Lake Isle

There is no isle here, no lake, no bee-loud glade, but the name of Richard and Janine Burton's lauded restaurant-with-rooms draws inspiration from WB Yeats’s Innisfree, a place of serenity and escape. Behind a 20th-century shopfront, within an 18th-century building, you will find the restaurant and a bar with a log fire for winter nights; beyond is a terrace for summer dining. Readers were wowed by the dishes they tried from a 'dine for less' menu. ‘I can verify that the crispy goat bonbons, the sea bass with crab kedgeree and Japanese salad, and the orange tart were delicious.’ Smart contemporary bedrooms range from snug doubles to a suite with free-standing bath and walk-in monsoon shower, while the larger of two cottages, sleeping four, has a lounge, shower and spa bath. ‘Our room was big and blissfully quiet, even though it is in the centre of town.' ‘The service is attentive but never intrusive.’ Breakfast brings fishcakes, grilled kipper, freshly squeezed orange juice. In sum: ‘A delight for the palate and easy on the purse.’ ‘All market towns should have a Lake Isle.’ (Peter Anderson, Robert Gower, Ingle Dawson, SP)