Auction House

After a nine-year stint at Winteringham Fields, chef Gareth Bartram and family have settled into a new outfit in the arrestingly pretty market town of Louth. It’s a pint-sized place: a bar and a couple of tables downstairs, plus a dinky room on the first floor filled with friendly and evangelical locals on our visit (a challenging setting for an undercover inspector if there ever was one).

Despite the pedigree in the kitchen, efforts are made to keep things flexible. Come for the excellent value three-course menu du jour or sink into a sense of occasion with a multi-course chef’s selection. We pitched somewhere down the middle, enjoying the versatility of the menu: a delicious snack selection included addictively tangy salt-and-vinegar kale crisps and a huge hunk of house-made focaccia, lightly charred on the grill and served with beef dripping. Perky little BBQ pork skewers were lifted to elegance with just the right dose of acidity. 

Moving towards the main event, there’s plenty of seasonal interest in BBQ leeks with ajo blanco, and an elegant play on ham, egg and chips. Among the larger plates, the catch of the day or a roast rump of lamb is an ideal medium to flaunt the beguiling balance of classical saucing. A Basque cheesecake or milk chocolate mousse with English cherries and yoghurt sorbet do very well to round out a meal. 

The succinct, well-priced wine list is a real highlight, with a former Winteringham Fields sommelier sending offbeat bottles from their shop across the Humber in Hull. Service is polished but layered, with real warmth and a come-as-you-are welcome. ‘We’re so grateful that you’re here,’ one regular told the team on their way out. ‘You’re going to want somewhere bigger.’