The best restaurants serving British food in East Midlands

My nephew asked for a 'pub meal' for his 16th birthday. My partner and I always take him and his sister out on their birthdays and try to make it as special as possible. I searched high and low for a decent pub and came across this hidden little gem. And I was not disappointed. I grew up in a time of smoking in pubs before they all became 'gastro' pubs with fancy food, high prices and rude staff. The White Hart is a throwback to those nostalgic times of my youth that I treasure and the moment I walked into the pub I was sent flying into my childhood to a local eatery my family visited every weekend. Yes, it does have a lingering smell of cigarette smoke, but personally, this heightened the experience for me. I felt at home! The staff was wonderful, the atmosphere was cosy and the menu, while a bit limited for vegetarians, had everything we wanted. To solve the issue with vegetarian options, the chef offered to cook my partner a special vegan cheese vegetarian burger he was experimenting with for a large party a week later. We were very impressed by this service and boy did my boyfriend enjoy his burger. I'm salivating as I remember my burger, full of chicken strips, onion rings and cheese. The lovely barmaid was very chatty and attentive. It was a quiet Thursday night, which is perfect for us because we like calmer establishments, but the barmaid told us it gets very busy at the weekend. I'm pleased for them. It's tucked out the way on the Northampton Road and these types of pubs are a dying breed. It has a car park and the owner has a very friendly dog who my niece adored. And finally, for the amount of food and its incredible quality, the prices are very low. A meal for four with starters, mains and alcohol (for us adults) was less than £100. Very impressed! I haven't had the chance to go back but as soon as we get the opportunity, we'll be eating at the White Hart again!

This was a 50th Birthday celebration meal and some of the tasting courses were disappointing. We had bbq lettuce which just tasted burnt and very strong tasting trout with cucumber which was terrible. It was very expensive for what we received. We had mentioned upon booking that it was a 50th Birthday and all they did was stick a candle in a blob of ice cream, not a Happy Birthday written in chocolate or even a strawberry to make it look special.

We booked the heat at home Christmas dinner for 7 people and once the food was outstanding. Beautiful meats and roasties along with wonderful local veg, pigs in blankets, massive Yorkshire puds, stuffing balls and the best gravy ever. This food made our Christmas . Thanks to the team at the Barley Mow

One of the areas best places to eat. Jayne and her team go the extra mile to make your visit relaxing and enjoyable. We came here for our work Christmas/ end of season meal and all of us throughly enjoyed the food, drinks and atmosphere. We will definitely be back in the New Year it’s one of our favourite places to eat. Thank you so much. 😊

The service and ambience are delightful. The food was truly mouthwatering. And the pistachio white chocolate was out of this world!

We ordered the scrumptious afternoon tea for two for collection and it was incredible. Not only were the treats amazingly tasty, but the service was excellent and very friendly. Thanks you!!!

Popped in again for refreshments briefly whilst out cycling. Every time I go in I’m met with a smile from the friendly staff and owners. Love this place and its position in the village is great for people watching. Today I had an oat flat white and a piece of amazing tortilla. Thanks again.

This was a surprise birthday treat. The welcome was amazing. All the staff were helpful and very attentive. I loved the whole ethos of the place. The food was incredible. We have had taster menus in many places and this was probably the best. A perfect evening. We will be returning.

We really enjoyed our traditional Christmas lunch. Beautifully cooked and served. The IPA beer went down well too. Thanks to Ambrish, Laura and her colleague!

Always lovely food & coffee. Very friendly, cheerful owners & staff make it a pleasure every time we visit. Would recommend this coffee house to anyone. Always clean premises

Reservamos para 4 noches de alojamiento y desayuno y teníamos la suite Churchill. A la llegada nos mostraron nuestra habitación y nos dijeron que teníamos un ventilador! La suite es grande, pero parcialmente subterránea, que sabíamos antes de reservar, así que no nos desanimó y la iluminación adecuada en la habitación suplió la falta de luz natural. Hay dos armarios empotrados, una cama grande y un baño precioso. Los muebles suaves son todos hermosos. Los “pequeños toques de indulgencias” fueron decepcionantes, consistían en espantosas galletas de galleta que generalmente se obtienen en los cafés con una taza de café, no el pan casero que esperábamos. Botellas de agua y artículos de aseo gratuitos, principalmente en grandes dispensadores en la pared. No hay toques agradables en la habitación solo muebles. Si te sientas en el sofá con una bebida una persona tiene que poner su taza en el suelo, ya que no hay mesa auxiliar. La habitación estaba limpia, aparte de telarañas colgando de las luces de la pared y una marca horrible en la pared en el baño junto al inodoro... ... . En nuestro tercer día llegamos de vuelta al hotel alrededor de las 5 pm solo para encontrar que nuestra habitación no había sido atendida! Mi compañero fue a la recepción para hacerles saber y le dijeron que debemos haber dejado el aviso de no molestar fuera! Lo cual no hicimos... De todos modos se reunieron y nos dieron un juego completo de toallas limpias y tazas limpias, etc., que fue bueno de su parte, pero nos dejó preguntando si es este realmente un hotel de cuatro estrellas? El desayuno es maravilloso las mesas dispuestas muy bien todo lo cocinado es a la orden y servido en su mesa. Tuvimos una cena una noche en el restaurante y fue una verdadera delicia la comida y el vino todo bien y el servicio fue genial, aparte de una chica joven nos quitó nuestra cesta de pan y platos de pan mientras todavía estábamos disfrutando... . Nunca armamos un escándalo en ese momento. Lo pusimos nervioso... En nuestro último día fuimos a desayunar sin haber podido dormir debido al pisotón en el salón de actos de arriba. Parecía haber un gran grupo empresarial llegado el día anterior. Estaban todos en la sala de desayunos que estaba lleno y pedimos nuestro desayuno cocinado mi compañero tenía su inglés completo habitual y pedí setas de huevo revuelto y Rosti Llegó todo sobre cocinado y sin rosti. Le dije a la camarera que no se preocupara, pero ella dijo que no, iré a buscarlo. Llegó 10 minutos después... para entonces habíamos terminado lo que podíamos comer del desayuno quemado y nos fuimos. Muy decepcionado de nuevo. Usamos la zona del bar cada noche y pedimos aperitivos y bebidas en el bar la primera noche que estuvimos allí fue genial, pero las otras noches tuvimos que ir a buscar a alguien cada vez que queríamos una bebida o algo. Nos sentimos un poco desconcertados por todo, ya que las críticas y el sitio web parecían dar una imagen muy diferente en nuestras cabezas de lo que experimentamos. Siempre elegimos hoteles de cuatro y cinco estrellas cuando nos vamos, pero para nosotros este se sentía por debajo de la par. Creo que en el futuro no elegiremos un hotel que se utilice como espacio de funciones como parecía faltar cualquier individualidad. Es una pena que lamentablemente hayamos experimentado varios percances durante lo que podría haber sido una experiencia memorable.

After being let down last minute for a birthday we called them to ask if it was possible to come and grab quite a few brownies from them, Dean went above and beyond to make some just for us, the brownies were better than we’ve ever tasted before, a variety of chocolate with different toppings that went down a treat. Would highly recommend and we will definitely be using regularly.

Incredible personal warm welcome for a family celebration. This is an absolute hidden gem that needs to be recognised and given the credit it deserves. We had been for a Sicilian Sunday lunch and returned for pizza/pasta night to celebrate a significant anniversary confident that our friends and family would be blown away with the authenticity and quality of food on offer.They were not disappointed and we were as impressed with our return visit as we were our first. Thank you for a memorable night xxx

Went here on quick Saturday tea and breakfast round. Ended up spending much more time here, doing some work and brief reading. The place is nice, specious and busy. Good food and very nice staff. Highly recommend.

Food is average. The service on the other hand was dispicable. Asking a family to leave purely because there 2 year old son may make too much noise is not acceptable in my opinion. If this place doesn't welcome children they should state it when you book and not embarrass people in front of there family on the day. Extremely rude