Eat My Words: We review the Pyewipe Inn near Burton Waters, Lincoln

What’s life without a little adventure? Finding this hidden gem of a restaurant, located off a beaten track, certainly felt that way but it was so worth the mission to get there.

As it’s now autumn, and getting dark earlier by the day, it was pitch black at 7pm when we arrived in Burton Waters near Lincoln on the mission of finding the Pyewipe Inn, and I would have missed the turn off the Saxilby Road to get there had it not been for a well-placed sign sending me down a narrow, very dark lane.

After a few twists and turns, as well as heading under an underpass that looked straight out of a horror movie due to the fog that was starting to swirl, the Pyewipe appeared all light up beautifully — like a lighthouse signalling the way.

As it was so dark, it was hard to appreciate how stunning this venue is, but I could see the outdoor space was lovely and spacious, and with its location near the river, would be a gorgeous venue to host any size of gathering.

We were cheerfully greeted at the door and shown to our table, where we were told to order at the bar when we were ready — the human interaction was a nice change from ordering through an app, which increasingly annoys me these days.

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The main menu had plenty of choice, and the specials board was absolutely enormous so I was honestly stumped. What to choose — the chicken strips in lemon sauce? The seabass with crushed new potatoes and spinach? The root vegetable tart? The fish and chips?

Luckily the chap at the bar — who was sporting a very impressive beard and moustache — very patiently chuckled as I changed my mind no less than three times (“Is that your final answer?” he quipped a la Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) as we ordered the fish and chips for me and the chicken in Stilton and ham for Adam.

We settled in the window seat to enjoy our drinks (a spritzer for me the driver, a blackcurrant cider for him) and within 10 minutes, our food was on the table in front of us which was a big surprise.

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I did initially wonder how it would taste with the food coming out so speedily, but everything was incredibly fresh and delicious. My fish (or whale, I should say, as it was enormous!) had delicious crispy batter and the fish inside was flaky and moist — just perfect.

The portion of chips was also huge, leaving me nicely full after such a cracking hearty meal. The mint in the mushy peas was a nice touch as well as I don’t normally like mushy peas, but this portion may have converted me!

Adam’s chicken was perfectly moist and the creamy Stilton inside was also very tasty without being too overpowering.

As I seem to do a lot at the moment, I was unfortunately was too full to manage a dessert, which is a real shame as there was a chocolate brownie (my favourite) and a sticky toffee pudding on there.

What did our Secret Drinker make of the Pyewipe Inn? Find out here

We’ve made up our minds to go back to the Pyewipe though, maybe in the summer so we can sit outside and full enjoy the lovely ambience of the outdoor area — and absolutely make room for a pudding next time!

Overall, the Pyewipe was simply lovely, with fantastic staff who were full of personality and were very attentive, and the food was delicious and hearty — perfect for a chilly, dark autumnal night.

Out of five:

Food: The food was full of flavour and perfectly cook. As I said, I’m not hugely into mushy peas so would have preferred garden peas, but that’s just me. The fish was enormous and the chicken very succulent. Hats off to the chef! *****

Drinks: There was a huge range of drinks of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety. A nice touch was having a wine specials list which you don’t see in many places, and had I not been driving I would have sampled the Beaujolais. Adam, who enjoys flavoured ciders, was also pleased with the blackcurrant flavoured cider which again, you don’t find in many places. I liked the look of the cocktails menu as well, so we’ll definitely get a taxi when we visit, maybe even stay over as the rooms look lovely too. *****

Decor: I was so impressed with the rustic yet very cosy feel of the place, you can see why the Pyewipe has won various awards as a venue and for its events. The lighting was low, warm and intimate, but we could still read the menus with no issues. I wish we could have made the most of the outdoor area, but definitely one for the summer. *****

Staff: The staff were brilliant and not only had a little bit of banter with us over my indecisiveness, but were very attentive when we were eating, checking on us and how we were getting on without being too persistent. An extra mark for the impressive curled moustache on our server as well! *****

Price: £45.80 for two main courses (one of them a special) and two drinks isn’t too bad at all, and for food of this quality with such large portions, in such a lovely venue, we left feeling satisfied and not too out of pocket. Very reasonably priced. ****

Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@lincsonline.co.uk