6 minute read
DINING OUT Delicious dining in uphill Lincoln at The Tower Hotel’s No.Thirty8 restaurant.
Should Auld Acquaintances Be Forgot at NO.THIRTY8 in LINCOLN
A familiar face returns to our Dining Out pages as we pay a visit to The Tower Hotel in uphill Lincoln and its No.Thirty8 restaurant, home of Billy Frost’s satisfying winter dishes...
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Words & Images: Rob Davis.
IT’S THE TIME OF YEAR when Robert Burns reminds us that Auld Acquaintances shouldn’t be forgotten. We certainly hadn’t forgotten Billy Frost who has, since 2020, been heading up the kitchen of The Tower Hotel’s uphill Lincoln restaurant, No.Thirty8.
We already knew of Billy’s talent from his tenure as Head Chef at another, much larger, hotel not too far away. His move, Billy says, was to a place with a more modest number of covers – fewer large banqueting functions and weddings – which he quite correctly reasoned would allow him to create one of Lincoln’s most satisfying uphill dining out prospects, and focus on quality.
In The Tower’s early life the place served as stables for those on Bailgate and the surrounding area, becoming a garage for cars during the halcyon days of vintage motoring. In 1990, owner Philippa Creasey’s father renovated the hotel and created on the site a hotel which she has run ever since.
The hotel comprises 15 en suite rooms, a friendly bar which is popular with locals and visitors to the city, and its restaurant. With 35-covers there’s a sufficient number of diners to give the place a nice atmosphere, whilst ensuring Billy and fellow chefs Adam, James, Lewis and Noah can treat their diners to a really well-executed menu of winter dishes that make the most of fresh local ingredients.
During daytime service, there’s an all-day menu for those seeking proper feel-good food. A ‘gourmet’ burger, fish ‘n’ chips, steak & ale pie, club sandwich and a couple of steaks are all present and correct. There’s also an à la carte menu, too, typically comprising four starters, and four mains. This is served during both daytime and evening service, with slightly more complex dishes, some new examples of which we’ve photographed and featured here. Running alongside these menus and also available during both daytime and evening service is a table d’hôte menu available for £14/two courses; £16/three courses. And finally, once a season the restaurant previews its forthcoming dishes with a ‘pop-up’ fine dining experience powered by a five-course tasting menu. >>
King Scallops £10.
MEET THE CHEF
BILLY FROST, HEAD CHEF
History: Raised in Doncaster, Billy came to Lincoln in 2018, after working at The Ritz. He fell in love with the city and has remained here ever since, working in uphill Lincoln. Food Heaven: Pork! It has so much flavour, and it’s so versatile. Food Hell: Oily fish! n
on the MENU
Starters
Whipped Yellison goats cheese with goats cheese bon bons, variations of heritage beetroot, £7. King scallops with pressed ham terrine, vanilla soaked grapes, pickled shallot and baked hazelnuts, £10. Wood pigeon breast with pigeon leg lollipop, dandelion & burdock purée, pistachio crumble, soused black berries, with jus, £7. Main Courses
Plate of pork; slow cooked belly pork, prosciutto wrapped tenderloin, braised cheek, crackling, tender stem broccoli, apple puree, fondant potato, mini toffee apple, pork jus, £17. Trio of Gelston lamb; lamb loin, lamb shoulder shepherd’s pie, lamb fritter, Lincolnshire poacher crisp, baby leeks, pickled turnip, £18. Roasted cod loin with cod and dill hash, caramelised fennel, balsamic pearls, seaweed & butter sauce and dill oil, £17. Desserts
Seasonal fruit Eton mess with vanilla bean chantilly, sloe gin jelly, homemade fruit pastille and blackberry sorbet. Sticky toffee and stout pudding, butterscotch sauce, clotted cream ice cream.
NB: This is a sample menu, and featured dishes are subject to availability and change.
Trio of Gelston Lamb, £18. Eton Mess.
Whipped Yellison Whipped Yellison goats cheese £7. goats cheese £7.
Wood Pigeon Breast, £7.
>> The team’s philosophy, Billy says, is to take a single premium ‘halo’ ingredient and then to make sure any other element orbits around that ingredient.
Billy isn’t afraid to use traditionally cheaper cuts of meat alongside premium ones either, to give a dish extra dimension.
A case in point is the à la carte menu’s Plate of Pork dish. Full disclosure; pork remains my very favourite meat, so I admit to significant bias already, but even so... the use of slow-cooked pork belly with prosciuttowrapped tenderloin was lovely, especially alongside a braised cheek which had been cooked long and slow. A strip of crackling, mini toffee-apple and accompaniments including apple purée and fondant potato were excellent additions. Local suppliers assist in the creation of dishes like the kitchen’s Trio of Gelston Lamb dish with lamb loin and a deconstructed shoulder of lamb which Billy created for the National Chef of the Year competition last year, reaching the final 30 entries.
Other suppliers include butchery from Owen Taylor, plus fish landed at Grimsby Docks arriving via Moorcroft and Direct, and Pilgrim Foods as well as local independent suppliers such as Poacher Cheese and Lymn Bank which contributes its Just Jane vintage cheddar to a dish with roast celeriac, wild mushroom duxelle and black garlic purée.
The kitchen team creates its own speciality breads (e.g.: focaccia), desserts and bar snacks like the black pudding bon-bons.
To accompany their dishes, the team has also partnered with Hallgarten wines to curate a range of wines, and with smaller real ale producers to accompany each dish and warm up your winter. Speaking of warming up your winter, as Pride goes to press, the team will have served up hot chocolate and mulled wine to visitors attending Lincoln Christmas market before leaping into action (like 10 lords) to satisfy their Christmas parties and serve a set three-course menu. In the New Year, No.Thirty8 will then start taking bookings for its Valentine’s Day tasting menu and for Mothering Sunday, which always fills up very quickly quite far in advance. “I knew of the place when I worked elsewhere in Lincoln and I’d sometimes pop in to see the team after work,” says Billy. “I always loved the feel of the place, how friendly the team was. When a chance to work here and to head up the kitchen arose, I jumped at the chance. It’s a great team, we’re all proud of what we produce and the warm welcome we provide our guests. I think that rubs off on everyone who comes through the door!” n
Chocolate and honeycomb.
DINING OUT AT... No.Thirty8 at The Tower Hotel
The Pitch: Welcoming Uphill Lincoln hotel providing à la carte dining, tasting menus and great value table d’hôte menus. Dining Times: Food served Monday to Friday, 12noon to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm. Saturday 12noon to 9pm. Sunday 12noon to 3pm.
