Lake Isle

Tucked away in the oldest part of Uppingham, this 18th-century whitewashed former shop is a welcoming restaurant-with-rooms with large dining-room windows overlooking the High Street. The name? A previous restaurant owner named it after the WB Yeats poem. Run by Richard and Janine Burton, it continues to build on its culinary reputation. ‘The menu was imaginative and the locally sourced food was excellently cooked,’ reports a reader. Dishes could include a starter of beetroot and juniper-cured salmon with horseradish sorbet and main courses such as grilled sea bass with samphire pakora and mussels, or guineafowl with salt-baked celeriac. There’s an impressive wine list, too. Breakfast doesn’t disappoint, with a ‘wide and appealing choice’ that runs to salmon and smoked haddock fishcakes, cheese omelette and the full English. Bedrooms are bright with feature wallpapers and pale-washed furniture; they are ‘really comfortable’, though most are on the cosy side. Larger rooms have a spa bath, while two cottages in the courtyard are suitable for families. ‘The staff were all friendly and helpful, and the town 
is lovely.’ (Sara Price)