The Lincoln Grille

Lincolnshire City Living November 2007

If you are looking for a stunning cool and chic location for that perfect lunch or dinner, you need look no further. The Lincoln Grille is now open and sits between Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. The cocktail bar has a very relaxed ambience with an impressive selection of wines, beers and spirits. The restaurant area is elegant and sophisticated, surrounded by leather banquette seating and contemporary décor. When making a reservation try to request one of the tables with the outstanding views of the cathedral spires there is seriously nothing quite like it.

The menu is a fine selection of classic dishes nothing to fussy and very competively priced. For starters I chose the garlic oyster mushrooms which were served on ciabatta with vermouth and chive cream. My dinner guest chose moules marinières served with white wine, cream, garlic and parsley with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the delicious creamy sauce. The portions were generous and uncomplicated.

Our delightful waitress Rachel recommended a bottle of Punto Nino Chardonnay 2005, Laroche Casablanca to accompany our main course; the wine had been chilled to perfection which is always a nice touch when ordering white wine. Our main courses of roast lamb rump and a paillarde of chicken arrived, immaculately presented. The lamb was accompanied by vegetable cous cous, a cucumber and mint raita and new potatoes. The chicken was simply grilled and served with a rocket and tomato salad.

Of course it would have been rude to leave without trying of The Grille’s mouth-watering desserts and it wasn’t a hard decision to try the strawberry pavlova and the recommended lemon tart. The strawberry pavlova didn’t disappoint the crunchy meringue melted on my tongue and combined with fresh strawberries and cream this traditional dessert made the perfect end to the perfect meal. The lemon tart was served with blueberry ice cream and again proved to be a hit with my dinner guest.

The rumour I had heard about the gorgeous actor Paul Bettany residing in The Grille’s cocktail bar turned out to be true, so my disappointment was that I hadn’t arrived a week earlier.

The Lincoln Grille is open daily from 7am serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch at weekends. The restaurant seats up to 80 and the cocktail bar 20. The new club lounge is due to open in November and will seat 60.

Sue Richmond

The Lincoln Grille, White Hart Hotel, Bailgate, Lincoln, LN1 3AR
www.grillerestaurants.com Reservations 01522 533500