachet or Ch\u00e2teauneuf-Du-Pape.<\/p>\n

Jim & Sharon\u2019s pedigree in local hospitality is immensely strong, and as soon as they were old enough to wash pots and run a hoover round the restaurant, James and Lauren too were conscripted into hospitality, eventually working in the kitchen, and at front of house.<\/p>\n

With James and Lauren\u2019s ascension from potwash to proprietors too, the whole family must now be the most talented, and experienced restauranteurs in the area, and as an added bonus, they\u2019re thoroughly lovely people as well. Looking for somewhere to dine this spring? Look no further. The Six Bells is an absolutely epic recommendation!<\/p>\n

Sample Menu<\/h3>\n

Starters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chicken & Smoked Ham Hock Terrine with Homemade Piccalilli \u00a38.<\/p>\n

Jim\u2019s Chicken Liver Parfait \u00a38.<\/p>\n

Portland Crab Macaroni with Cr\u00e9me Fra\u00eeche, Chilli, Lemon, Dill & Aged Parmesan \u00a311.50.<\/p>\n

Main Courses<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crispy Free Range Pork Belly Braised Cheek, Savoy Cabbage, Mash & Cider Sauce \u00a318.50.<\/p>\n

Honey Glazed Breast of Duck, Crispy Anna Potatoes, Glazed Carrots & Five-Spice Sauce \u00a319.50.<\/p>\n

Classics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Grimsthorpe Estate Venison Ragu with Garlic Mash \u00a315.<\/p>\n

Desserts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chocolate Nemesis, Cr\u00e8me Fraiche, \u00a37.50.<\/p>\n

Wood Oven Baked Lemon Tart, Raspberry Sorbet \u00a37.50.<\/p>\n

Chocolates & Petits Fours \u00a36<\/p>\n

NB: Menu items subject to change.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Six Bells is based at Witham on the Hill, Bourne, PE10 0JH. Call 01778 590360 or see www.sixbellswitham.co.uk.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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Image: Barney Staniland, bgsphotography.co.uk.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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