Carole has already put up her shot of the Jews House Restaurant on Steep Hill in Lincoln taken as we arrived; this shot is taken almost 3 hours later as we left.
The building is believed to be the oldest inhabited 'house' in Europe, it has been occupied since 1150. As Carole said, there was a devastating fire that gutted the building in 2009. The City Council insist that the building is a 'house' and as such it has to be occupied 200 days or more a year and that all washing (napkins etc) must occur on the premises, the fire was caused by an electrical fault with the washing machine running overnight.
On refurbisment, the City Council instructed that the building HAD to be re-opened as a florist !! This decision had precisely zero merit or rationalle and the owners sucessfully appealed and the restuaruant re-opened some 18 months after the fire.
It's very bijou, downstairs has room for 12 covers, 6 tables of 2 and all were full; the menu was small, 4 choiches of starter, mains and desert, and the courses we chose were simply stunning.
If you're ever staying in Lincoln and fancy eating somewhere which is absolutely top drawer then we can't recommend this place highly enough.
Your city council sounds like Dallas’ town council. So many absurd rulings when it comes to businesses trying to open there. Jews House sounds extraordinary though, I’m glad they fought and won the fight to stay a restaurant.
