Last Updated on October 16, 2023

A new Indian menu and a room for the night.

A beautiful autumnal day saw me pootling along country roads to the chocolate box gorgeous village of Lyddington. Situated in Rutland, the smallest county in England, the village is home to The Marquess of Exeter, a pub with rooms. Here diners can choose from an excellent Indian menu from the recently opened restaurant, Krishna’s at The Marquess, or enjoy a regular pub menu at The Bar at The Marquess. Guests can opt to stay the night in one of seventeen rooms situated in a building behind the pub.

Those interested in history might like to know, as I did, who is the Marquess of Exeter. The name is associated with the Cecil family who built the magnificent 16th-century Burghley House in nearby Stamford. William Cecil was the Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth l. The Cecil family also had direct involvement in the village of Lyddington (more of that later) which is presumably how the pub came to bear this name.

The Marquess of Exeter, a Grade ll listed pub, is on the site of a tavern that is thought to have existed since parish records began in 1563. The red limestone building is beautifully preserved. It has a series of interconnecting small rooms with low ceilings supported by fabulous wooden beams, inglenook fireplaces and gleaming flagstone floors. It really is most atmospheric which is no surprise since it seems to have been oozing character for hundreds of years. Outdoors there is a meadow with picnic tables for al fresco dining in the summer months. It must make a relaxed beer garden in hot weather. In the evening before dinner, we found a roaring log fire in the bar which makes the autumn and winter worth looking forward to. A bottle of Malbec was suggested as a good accompaniment to our forthcoming meal, and we happily filled our glasses and watched the flames flickering away while the spicy aromas from the kitchen whetted our appetites.

On a Saturday night, The Marquess of Exeter was clearly a popular venue for dinner and the tables in the pub as well as the restaurant alongside were full. I thought how fortunate the local Lyddington residents are to have a modern Indian restaurant on their doorstep. Chef Krishnapal Negi, who grew up in the Indian Himalayas, has designed a well-crafted menu of some of his favourite childhood dishes. He and his business partner recently bought The Marquess of Exeter and this gives the chef free rein in the kitchen to continue to present the modern Indian cuisine for which he is renowned. Chef Krishnapal Negi made his name in London from the restaurant he launched in 2004, Tangawizi, in Richmond Upon Thames. The story goes that George Clooney was turned away because the restaurant tables were full. Negi achieved a Michelin award at Tangawizi before moving on to work under Michelin-starred chef Vineet Bhatia. Until early 2022 Negi was executive chef at 1947 London, an acclaimed restaurant in Fitzrovia. He has now taken up residence in the lovely village of Lyddington which will no doubt attract visitors to his new venture, Krishna’s at The Marquess.

Those in search of more traditional pub fare can book a table in the bar area where the classic dishes range from prawn cocktail and chicken liver paté, through scampi, gammon, steak and burgers to fish and chips. We had come to sample the Indian menu and it turned out to be a veritable feast, a riot of flavours, textures and colours. I appreciated that the menu comprised four starters, six mains and four sides all of which provided options for vegetarians, pescatarians and omnivores. I find extensive menu options a bit overwhelming at times and prefer a smaller menu where the chef can concentrate on perfecting fewer dishes. As Chef Negi himself said when he came around at the end of the meal to greet his guests, he’d rather change the menu every three months than put everything onto one menu.

Krishna’s at The Marquess is simply fitted out with simple, unadorned wooden tables and chairs with a rather lovely filigree flower pattern. A few Indian wall hangings adorn the walls. There was a very cheerful and relaxed atmosphere in the restaurant with families and couples alike chattering away over their meals. We tried a number of dishes to give the menu a working over. Portions were generous and competitively priced.

From the starter choices, we sampled paneer pakora, fish Amritsari and wild mushroom cake. The first two dishes were well executed, the fish moist and the paneer well textured. Both were served with green chutney. My favourite was the wild mushroom cake as it was not a dish I had eaten before and it was not only attractively presented – strewn with pomegranate seeds – but was also layered with complex flavours. Wild mushrooms were sautéed with garlic and chilli and served on a chickpea masala with mint, tamarind and sweetened yoghurt. This gave the dish that wonderful sweet and spicy flavour underscored by the tang of tamarind.

The chef really spoilt us during the main course which arrived in a series of small bowls containing several more dishes than we had ordered. With food of this quality, we were not complaining. Hence we were able to sample an excellent lamb masala – sweet, aromatic, tender and rather fabulous, butter chicken in its rust-coloured tomato and cashew sauce, lamb saagwala – equally tender and dressed in its colourful green gravy, paneer tikka masala which was deliciously spiced with a lovely texture, and a chicken dum biryani which was served in the traditional way with a pastry lid. This was cut open at the table which I always find rather thrilling as the pastry is rolled back and the aromatic spices waft out from the enclosed chicken and rice that are nestled below. It was served with cooling raita of yoghurt and pomegranate seeds. Bowls of basmati rice accompanied the meal. We also tried a range of side dishes – slices of truffle naan, pindi chole (a chickpea masala) and baby corn and palak masala. This last dish was so delicious that I could happily have eaten this for a vegetarian meal in itself. The baby corn had a wonderful crunch which contrasted with the silky texture of the baby spinach leaves that had been stir-fried with onion, garlic, tomatoes and spices.

We were fit to bursting by this stage but gave two desserts a go. Our waiter recommended the cheesecake with fruit coulis which was served cold and was refreshing after such a large meal, it being a light cheesecake and the coulis not overly sweet.  Sticky toffee pudding was also light, the sponge cake anointed with a lovely sauce and served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

By this stage in the evening, it was all we could do to waddle over to the fireside where we eased into armchairs.  I could have curled up happily for the night. Fortunately, we were staying over and, when the last log crumbled, we retired to our room across the car park. The rooms are simply furnished with wooden furniture, accent walls with lovely wallpaper, Roman blinds and white linen. There are tea trays with a kettle, tea and coffee and biscuits. The bathrooms looked newly fitted – the venue has been under new management since the Spring – and came with a rain shower over the bath. Rooms range from twin double, standard or superior double and a family room which has a sleeper couch if needed.

We had a comfortable sleep and returned to the pub in the morning for breakfast. A buffet had jugs of orange juice, boxed cereals, milk, butter and jam. On order was a full English breakfast which set us up for the morning ahead.

We were treated to another gorgeous autumn day and strolled down the main road admiring the beautiful red limestone cottages and larger homes, lovely gardens, and hills rising behind the village adorned with trees sporting red, yellow and orange leaves. It was picture-perfect. We were headed for Bede House, an English Heritage property in the village. Originally built as a palace for the Bishops of Lincoln, who tended to stay there in the summer while visiting their parishes, the medieval building is well-preserved and of architectural and historical interest. During the Reformation, the contents of the Bishop’s Palace were confiscated and the building no longer served its original purpose. The Cecil family took over the building and turned it into an almshouse for workers who could no longer work due to ill health. Entrance requirements were rigorous and the residents were required to be of religious nature and not afflicted by leprosy, lunacy or French pox. They were called bedesmen, hence Bede House, a bedesman meaning a pensioner who prays for his benefactor. The last resident lived there until the 1930s. Bede House is situated alongside the sizeable St Andrew’s church which is also well worth a visit.

The church hosts a series of classical concerts throughout the year and there are some lovely walks to be had from the village. There is also a host of places to visit using Lyddington as a base – Rutland Water in one direction where you can walk, cycle or partake in water sports, Stamford and Burghley House in another, a number of English Heritage properties in the area such as Kirby Hall and Apethorpe Palace, galleries and curio shops in Uppingham, and countless small villages that you can visit in this picturesque county. Make The Marquess of Exeter your base and let Rutland county charm you with all it has to offer.

The Marquess of Exeter

52 Main Street, Lyddington, Oakham LE15 9LT