Chubby Castor

Book the Yard for summer — and arrive early for the lounge

If you have been to Chubby Castor once and left satisfied, the single most useful thing to know before your return visit is this: in summer, the Yard — the open-air space at the back of the building , runs its own menu and books up separately from the dining room. Reserve it as soon as your dates are confirmed. The main dining room operates at ££££ pricing and, given the Michelin Plate recognition the kitchen earned in 2025, tables are not easy to come by. Treat booking as a hard problem, not a formality.

The setting matters more than the address suggests. Chubby Castor occupies a 400-year-old thatched inn on Peterborough Road in the village of Castor, around four miles from Peterborough city centre. The Grade II-listed exterior , all thatch and weathered stone , is exactly what the postcard promises. The interior is a deliberate contrast: bright, somewhat glitzy, with starched white linen in the dining room and a smart lounge that functions as a natural holding area while you work through the wine list. The transition from one room to the other is gradual enough that the pub never feels like it is trying too hard to shed its origins, and the relaxed service style reinforces that. Easy-going but always on-point is the accurate summary.

Chef-owner Adebola Adeshina has an unusually direct line back to the London brigade system. Time working alongside Gordon Ramsay, Marcus Wareing, and Philip Howard gives his cooking a classical spine that shows up in the precision of presentation and the balance of flavour rather than in any stiffness at the table. That pedigree is most visible in the middle of the menu, where a tournedos Rossini sits alongside more contemporary plates without either feeling out of place. If you came last time and ordered from the lighter end of the card, the Rossini is worth trying on your return , it demonstrates how comfortably the kitchen handles weight.

Among the dishes the kitchen has built its reputation on, the scallop with polenta, wild rice and corn velouté is the clearest expression of what Adeshina does well: technically precise, grounded in classical method, but not heavy. The Loch Duart salmon, cooked simply and paired with a prawn raviolo, foamy prawn sauce, asparagus, and a sauce gribiche finished with romanesco and edible flowers, is the kind of plate that benefits from multiple visits , the components read differently once you know the kitchen's logic. For dessert, the Firetree chocolate with peanuts and caramel is the one to anchor your order around. The strawberry soufflé, when it appears, is technically precise: risen properly, light, offset by basil sorbet and crème de cassis.

The drinks programme here deserves attention in its own right, not as an afterthought to the food. The wine list covers considerable ground and includes Coravin selections , a detail that signals the list is being managed carefully rather than just assembled. Coravin access means you can order high-quality pours from bottles that would otherwise only make financial sense as full purchases, which matters at the ££££ price point. If you are returning and want to push further into the list than you did on your first visit, ask about those selections specifically. The globetrotting range means there is depth beyond the obvious French and Italian pillars, and the staff appear comfortable navigating it with you.

For context on where Chubby Castor sits in the broader Modern British picture: this is not a restaurant making a case for national attention in the way that CORE by Clare Smyth in London or Midsummer House in Cambridge do. What it offers is something different , London-trained technique applied in a village pub setting, without the price premium or the formality that London dining at this level typically requires. Among the comparably-cited country-pub dining destinations, it sits alongside Hand and Flowers in Marlow and hide and fox in Saltwood as a venue where the rural format is genuinely part of the offer rather than incidental to it. For anyone based in the East Midlands, it is currently the most credentialled table within a reasonable drive , the Michelin Plate in 2025 makes that case formally.

Seasonal produce, some of it from the kitchen garden, shapes the menu in ways that make a second or third visit worthwhile at different points in the year. The amuse-bouche sequence , tomato bread with herb butter and a trio of small bites , tends to signal what the kitchen is working with at any given time. It is a reliable early indicator of whether the season is playing in the kitchen's favour. Come in late spring or early summer when garden produce is at its most useful and the Yard is available: that combination is the strongest version of the Chubby Castor experience.

For more on dining in the area, see our full Castor restaurants guide. If you are planning a longer trip, our full Castor hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the picture.

Ratings

• Google: 4.7 / 5 (234 reviews)
• Awards: Michelin Plate (2025)
• Price range: ££££

Booking

Booking difficulty is high. The combination of a small dining room, a Michelin Plate, and a rural location with limited walk-in alternatives means you should secure a reservation well in advance. The Yard in summer is a separate booking and has its own menu , if alfresco dining is your priority, ask about that space directly when you call. No online booking method is confirmed in our data, so contact the restaurant directly at the address on Peterborough Road, Castor, PE5 7AX.

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