The Reindeer

Verdict: The Reindeer Earns Its Michelin Bib Gourmand — And Then Some

The most common mistake people make about The Reindeer is assuming that a Michelin-recognised pub on a narrow country lane in a Nottinghamshire village must be a destination restaurant in disguise — all artful plating and hushed reverence. It is not. What Bobby Jones runs here is a genuinely friendly, unpretentious village pub that happens to cook traditional British food with enough care and quality that Michelin awarded it a Bib Gourmand in both 2024 and 2025. That distinction matters: the Bib Gourmand is specifically for places offering good food at a reasonable price, which is exactly what The Reindeer delivers at the ££ price point. If you're arriving expecting a tasting-menu experience, recalibrate. If you want honest, flavour-forward British cooking in a pub that actually feels like a pub, book a table.

What To Expect From the Food

The menu at The Reindeer is grounded in the kind of British comfort cooking that rewards quality ingredients rather than technique for its own sake. Bangers and mash, described by Michelin as an "eternal favourite" cooked with great care, anchors the permanent menu alongside daily specials. Two programming decisions are worth planning around: the weekly Pie Night, where the filling choices change each week, and the Sunday roast, both of which are specifically called out in the Michelin recognition. At the ££ price tier, this is food that prioritises flavour and substance over presentation. If you've been once and ordered off the regular menu, the next visit should be timed around Pie Night or a Sunday , those are the sessions that reveal what the kitchen is doing at its leading. Daily specials are also worth asking about when you arrive, as they reflect what's in season and what the kitchen wants to cook right now.

The Room and the Setting

Pub has a bright, modern interior feel despite sitting on a narrow country lane in Hoveringham. The setting includes a view of the local cricket pitch, which makes it a particularly good warm-weather option , this is a place that earns repeat visits from locals precisely because the surroundings add to rather than distract from the food. The service is described as charming, which in practice means attentive without being formal. This is not a stiff dining room. It is a working village pub with Michelin credibility, and that combination is genuinely uncommon in the East Midlands.

Does the Food Travel? Takeout and Delivery Considerations

Given the pub's setting and the nature of its cooking, takeout from The Reindeer is worth thinking through carefully. Traditional British pub food , bangers and mash, pies, roasts , is not designed to travel well. The structural integrity of a proper pie and the texture of well-cooked mash both degrade quickly in transit. If you are staying locally in Hoveringham or within a very short drive, a takeaway pie on Pie Night might hold up acceptably, but this is not a kitchen whose strengths translate to a delivery box. The Reindeer's value is inseparable from eating in: the cricket pitch view, the room atmosphere, the service warmth. If you cannot eat on-site, the food will be a diminished version of what the kitchen intended. The better call is to book a table and eat there. For our full guide to eating in Hoveringham, see our full Hoveringham restaurants guide.

Practical Details

Booking: Easy , this is a village pub, not a destination restaurant with a weeks-long waitlist. That said, Pie Night and Sunday lunch will fill faster than midweek sessions, so booking ahead for those is sensible. Price: ££, which at a Michelin Bib Gourmand venue represents strong value relative to the quality on the plate. Dress: No formal dress code; smart casual is appropriate but this is a pub, not a dining room. Parking: Country lane location means you will need to drive or arrange transport , Hoveringham is not served by frequent public transport. Check our Hoveringham experiences guide for local context. Leading time to visit: Pie Night for the most distinctive menu experience; Sunday lunch for the roast. Both are better booked than walked into.

How It Compares

See the comparison section below for how The Reindeer sits relative to other British dining options across different price points.

Worth Knowing

The Reindeer holds a Google rating of 4.6 from 302 reviews, which for a village pub is a meaningful signal of consistent execution rather than one-off excellence. Two consecutive Michelin Bib Gourmands (2024, 2025) confirm the kitchen is not coasting. For context on comparable British pub dining at a similar price tier, Pipe and Glass in South Dalton operates in a similar register and is worth comparing if you are planning a wider tour of Michelin-recognised British pubs. For those interested in how the very leading end of British pub dining is recognised, Hand and Flowers in Marlow is the benchmark two-Michelin-star pub, though at a substantially different price point and formality level.

If you are already familiar with The Reindeer and are thinking about what else to explore in the region, Moor Hall in Aughton and L'Enclume in Cartmel represent the upper end of what the north of England offers in serious restaurant dining , a different category entirely, but useful reference points for planning a broader trip. For hotels and bars in the immediate area, see our Hoveringham hotels guide and our Hoveringham bars guide.

FAQ

• What should I wear to The Reindeer? Smart casual is the practical answer , this is a Michelin Bib Gourmand pub in a Nottinghamshire village, not a formal dining room. Jeans are fine. You do not need to dress up, but this is not a takeaway counter either.
• Can I eat at the bar at The Reindeer? The venue operates as a village pub with a modern interior, so bar seating is likely available, though the specific layout is not confirmed in available data. Worth calling ahead if bar seating matters to your visit.
• Is The Reindeer good for solo dining? Yes. A friendly village pub at the ££ price point with no formal atmosphere is well suited to solo diners. The service is described as charming, which tends to make solo visits easier. The bar area, if available, is the natural choice for solo eating at a pub like this.
• Is the tasting menu worth it at The Reindeer? There is no tasting menu here, and that is by design. The Reindeer's Michelin recognition is a Bib Gourmand , good food at fair prices , not a starred award. The format is pub dining: specials, pies, roasts. If you want a tasting menu in the broader region, Midsummer House in Cambridge or Opheem in Birmingham are the right conversations to have instead.
• What are alternatives to The Reindeer in Hoveringham? Hoveringham is a small village; The Reindeer is the primary dining destination in the immediate area. For broader alternatives within a comparable British pub dining category, Pipe and Glass in South Dalton is the closest peer in terms of format and recognition. See our full Hoveringham restaurants guide for current options.
• Is The Reindeer worth the price? At ££ with back-to-back Michelin Bib Gourmands and a 4.6 Google rating from over 300 reviews, yes. The Bib Gourmand exists precisely to flag value-for-money cooking, and The Reindeer has earned it twice. You are not paying fine-dining prices for this food, which is the point.
• Is The Reindeer good for a special occasion? It depends on the occasion. A birthday dinner for someone who loves proper British pub food in a characterful setting , yes, absolutely. A formal anniversary dinner where the setting and ceremony matter as much as the food , probably not the right fit. The room is bright and modern, the service warm, but this is a pub. For a celebratory meal in a more formal register nearby, you would need to look further afield to venues like Restaurant Andrew Fairlie or Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons.