It’s very much a dining room for all seasons. With a log burner, and a warm welcome, this month’s restaurant recommendation is the excellent Exeter Arms in Barrowden…

Oh, not again. My computer has updated itself automatically. My phone too. Suddenly everything that was working fine looks different. Nothing works the same as it did. If I wore a younger man’s trousers, a new software update would probably excite me but these days I just want it all to work as well as it did, before. Why do people have to meddle with things that were working just fine before? It’s a philosophy that rings true for the owners of this month’s featured restaurant too.

“The wheel was working very well, and so why would we try to reinvent it?” say Mark & Kate Symes. They’ve got a point. “We wanted to create a really good country pub. Not a gastro pub or a fine dining pub, just a pub. A really good pub, but a pub, nonetheless.”

Mark & Kate moved to Rutland after searching for seven years – seven years – for the right place to pull pints and serve great food. Still, the best things do come to those who wait.

Upon moving to The Exeter Arms in March 2020 the couple refurbished the 300 year old Grade II listed pub, with new flagstone floors, leather and tweed furniture, better lighting, chunky rough-sawn tables, and a huge map of 18th century Rutland on the wall of the bar.

“We instantly saw the potential in the place but it was unloved,” says Mark. “It had a fantastic location and great kerbside appeal, but it was tired and its provision of food needed bringing up to date.”

Happily, the couple enlisted chef Nigel Fish who works alongside Sam Rossel in what they reckon is the smallest pub or restaurant kitchen in Rutland. The size of their kitchen clearly doesn’t hinder their ability to create great dishes though, which are offered via a single blackboard menu available during day and evening service.

How often do the options change? As often as Nigel and the team deems possible. How many dishes are there? Between nine and 12 main courses, depending on which ingredients Nigel reckons are up to scratch.

The idea of the menus, the team says, is to offer the best of what’s available each day, and to allow suppliers to recommend their best produce, rather than having to stick unyieldingly to a pre-determined menu. This also has the benefit of providing regular diners with variety and ensuring every visit is a fresh experience.

During our visit there were a range of ‘smalls’ – hardly meagre portions though, they’d do me for lunch – four options under the heading ‘pub grub,’ lunchtime baguettes, seven main course options including a fish special and steak option with three sauces, plus five puddings to round off your meal.

Local suppliers are favoured wherever it’s possible but The Exeter Arms uses Derbyshire-based Price & Fretwell for its butchery, acknowledging the quality of 30-day dry-aged beef and Belvoir Estate lamb.  A few small artisan fish merchants provide fresh fish, and Northampton’s Collins Fresh Produce provides fruit and veg.

Dining takes place in the rather beautifully refurbished bar which is a nice mix of country pub, brought just up to date enough to modernise it but without sacrificing the character of the place.

However, during the summer months, Mark & Kate have created an outside bar and kitchen with a whole new cellar created for proper ale storage. It’s here among the acre of grounds that Nigel also creates special dishes cooked over real fire in the summer months, using a sort of Argentinian asado approach, cooking low and slow.

Signature dishes outdoors and indeed back in the pub kitchen include its Dover sole  and côte de boeuf. Puddings, sauces and speciality breads like the ciabatta served with pil pil prawns are all made in house.

As we go into winter months though, you’ll doubtless appreciate The Exeter Arms’ log burner and the excellent stewardship of a range of real ales for which the place is justly renowned.

“We wanted to ensure that as well as attracting diners from Stamford, Oakham, Uppingham and Leicester, this could still be a place where the community could gather, where locals would be welcome,” says Mark.

“Having refurbished the place from January 2020 we reopened on 20th March, and were forced to close again that night! It was really frustrating, but the whole industry has faced a titanic struggle over the past few year, which is culminating in a cost of living crisis that is now making people more cautious with their money.”

“That’s why it’s more important than ever that we create somewhere that represents great food, fairly priced and somewhere the community can spend time together. In two and a half years we’ve been delighted by the way the community supports us, delighted by the feedback we’ve received and we’ve been happy to welcome in local diners!”

On The Menu

Smalls

Carpaccio of beef with Stilton and walnut bruschetta £12.

Mushrooms on toasted sourdough £8.

Pil pil prawns with ‘pan con tomate’ £12.

Pub Grub

Fish ‘n’ chips £18.

Ham and potato hash with hen’s egg £12.

Steak ‘n’ ale pie, chips £18.

Baguettes

Roast pork, apple, stuffing £10.

Roast beef, horseradish £10.

Main Courses

Lamb loin chops with fine green beans, tomato, salsa verde, burnt lemon, anchovy fritters and cress £26.

Pork loin with chorizo sausage and butter bean cassoulet, garlic mayo £22.

Mature sirloin steak, field mushroom and grilled tomato, salted chips, garlic & thyme butter £26.

Fish

Sea bass fillets with mussel, white wine and cream sauce plus peas à la Française and chips £23.

Puddings

Sticky toffee pudding £8.

Apple & blackberry crumble £9.

Dining Out at…

The Exeter Arms in Barrowden

The Pitch: “A beautiful pub set in an area of outstanding natural beauty. New stone floor, redecoration and furniture finished with genuine Harris tweed and leather. During the winter months, a log fire awaits!”

Opening Times: Wednesday to Saturday from 12 noon & 5.30pm. Sunday 12 noon – 4pm for food.

Booking Recommended: The Exeter Arms, 28 Main Street, Barrowden, Oakham LE15 8EQ. Call: 01572 747 365. www.exeterarmsbarrowden.co.uk