Jericho

Verdict: Book It — But Only If You're Committed to the Full Experience

If you've already eaten at Jericho once, the question isn't whether to return — it's whether you're ready to surrender another four hours to a 20-course tasting menu in a converted farmstead outside Nottingham. The answer, for most people who made the first trip, is yes. Richard and Grace Stevens have built something in the Vale of Belvoir that earns its Michelin Plate and back-to-back Opinionated About Dining rankings (320th in Europe in 2025, 314th in 2024) not through spectacle but through a specific, deeply considered point of view about food, place, and pace. Return visitors should know: the surprise format means you won't get the same menu twice, and the seasonal shift between visits is pronounced enough to feel like a genuinely different restaurant.

The Space

The physical experience at Jericho is part of the argument for going. The dining room occupies two buildings assembled largely from reclaimed farm materials, and the result is a space that is expansive without feeling anonymous: dark and light tones in contrast, plentiful windows, a kitchen bench for watching the cooks work. A Japanese-style moss wall sits alongside displays of agricultural implements , details that could read as affected in another context but here feel grounded because this is, literally, the farm where the chef grew up. Outside, a pair of tepees handle overnight guests, which changes the calculus considerably if you're travelling from London (roughly two hours by car) or don't want to factor in a driver. For return visitors, the counter seats are worth requesting , the kitchen bench gives you a different read on the pacing and preparation than the main room.

The Food

The format is fixed: a 20-course surprise tasting menu, Thursday through Saturday evenings only (7–11pm), closed Sunday through Wednesday. There is no abbreviated version and no à la carte. If that commitment suits you , and it will suit regulars more than first-timers , what you get in return is cooking that treats the farm's surroundings as a genuine creative constraint rather than a marketing position. Game and kitchen-garden vegetables dominate, with charcoal and wood-fire doing significant structural work across the menu. Documented dishes from previous menus include a mutton croquette with quince paste, a blackberry-glazed pork belly skewer, partridge leg in pear coating, lamb with turnips in a lamb fat and walnut oil dressing, and a mixed-pedigree sirloin with Jerusalem artichoke foam and black garlic purée. On the sweeter end, parsnip custard with honeycomb and Bramley apple cooked in Marmite butter with clotted cream give a fair sense of how far the kitchen is willing to push. The 'whole crop silage' ice cream pre-dessert is an acquired taste by the restaurant's own admission. The balance across 20 courses is not always perfect , documented criticism notes that some accompaniments (Granny Smith apple, sloe jam) have tipped toward excessive astringency , but that kind of considered risk-taking is the point. This is not a safe kitchen.

On the Takeout Question

Editorial angle here is worth being direct about: Jericho does not make sense as a takeout or delivery proposition, and there is no indication it operates as one. The cooking depends on live fire, precise sequencing across 20 courses, and the physical context of the space itself. A mutton croquette cooked over coals is a different object in a box on your doorstep. For this category of Modern British tasting menu , see also Kitchen Table in London or Evelyn's Table , the experience is inextricably spatial. The meal is the room, the sequence, and the time. If you are looking for a restaurant in this price tier where the food can travel or where a shorter format is available, Jericho is the wrong call. If you can commit to the full sit, it is the right one.

Booking and Practicalities

Booking difficulty is rated hard, and that tracks with both the restaurant's awards profile and its limited operating hours. Open just four evenings a week (Thursday to Saturday, 7–11pm), with a small dining room, demand consistently outpaces availability. Plan a minimum of six to eight weeks out for a weekend table; midweek Thursday slots occasionally surface on shorter notice. The price range sits at ££££, which at this format and duration represents a full-evening commitment , drinks pairings are the sensible choice given the wine list's depth in natural, organic, and biodynamic labels, but most diners will be navigating Pét-Nat, Hungarian rosé, and Muscat de Rivesaltes territory rather than a conventional pairing format. Factor in travel: Plungar is not a restaurant you stumble into. The address is Orchard Farm, Plungar, NG13 0JA , you will need a car or a prearranged transfer from Nottingham or Grantham. The overnight tepees make a strong case for a two-day itinerary if distance is a factor. Check our full Plungar hotels guide for alternatives nearby. For more on what else is happening in the area, see our full Plungar restaurants guide, our full Plungar bars guide, and our full Plungar experiences guide.

How It Compares in the Broader UK Scene

Within the Modern British tasting menu category, Jericho sits in a specific and growing cohort of destination farm restaurants that put provenance at the centre of the format. It is closer in spirit to L'Enclume in Cartmel or Moor Hall in Aughton than to a London tasting room. If you are comparing it to CORE by Clare Smyth , also ££££, also Modern British , the difference is one of register: CORE is technically tighter and more urban in sensibility; Jericho is more visceral and place-specific. For a rural experience with comparable ambition, The Fat Duck in Bray and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton are the obvious reference points in terms of destination dining, though both carry more institutional weight and higher booking difficulty. Midsummer House in Cambridge and Opheem in Birmingham are worth considering as Midlands-adjacent alternatives if the Plungar drive is too far. The Google rating of 4.9 across 50 reviews is consistent with a restaurant where almost everyone who makes it there is already bought in , a useful signal, with the caveat that low review volume reflects the limited capacity and remote location rather than footfall.

FAQs

• Is Jericho good for a special occasion? Yes , the 20-course format, four-hour duration, and remote farmstead setting make it a deliberate, occasion-specific experience. The price tier (££££), surprise menu, and the option for overnight tepee accommodation reinforce that framing. It is better suited to a two-person dinner than a large group celebration, given the fixed format and intimate space. If you want a special occasion restaurant with more flexibility on group size or format, Gidleigh Park in Chagford or Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder offer comparable occasion energy with hotel accommodation built in.
• How far ahead should I book Jericho? Six to eight weeks minimum for a Friday or Saturday. The restaurant opens only Thursday to Saturday evenings, which concentrates demand into a narrow window. Thursday tables are marginally easier to secure. The combination of its Michelin Plate recognition and Opinionated About Dining European ranking means availability tightens further around peak periods. Book as soon as your date is fixed.
• Is Jericho worth the price? At ££££ for a 20-course tasting menu over four hours, the value depends on whether that format suits you. For the right diner , someone who treats a long tasting menu as the event itself, not a prelude to it , yes. The cooking has earned external validation (Michelin Plate, OAD top 320 in Europe) and the drinks pairing adds significant cost, so budget accordingly. If ££££ over four hours feels uncertain, consider hide and fox in Saltwood or Hand and Flowers in Marlow for comparable ambition at a more flexible format.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at Jericho? The 20-course menu is the only option , there is no shorter version. If the surprise tasting format suits you, the cooking is inventive and grounded, with a clear point of view about provenance and fire. Documented courses show genuine range and occasional risk (the 'whole crop silage' ice cream is polarising by design). If you want a tasting menu with more conventional pacing or a preview of what you'll eat, this is the wrong restaurant. If you want to be surprised, it is well matched to that preference.
• What are alternatives to Jericho in Plungar? There are no direct peers in Plungar itself. In the wider Midlands region, Opheem in Birmingham offers Michelin-level cooking in a more urban setting. For a comparable rural destination experience, Moor Hall in Aughton and L'Enclume in Cartmel are the strongest parallels in the UK. Both require similar travel planning and carry higher Michelin recognition.
• What should a first-timer know about Jericho? You are committing to four hours and 20 courses with no menu preview , the format is fixed and the element of surprise is intentional. Drive or arrange a transfer: public transport to Plungar is not practical. The tepee accommodation on-site is worth considering if you want to avoid the return journey. The wine list is biodynamic-heavy; the drinks pairing is the easier route. The playlist runs loud enough to occasionally mask quieter servers, so do not hesitate to ask for repetition. Arrive on time: the pacing of a 20-course menu is not designed to accommodate late starts.