One of the real pleasures of owning a lodge here is that a proper night out is five minutes away. Bawtry is only a small market town, but it eats and drinks like a much bigger one, and it has quietly become somewhere people travel to for dinner rather than just passing through.
Why does a town this size have so many restaurants?
Bawtry sat on the Great North Road, the old coaching route between London and Scotland, and for centuries it made its living putting up and feeding travellers. That habit never really left. Many of the handsome old inns and posting houses around the market place have been given a new life as restaurants, wine bars and a boutique hotel, so the town has both the buildings and the instinct for looking after people who have come out to eat. Add a steady run of independent owners who take it seriously, and you get a food scene with far more to it than the size of the place would suggest.
Where can you eat?
Just about whatever you fancy. Around the market place and the streets off it you will find everything from a relaxed brunch and a good coffee to Italian, pan-Asian and modern British cooking, proper Sunday lunches, cheese and charcuterie boards, and late bars for a cocktail afterwards. A couple of names have become institutions: China Rose, a Cantonese restaurant that has been feeding Bawtry since the 1980s, and The Crown, the landmark former coaching inn on the market place that still wears its old posting-house lettering above the door. Beyond those, the pleasure is in wandering and picking somewhere, and the line-up changes often enough that there is always something new to try. For the current list, opening times and menus, the local Bawtry guide at visitbawtry.com is the easiest place to look.
Is it just evenings, or daytime too?
Both. The cafes, delis and coffee shops make it an easy place to spend a morning, and the pubs and bars keep the market place busy into the evening. It works for a quiet coffee and the paper just as well as a proper night out, which is exactly what you want from a town on your doorstep.
Five minutes from your own lodge
This is the sort of thing that makes owning a lodge at Bawtry so easy to enjoy. Bawtry Lodge Country Park is a family-run park just outside town in Austerfield, with luxury lodges for sale near Doncaster, every price up front. Own one and a good dinner, a lazy lunch or a coffee in a handsome market town is never more than a few minutes from your front door.
How far is Bawtry town centre from the park?
About five minutes. The park is just outside town in Austerfield, so the restaurants and bars around the market place are genuinely on your doorstep.
Is Bawtry a good place to eat out?
Yes, and it is well known for it. For its size the town has an unusually good spread of restaurants, wine bars and pubs, many of them in converted old coaching inns around the market place.
What are the best known restaurants in Bawtry?
Names people mention include China Rose, a long-standing Cantonese restaurant, and The Crown, a former coaching inn on the market place. Around them you will find Italian, pan-Asian and modern British cooking, along with traditional pubs and cafes. Places change through the year, so check the local Bawtry guide at visitbawtry.com for the current line-up.
Where can I find opening times and menus?
The local Bawtry guide at visitbawtry.com lists the current restaurants, bars and cafes, and each has its own site for menus and bookings. Places change through the year, so it is worth checking before you set off.
Does Bawtry have traditional pubs as well as restaurants?
It does. Alongside the restaurants and wine bars there are traditional pubs around the market place, so there is somewhere for a relaxed pint as well as a special meal.