Lakeside Restaurant in North Kesteven

Love this restaurant so much ! Stunning views of rhe glorious grounds . Elegant decor and amazing food and service. It’s also great for afternoon tea ! The pink lounge is so pretty ! I got married there in 1999 . Branston Hall is a very special place in my heart .

had dinner on 2 nights at this very well run reasturant whilst staying at the hotel, the system of selecting from meue before entering resturant works very well, there is supposed to be a dress code but on both nights this was not followeed with gents in polo shirts! also on second night one diner was working on his lap top throuout the meal! staff work extreamly hard and anre very good and knowlegable will definatly return

We visited this cafe whilst visiting the garden centre and we were impressed. The staff were really friendly. The food was reasonably priced. We had two steak pie dinners which were lovely. Two slight criticisms would be that the food could be a bit hotter and some of the tables are too cramped to sit at. Apart from this I would definitely visit again as the food was so tasty.

I booked a birthday lunch for 3 people at Lakeside and have never been quite so disappointed with a meal. I will start with the positives: picturesque location, grounds and house. Very clean, beautifully maintained and the restaurant was delightful - airy and bright with an elegant ambience. The service was fantastic. The ladies serving were polite, friendly and attentive. The negatives relate entirely to the food. Starter was squid with chickpeas, chorizo and potato. What I actually received was a tiny piece of very rubbery squid cut into 4 miniscule pieces on a sea of bland chickpeas, and bizarre potato wedges garnished with 3 rocket leaves. It just didn't work, and the flavours were very poor. The main dish was beef and mushroom with rosti potato and greens. This was a truly awful dish, probably one of the worst I've had. It looked very unappetising, and was strips of fried beef swimming in a bitter juice. I had to give up eating due to the beef being so tough and chewy that my jaw ached. The rosti was completely soggy and the greens were ever so bland. My mum had the chicken and rice, and it was strange as her chicken too was extremely tough and stringy almost. She spoke highly of the steamed vegetables and the rice however. We decided not to risk a dessert. With only a bottle of water and one orange juice a £70+ bill for that meal was painful, especially as it was for a birthday treat. I wanted to love this place so very much, and I can't understand how the meal could have been quite so bad. So, so disappointing, but we probably won't be returning.

Die suggerierten hohen Erwartungen konnten leider nur zum Teil erfüllt werden. Der Service, war abhängig von der Servicekraft entweder gut oder unteres Mittelmaß. Meine Vorspeise, eine Lammterrine, bestand definitiv aus Rind und nicht aus Lammfleisch, wo hingegen, die Hauptgerichte und die Desserts sehr gut und lecker waren. Kinder unter 12 Jahren haben keinen Zutritt zum Restaurant und es wird um smart Casual gebeten.

Fantastic food. High quality ingredients perfectly cooked and served in a delightful setting. Also the wine list is very good.

We wanted somewhere special to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, and chose the Lakeside Restaurant at Branston Hall Hotel where our daughter got married 12 years ago. The evening was first class - the staff were very friendly and attentive from the moment we arrived to the time we left. Sitting in the lounge with a G&T eating olives and selecting from the tasty sounding menu and a very reasonably priced wine list, we immediately relaxed. Called into the restaurant when our food was ready we enjoyed the starter (rabbit brawn), delicious and nicely presented, followed by beef fillet and lamb rump both cooked just right (medium-rare as requested). Everything was well cooked and a delight to eat. The dessert was special and unexpected though - with one dish having "Happy" in chocolate writing and the other "Anniversary". What a nice touch and made us feel really special - its definitely the little things that count!

Fantastic food, fantastic location with fantastic staff who cannot do enough for you. We had excellent service from not only the restaurant but also the bar. Joe, Liam, Jon and Jacob one of the managers could not do enough for us during our stay.

Deliicous food was available, no problem with food and staff but I think this hotel needs updating. although set in beautiful surroundings, it didnt appear to be available for us to use as it was fenced off.

We recently dined at The Lakeside during a stay at the Branston Hall Hotel and had a very good meal with good service. The food here is of a very high standard, my wife and I both had the baked hen's egg and brioche starter which was lovely, I had haddock and risotto for main which was good and my wife had the lamb which was cooked perfectly (a lot of places don't even ask how we want lamb cooked) but unfortunately had several seams of chewy fat running through it. Then for dessert I had chocolate torte and my wife had what she described as the best crème brulee she had ever had. This was close to being a five star meal and we would have no hesitation recommending this restaurant.

We called to book a table of 10 for my Mum's Special Birthday we spoke to Jess who offered us the restaurant. However, when we said there were four children and a baby she said we could have a private dining room. I was thrilled with this until she told me it was £75 on top. I asked if we could negotiate the price and we received a flat no, even though we would be spending a lot of money! We then said we decide and call back. We managed to get the children to a sleepover and one of the adults cancelled so I called back today and spoke to Jess. I explained that we had reduced our numbers to 10 and Jess and that if the numbers did go up we would be prepared to pay the extra £75. Jess gave me a flat out no as that they are only taking bookings for residents. There was no option of the room either. This was not the case of residents only yesterday, during my first phone call with Jess. My family are frequent restaurant users however, this was to be my first visit as I live away from the area. I can categorically say that I will never visit this restaurant as I feel a little kindness goes along way and that is NOT what we experienced here! Well done Jess.

My wife and I Stayed recently this weekend just gone at the Hotel, booked in the Lakeside for 8:00pm, they took our order but we were not seated until 8:20, first course and main served to us quickly between 8:30 and 9:00 then service seemed to disappear totally and I had to actually go and a member of the staff for a desert menu......after waiting patiently for 30 mins with no one coming to ask if everything was OK or whether we actually wanted a desert. Anyway we finally got a desert at 9:50 and to be honest it was a bit late as the wait killed off the enjoyment and brought the evening to a disappointing end. Value for money poor, if your happy paying top price for small and dainty then It's the place for you, just not for us again, sorry about that but when you pay top price, the service should be spot on.

My partner and i were blown away with the food and my fave was the Lemon and Garlic Chicken and dessert The chocolate custard Tart

The food here was of exceptional quality and the service was very professional. It made an anniversary weekend very special.

Ate in the Lakeside on Friday evening, and had the most delicious meal I have ever had in a hotel. This really is what food is all about, and although expensive is well worth it for a special treat. The service was impeccable, and the room had a very nice atmosphere especially with the views from the window. All in all a wonderful evening out

Decided to try the food at the Hotel before a session booked at Simpsons in the afternoon a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday. If the bar food is indicative of the overall quality of food at Branston Hall we wont be going back to eat. We both tried the feta salad served with 'artisan' bread - what a misnomer! It was an undercooked pre-baked specimen which provided no flavour or eating pleasure whatsoever. The 'salad' required a magnifying lense to find on the plate - poorly presented, crude and not enjoyable. A pint of beer and bottle of mineral water and we were £17 lighter in pocket, The overall impression of the hotel was that it needed updating in the public areas. The pool was steamy and closed - we noticed another review since our visit - nothing had changed. I assume this place makes its money from group bookings. Cannot recommend from our experience but would highly recommend Simpsons Spa in the hotel grounds which is excellent.

Beautiful local produce. We ate there twice during our stay and had wonderful food on both occasions. Lovely white crisp linen table dressing, beautiful views over the hotel grounds. Lovely staff. Very romantic. Perfect venue, good food and good wine list. Beautiful comfy seating area for pre dinner drinks or after dinner coffee.

Wonderful food! What more can be said. There were so many things on the menu I'd have liked to try but only one night.

Staff not very friendly food overrated not much ambiance and people not dressed as stated in the dress code

We were regular diners @ The Lakeside Restaurant when we lived in Lincoln for many years and we still visit occasionally despite relocating to Cambridgeshire (80 miles away) over 7 years ago. We have previously always thoroughly enjoyed our overall dining experience @ Branston Hall Hotel and distance was never an obstacle for this reason.Unfortunately, our recent experience (on 11th July) was very disappointing. There was not the usual meet and greet. There was only one couple sat in the reception/bar area to the restaurant. We arrived @ 20h00 for our 20h15 reservation. After some time, we had to seek someone for the menus and order the pre-diner drinks. Other people started to arrive, who were offered menus and orders taken. Finally, our orders were taken, but we were subsequently informed that although 2 of us had chosen the Lincolnshire beef, only 1 was now available! At 21h15 we were eventually shown to our table. The restaurant was only half full, so we were puzzled why there had been such a long wait (there was no apology for this delay)...............or why there was only one beef! However, when the beed did arrive, it was not worth waiting for. Unlike the past, it was not tender nor tasty. The other two members of my family had a lucky escape to enjoy their "selection".Also, the overall service (which , in the past,was consistently of a high standard) seems to have deteriorated. Our view is that there must have been a change of staff (including the kitchen) since our last visit as this did not translate into opportunities to continuously improve. Maybe that is why the restaurant was half empty.However, despite the disappointment on this birthday celebration and based on past experience, we are prepared to give this restaurant another chance. It could have been one of those "off days/nights". If there is still no change on our next visit, then we will change..............! We just simply did not feel "special" as we have done all the other times previously at this wonderful country house and surroundings. We visited a similar venue (a little closer to home in Lavenham, Suffolk) a few weeks later and our experience was in total contrast (just like the "old" Branston Hall Hotel).

Stunning room and made to feel special . your order is taken in the lounge and then you are taken through to the restaurant when your starter is ready

Very good food. To be expected of course. Well prepared and thought out. I had pigeon to start with, followed by cod. Really tasty.

We recently had afternoon tea. It was fabulous. Even though the hotel were hosting a large wedding they still offered a great service for the four of us that had turned up for afternoon tea. Fabulous homemade cakes and ample tea and coffee. Great service from very friendly and helpful staff. Will definitely visit again and look forward to the service, food and over night stay at my nieces wedding in sept. well done what a great place and lovely staff

We had dinner in the Lakeside Restaurant whilst staying on a package deal, so I cannot comment on value for money, But the meal was really special - fresh ingredients, a lovely cut of beef and a fantastic sauce. The service was good, the staff pleasant.

What an absolute disaster and waste of money it is visiting this hotel. After reading reviews about the restaurant on here I was looking forward to an excellent meal when I dined there this Saturday, what I got was an absolute shambles. Upon arrival it seemed that we were immediately rushed into placing an order, this was difficult enough as the menu while seemingly very sophisticated actually lacks one basic factor, it tells you absolutley nothing about the dish. Unless you happen to dine in the worlds best restaurants you will certainly have difficulty in knowing what it is you are ordering. However we placed this to one side and ordered our meals, after this we were left seated in the bar unsure as to what to do next so we made our way to the restaurant only to have one of the waitresses inform us that we had to go back to the bar and wait til we were called. Her attitude over our simple mistake was very condescending to say the least. However the barman was very polite and offered to bring us some more drinks to our table. Upon entering the restaurant after what seemed a long time after our order we were placed in what must be a queue system, as we had to wait a long time for every course. The waitresses seemed more interested in huddling in a corner and speaking amongst themselves instead of interacting with myself or other diners and when not laughing between themselves proceeded to play on their mobile phones. The waitresses also seemed to have no concept over the food they were serving, placing down dishes without even knowing what it was they were serving, and when asked any questions about the food they claimed they were unsure and usually took 10 minutes to answer if at all seeming to find the whole matter a joke. A thoroughly disappointing visit in all and one which sadly I would not consider repeating. I think even Fawlty Towers knew more about staff organisation than this establishment does.