Winteringham Fields is Lincolnshire’s only Michelin-starred restaurant. It’s located in the village of Winteringham, near Scunthorpe, of all places. Last week it was my birthday, so I decided to treat myself and visit the restaurant for the first time.
Wheelchair access
The restaurant is located in a sixteenth-century former manor house, so you may expect that wheelchair access will not be ideal, and you would be correct. Though for a sixteenth-century building, it’s not bad
Entering the building was no problem. Some of the corridors were a bit narrow, but the main problem was one of the doors.
There was a large wooden door that you had to pass through to reach the dining area. This door had a large doorknob that protruded perpendicularly when the door was open. This doorknob caught on my chair as I tried to go through the doorway. We had to lift my armrest to go through, but I eventually managed to get past without causing too much damage.
However, on the way out, I almost got stuck in the doorway, so we had to leave by the patio door near the dining area and go around the back to the car park, which was much easier.
The dining area was spacious and nicely furnished with big round tables. I was happy to find the tables were high enough for me to get underneath with my chair, which is not always the case for powerchairs.
There’s a big sliding barn door separating the kitchen from the seating area, so we could see the chefs preparing the food, which was nice.
The meal
For lunch, I chose the à la carte option, which consisted of a three-course meal. There was a choice of 3 dishes for each course, plus pre-meal snacks and bread.
Pre-meal snacks consisted of salami with slices of cucumber, which went very well together. We were also brought freshly baked bread with butter, which was lovely.
For starters, I chose lamb cheek with fermented lettuce and minted yoghurt. This was quite nice but not something I would usually choose to eat.
For the main course, I had roast pork rib-eye with wild garlic, onion jam, and purée, as well as pulled cheek. The pulled cheek was served in a small pot with potatoes, shallots, and other ingredients, which were meant to be eaten with a spoon, a quite novel presentation.
I don’t usually like pork very much because it tends to be too chewy, but here it was nice and tender.
Finally, for dessert, I chose forced rhubarb and parkin, which was topped with vanilla custard. It was delicious!
As it was my birthday, the chef brought me a plate with “Happy Birthday” written on it in chocolate and two small cakes on either side, which was a nice touch.
Conclusion
Winteringham Fields is a lovely restaurant, and the food is excellent. It was a good experience, but I wouldn’t want to do it often. Not just because it was expensive (£69 per person), but because the food is very sophisticated and not what I am used to. I prefer more common restaurants because there is more choice and the food is more to my taste. But, saying that, once in a while it’s nice to treat yourself, and I recommend visiting Winteringham Fields if you want to experience some fine dining.
