The Houblon Arms Restaurant in South Kesteven

We called in on the off chance for Sunday lunch on the way back from an event having read a good review recently. The maitre D runs a brilliant small team and the front of house couldn’t have been more accommodating - had taken drinks orders and suggested we enjoy the Sun whilst they set our table up. The food was really brilliant. I had pate for starters and my only criticism was that there was too much! Initially when I saw the large portion I assumed it would be average but it was a really lovely pate, just too much for me with two large slabs! Main was roast beef and it was brilliant, really lovely rolled sirloin served pink. We were on a hiding from the night before so neither indulged in the wine but they had a really lovely wine list and a busy restaurant. The service was lovely, so nice to see such a well turned out dining room complete with linen for Sunday service. 10/10 to front of house for all of their efforts here. Will definitely return in the week to sample their full menu(and wine list!)

This is a beautiful old pub with so much going for it. The staff were warm and welcoming and nothing was too much trouble. The maitre D Sufiyan was incredibly attentive and very professional. I’m sorry to say that the food was disappointing. We had Sunday lunch and although it all looked very nice, it wasn’t up to the standard I’d expect from a pub of this calibre. The prawn cocktail was watery and bland, the roast potatoes appeared to be reheated and we just felt let down. Everything was beautifully presented, but that’s not enough to make something taste good. We’d be willing to give this delightful pub another try but the wood would really have to wow us next time if we were to return in future. It seemed as though others had the same experience because the dining room was very empty on what should have been a busy Sunday lunch service which resulted in a lack of atmosphere.

On first sight this seemed a very nice pub, though I suppose we should have known what to expect when we arrived, when most of the staff seemed to be there to greet customers - of which there were very few. It was a Friday night and the place was almost empty - we were 4 and 4 others arrived after us, Each of our group had a different dish. Mine was lamb. For the price (nearly £30) I would have expected better. There were 3 tiny pieces of rack of lamb, about a mouthful each, and all three were mostly gristle and fat. The amount of meat was negligible and outrageously priced. The fish was somewhat better but all dishes were overpriced and not very generous. (Nouvelle cuisine?) I think its attempts to be upmarket took a knock when we noticed that Prosecco was poured from a screw top bottle. Sorry guys, but this place did nothing for us.

The food from breakfast to dinner was sublime, worth every penny. Nothing was too much trouble, when we asked for a particular side dish that was not on the menu, it was sorted with no fuss. Thank you for a lovely couple of evenings 👏👏👍👍

My wife had always wanted to eat here and we were not disappointed, what a lovely quaint restaurant with excellent staff. We arrived and we were sat in the lounge prior to be shown to our table, nothing was too much trouble. Our coats were taken and hung up, drinks ordered and delivered, the menus brought and while choosing the chef appeared introduced himself and offered advice, these are all great touches that makes the evening special. We were shown to our table we were sat and again shown great attention, chairs pulled out, napkins placed for us and drinks poured, nothing was too much trouble. The butter was shaped as a rose, lovely and the waitress was very attentive and professional ensuring our every need was met. The food arrived, the scallops amazing, the pork loin, black pudding bonbon with an apple gravy, was exceptional it was followed by apple tarte tartin delicious. All the staff were great and very attentive but a big shout out to our waitress she was great. Would I recommend this restaurant absolutely a definite 10/10 and we will definitely be back to visit. Thank you to all the staff for making our night out so special.

Bloody awful.....tried to overcharge on top of farcical service and poor food.....com-Pete lack of knowledge of what they were doing , if I had been paying I would have walked out ..

Such a beautiful place to stay. My wife and I went for bed and breakfast and the roomWas beautiful. With four poster bed shower flat screen TV. Also our own private hot tub. Stunning surroundings. We had dinner and the a la carte menu had good choices. I will say you get what you pay for and we got AA++. The Staff are VERY! Welcoming and Friendly too.

We made a booking via e-mail only to to be told by answerphone message We could not attend after we were so looking forward a delicious evening family meal I guess with C19 and social distancing you need to book well in advance Perhaps one criticism is why allow a booking to be made without the commitment that we obviously had made?

We had a very lovely meal here when staying at the hotel! I was shocked to see the other reviews on here, so felt obliged to leave one that truly reflects the wonderful food quality and service that this place offers. The menu is small but the pork tenderloin and mushroom Wellington were cooked beautifully, with a special of fresh muscles to start. This is a lovely place to come and relax, with a great choice is wines. It is priced to reflect the quality, but we were happy with every penny we spent. The restaurant itself was a lovely surrounding, and the social distancing was done very well and clearly taken seriously. We will be returning.

We recently visited The Houblon Arms for my son in laws birthday. One person had the pate starter which looked and tasted like it had come out of a pack from the supermarket. Our £26 steaks were good but the side orders of hand cut chips ,griddled green veg , boiled new potatoes and mushrooms (all charged at £3 each extra) were extremely salty and completely ruined the meal. Surely these days people like to add their own salt or no salt at all. This prevented us from eating the side orders which left us feeling we were still hungry when we got home. For the money charged it was a very poor effort and would not return again.

My friend posted a photo of her eating what I thought was Freis de Mer. Fruits of the sea. It looked amazing. I thought she was in Italy. She told me it was The Houblon. I phoned and order their Seafood Platter which they did especially for us. It was absolutely delicious. The chef knew exactly what he was doing. We had a lovely table. Good social distancing. Young woman was very busy but the service was excellent. Accompanied by a very good bottle of Cloudy Bay. We will be back.

Visited today with friends and arrived at 1230. We all ordered roast sirloin and the waitress asked how we would like it cooked only to come back to say there wasn’t a choice. The beef was tender but not a hint of pink - definitely at least medium or perhaps medium well. The Yorkshire puddings were crispy hard as were the potatoes. Overall it was all over cooked, pity help those who came later. I am sorry but I will not be recommending or returning; there are far better venues in the area for Sunday lunch