Lincolnshire Red Ale House & Kitchen
This new-ish steakhouse looks exactly as you would imagine it: exposed brick, wood panelling, discrete nods to Victorian gentlemen's clubs. It is straight out of the butch restaurant design book. The prices, however, are a real surprise. The steaks are off-limits for budget travellers, but many of the mains – for instance, a pie of the week; fish'n'chips; a dish of seared lambs' liver and onions, whipped potatoes and crisp pancetta – are priced well under £10. For cooking of this dexterity, in a restaurant with a firm focus on local produce, it's a bargain. The Lincolnshire Red beef burger is strictly of the traditional English (rather than "dirty" east London) variety, but it is a fine patty: juicy, flavoursome, robustly chargrilled, topped with a generous slice of musty, mature Monterey Jack, and accompanied by some glorious, darkly caramelised rapeseed oil-cooked chips. This was washed down with a so-so half of Deuchars (£1.65), the best choice from a bunch of boring English bitters, on cask.
• Non-steak mains, £7.50-£10.95. 3 Newland, 01522 522164, lincolnshirered.co.uk
A Taste of Italy
In Britain you come to expect basic, functional, if not outright grumpy service. Visiting Lincoln, therefore, is a bit of a culture shock. Staff are eager to chat, but efficient, their hospitality seemingly heartfelt. I'm mentioning it, here, as the young woman serving in this smart deli-cafe was a particular star, but everywhere I went, I encountered affable, capable people. A Taste of Italy's (ATOI) panini menu is, in a very Italian way, short and simple, but big on flavour (who knew that marinated artichokes and roasted peppers could deliver, like that?). As well as deli platters, ATOI has the dolce down pat. Its counter is packed with tiny baci di dama, barquette and cannoli. A sample piece of "grandmother's cake" – a lemon ricotta tart topped with pine nuts – was close to sublime: densely creamy, but ineffably light, the filling perfectly balanced between sharpness and sweetness.
If ATOI won the panini taste-test, by some margin, its rival just across West Parade, La Bottega Delitalia (dishes, £7.25-£8.50. 9 West Parade, 01522 537775, facebook.com/pages/La-Bottega-Delitalia/137572677875), has another string to its Stradivarius – hot pasta dishes. I wasn't able to sample them, as the owner-cooks were on holiday when I visited (hence the limited menu), but, if the word of mouth is reliable, then La Bottega's pastas may be well worth investigating.
• Takeaway panini, £3.50, eat-in panini and platters, £4.95 - £7.95. 6 West Parade, 01522 524817, atasteofitalybypompeo.co.uk
The Cheese Society Cafe
No prizes for guessing the main ingredient at this specialist cheesemonger's cafe. However, whether you're eating rarebit, reblochon-topped tartiflette or, contrarily, a dairy-free plate of pan-fried chilli squid from the specials board, the cooking is sharp and the ingredients first-rate. Regional pride runs deep in Lincolnshire, and, like a lot of Lincoln venues, this cafe features local delicacies such as plum bread and, of course, the mighty Lincolnshire Poacher cheese, on its menu. On a freezing winter's morning, a plate (£7) of richly cheesy scrambled eggs (spiked with Wykes extra mature cheddar) on toast; moist, meaty lincolnshire sausages, their sage seasoning well-judged; and a few fried slices of the lesser-spotted haslet – a minced pork offal dish; was, less breakfast, than the laying down of a perfect layer of insulation against the sleet and rain. Note: no children under 10 allowed. Which, as a parent, I have no problem with. How did Sartre nearly put it? Hell is other people's undisciplined children.
• Breakfast, £2.99–£10, light bites, £2.75-£3.95, sandwiches and main dishes, £7.99-£9.45. 1 St Martin's Lane, 01522 511003, thecheesesociety.co.uk
Wig & Mitre
Given its location, between castle and cathedral, on quaint, olde Steep Hill (warning: that gradient is no joke), the Wig & Mitre could well be some terrible tourist trap. Don't overlook it. It is a quality operation, a proper grown-up boozer – no background muzak, no gastropub refit; just plenty of real, honest cooking, decent beer and civilised conversation – where, if they are canny, the budget traveller can eat well, too. The pub's own plum bread, served warm with Lincolnshire Poacher (£3.50), is a substantial snack in its own right, but, if you are properly hungry, the all-day ploughman's (£7.95) is your best choice. Everything on the plate was of good quality, and, washed down with a zippy half of Oakham's pale, hoppy JHB (£1.70; the best of a conservative four-pump selection), it would revive even the weariest visitor. If you have a bit more cash to splash, there is also a two-course £12.95 menu served all-day, that includes mains such as black treacle cured ham, triple-cooked chips, fried duck egg and tomato chutney. For dessert, walk a little further up to the hill, to the Ice-Cream Parlour (3 Bailgate, 01522 511447, dennetts.co.uk), where you can enjoy a scoop or two (£1.50/ £2.90) of superior ice-cream, from Lincolnshire's own Dennett's, established in 1926.
• Snacks and sandwiches, £3.25-£6.50, mains from £7.95. 30 Steep Hill, 01522 535190, wigandmitre.com
Coffee Aroma
Be warned, owner Richard Teasdale does not think that the customer is always right. In fact, judging by the signs hung around his tiny, cosy coffee bar, he thinks that quite often the customer hasn't got a clue. Coffee Aroma does not serve large, medium and small drinks. It serves drinks in their correct size. This is the place: "That puts the no in Americano". As for soya: "Decaf, soya and skimmed milk will be available when hell freezes over." Despite this, there is no edge to the place. The service is bright and personable and the atmosphere serene, as third-wave coffee geeks ponder the eight different beans available for pour-over, drip-filter, to a soundtrack of folk and reggae. I have drunk marginally silkier flat whites elsewhere, but, nonetheless, my brew was a very good cup of coffee. The flavours, on a spectrum from something akin to liquorish to toffee, were all there. Food-wise, Coffee Aroma carries a comprehensive selection of classy, fresh cakes, made by Lincoln's Angel Desserts.
• Coffee from £2.65, cakes £1.50 - £3. 24 Guildhall Street, coffeearoma.co.uk
Greenhouse
Unless they are heading for the Ellis windmill or the similarly specialist Museum of Lincolnshire Life, I don't imagine many tourists venture down Burton Road. It's the wrong side of the castle. But, in the Greenhouse, and the following two entries, it offers some of the best value cooking in Lincoln. The Greenhouse looks like a pretty ordinary neighbourhood cafe (all blonde wood, young mums and an easy-going, populist menu), but it raises the bar with its conscientious home cooking and its reputedly great – they certainly looked good – cakes. A huge portion of chilli con carne and rice (takeaway, £4.50) was a typically inauthentic, tomatoey Anglo version, but a tasty one, packed with minced beef and, clearly, patiently slow-cooked for a fuller, richer flavour. It was a thoroughly decent lunch. Elsewhere, the menu runs from full breakfasts (with Lincolnshire sausage, of course) to steak baguettes, via rarebit and homemade soups.
• Lunch menu, eat-in, £3.55-£6.50. 51 Burton Road, 01522 537013
Burton Road Chippy
"Well, they don't buy it in," is the almost indignant reply, from behind the counter, when I ask if Burton Road Chippy [BRC] makes its own mushy peas. Which warms the heart. As does the time it takes my meal to arrive. Yes, BRC really does fry-to-order. In many ways, this chippy – which has been going for 30 years, but more recently moved to this new location – fuses the best of the old (scraps for the regulars who ask for them) and the new (certification, proudly displayed, as to the sustainability of its fish, from its Grimsby supplier), without, as many similar new wave chippies have done, massively ramping up the prices and getting all la-di-dah about it. Portions are big, those mushy peas are, indeed, velvety comfort food of the first order, and the chips are proper chip shop chips. That is, thick cut, not overly glassy, but with a good mix of caramelised, almost sweet chewiness and a more definitive crunch at their edges. The only slight letdown is the batter. It is crisp and light, but rather than offering another well-seasoned or sharply yeasty layer of flavour, it's a bit bland. Still, good stuff.
• Takeaway menu, lunch meals from £2.50, fish'n'chips from £3.85. 169 Burton Road, 01522 575207/201, burtonroadchippy.co.uk
Lincs2Nepal
This ethical gift shop and vegan cafe raises money to help underprivileged children in Nepal. But you won't eat here out of charity. From a menu of stews, falafel and soups, a chickpea, spinach and potato curry had a real depth of not too fiery flavour to it. Heaps of ginger (and, possibly, a little tamarind) had given it an almost fruity, tart edge. The accompanying naan won't trouble the tandoor masters of Bradford or Birmingham, but it was persuasively fresh and fluffy. Pretty remarkable, in fact, for bread rustled up in the back of a charity shop. With rice, this big old portion cost just £3.60. What's not to like? The jolly cafe space itself is just what you would expect: a super-colourful overload of Buddhist murals, Nepalese nick-nacks, Che Guevera and Jim Morrison pictures. It's got a nice laidback feel; the staff warm and genuine.
• Dishes £2-£3.60. 4-6 Burton Road, 07735 161481, lincs2nepal.wordpress.com
Cafe Portico
Portico's owner, Sim Bellandini, has the right attitude. When I phoned ahead, to check what time he serves lunch until on a Friday, he said around 4pm, but if I was going to be late, just let him know, and he would sort something out. He didn't know I was reviewing it. I was just a punter on the phone. Then there are his "crazy" salads. Choose one or two sandwich fillings, promises the chalkboard menu, and the kitchen will build you a showpiece salad around it. This is no hype. Topped with plenty of tender, nicely fatty free-range roast pork (from Gainsborough's Redhill Farm), dressed in a rugged Italian tomato sauce, a sample salad was a healthy hillock of adventure, its 12 or so components ranging from oats to shredded fennel. For £6.50, it was phenomenal. Little wonder that this boxy space off the lobby of the Terrace – office space for the creative industries – was packed. While the daytime menu is broadly Italian (pastas, deli platters, toasted pannetone on the breakfast menu), Portico is also open late on Fridays, for regular music events. When there's a gig on, Bellandini serves a set menu (one course, £9.50) that reflects who's playing. For instance, US dishes on a blues night.
• Daytime menu, dishes £3.95-£8.95. The Terrace, Grantham Street, 07956 653156, blog.cafeportico.co.uk
The Castle Hotel
The Reform restaurant at the upmarket Castle is considered to be one of Lincoln's best. At night, prices soar, but, during the day, those on a budget can get a taste of the high life, using its bar and lunch menus. Chef Mark Cheseldine's lunch carte includes four mains at £9.95 – for instance, roast chicken with celeriac dauphinoise and caponata green beans – while the all-day bar menu runs through a repertoire of sub-£10 sandwiches, deli boards, main menu starters recast as light, elegant lunch dishes and populist classics such as chilli, scampi and sausage 'n' mash. Accurately cooked, well-seasoned, with no stinting on the key ingredients, a plate of smoked salmon bubble'n'squeak potato cake, topped with a poached egg and dressed in a grain mustard sauce, was every bit as sharp as the bar itself: a chic, modish space rendered in, not quite 50, shades of grey. The music, which veered from jazz to Guetta-amped R&B, needs sorting.
• Bar meals £3.95-£10.95. Westgate, 01522 538801, castlehotel.net
Travel between Manchester and Lincoln was provided by Northern Rail (northernrail.org). For more tourist information, go to visitlincoln.com
