Mama Liz's — Restaurant in South Kesteven

I’m not native to Stamford, but I have it on reasonably good authority that the pub downstairs occasionally entertains a bit of a questionable clientele. Thankfully this seems to in no way reflect on the food, which turned it to be anything but questionable. Well mostly. I had the Gumbo, which was fantastic, but came with a piece of cornbread roughly the sweetness, consistency and shape of your average piece of lemon drizzle cake. I mean, sure, it was good, but even as the adventurous type it would have felt thoroughly strange to dip it in the sauce. I ended up having it as a sort of pre-dessert, dessert instead.

Speaking of which, they do three different types of dessert - brownies, waffles and churros. We had one of each at the table, and I’m somewhat sad to say that I ended up with the least-good (not worst) of them. My churros were a tiny bit dry.

The decor is very cool by the way, and creates an atmosphere somewhere on the classy...

Restaurant review: Being a fan of Caribbean cuisine, I was very intrigued to see goat curry on the menu, so naturally that's what I ordered... and it was beautiful!

Tender, fall-off-the bone meat, perfectly seasoned, nice level of spice, cooked to perfection rice. Extremely impressed!

My better half had the chili con carne, this was more akin to a stew (in the best way). Tender chunks of steak, that familiar, homely con carne flavour, complimented with jalapenos and tortillas. Lovely.

In summary: Fantastically cooked "soul" food, generous cocktails, a laid back atmosphere and a welcoming and personal service has cemented Mama Liz's restaurant as one of my personal top spots in the area.

PS. The local craft ale was an...

One of the few places in town open late. Bit of a mix up of things going on...

Main bar is decent for beer and attracts a lively crowd, large seating area outside. Has a DJ and dancefloor but sticks to fairly normal music (i.e. similar to other bars/clubs).

Downstairs is usually quiet, could do with a bit more of something to make it stand out (i.e. better sound system/lights/djs to turn it into a proper late night rave cave).

Cocktail bar upstairs is good for a more quiet drink but the staff are clueless (didn't know what a Tom Collins was) and it's a bit overpriced ( i.e. other cocktail bars in town better for this sort of thing).

Overall not bad for a late night place, but wouldn't write home...