Dinner. Tapas fine dining evening. It's one of Ashbournes' premier restaurants. Located in Boylestone, a lovely little village just off the A50. On arrival, you are seated in the cosy bar area for a pre-dinner drink. A Sangria was the obvious choice. You are then shown through to the dining room. Barn, like with its exposed brick and high rafters, which is spacious and airy. Our table was facing the open kitchen where we could watch Jon and his team in action. As well as their seasonal tasting menus, they do some themed evenings. On our visit, it was the Tapas Menu. Snacks BBQ Picanto,feta/ Israeli cous cous. Manchogo & Jambon Croquette Chorizo. Loligo squid Tompura,saffron aioli/ anchovy oil. Gambas Pil Pil House Focaccia,tomato/ anchovy Hand Dived Orkney Scallop,Squid Ink Paella Iberico Pork Chop,black olive Hasselback potato bravas Salad of fennel/ orange/ citrus. Poached Clementine,lemon sorbet. Pastel De Nata,almond ice cream Petit Pours Service is attentive but not intrusive. The food and ingredients are of the highest quality. For a relaxed informal evening with music in the background, you'll be hard pushed to find better

If google allows half a star, I would have given the tasting menu as 4.5. Overall very lovely experience tonight at the Lighthouse. There were a number of exceptional dishes. For example, the scallop dish was out of this world. Cannot fault anything when strawberries and apples were served with sapphire. They were extremely delicious. Guinea fowl was cooked to perfection and the sour carrot sauce was commendable. I particularly loved the starter beef tartare shell. Tartare well seasoned and texture worked well with the crispy thin shell. Would have been 5 star experience if there were more refinement on the dessert dishes. Chocolate with marmalade as the last dish was slightly too heavy as a finish because the texture was dense. Ice cream matched well with the pastry but could consider including more sharpness or summer freshness. Yuzu was relatively mild and overshadowed with the ice cream. Services were good. During covid, could see that some of the staff might be inexperienced. But happy that the restaurant could stay open.

It was well worth the trip here. The tasting menu is very tasty. Lovely laid out dining room. Great service and great chefs. Found the car park to be very dark at night.

We visited The Lighthouse Restaurant for the first week of their new Summer Tasting Menu. The food was all incredible - our particular favourites were the Laminated Bread with 'Breakfast' Butter, the Atlantic Cod with all of its accompaniments, and the Summer Courgette risotto. The wine pairings were also amazing, with the Blood Orange Sake cocktail standing out as a delicious highlight. The service was outstanding, all of the staff were attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. They were all so happy to help and answer any questions we had about the dishes or drinks. We also enjoyed the fact that the kitchen was in full view so we could see the dishes being prepared. To top the evening off, the chef offered us a lift when he saw us waiting outside for our taxi. We didn't need to take him up on the offer but we thought the gesture was a real testament to the restaurant and the team's commitment to giving guests an incredible experience from start to finish.

Outstanding. We had an amazing experience at the Lighthouse restaurant. Warm and personal greeting and felt really welcome also willing to taper the menu for allergies which really put our minds at rest. Without being foodies, we enjoy good food and this is what this is, course after course great produce packed with flavour and interesting tastes. Thank you for a great evening.

Enjoyed the food very much. Each dish exquisite, tasty and well presented. We could see into the kitchen which was interesting and clean, with staff who seemed to be happy about their work. Beautifully set in the countryside. Staff very helpful, friendly and attentive. They all used the Royal "we" eg "Are we ready to order?" "Do we want to see the wine menu?" which was rather artificial and unnecessary and felt rather patronising. However the staff were clearly following policy. The decor is fresh, light and modern. Service felt a little slow between some courses. The restaurant was busy however we had lots of room and it wasn't noisy. We enjoyed our evening very much.

Fabulous place, service is personal, friendly and excellent. Food is always amazing, challenging your taste buds and full of lovely surprises. Best food for miles around.

Beautiful meal with great service, loved the intimate atmosphere. The roe deer, visually stunning choccie dessert and potato with cheesy custard were highlights. Well worth visiting if you are a true foodie.

We are on holiday in Ilam and decided to celebrate with a special meal out. We decided on The Lighthouse. Ahead of the evening we did not look at the menu, we trusted the Chefs to do their thing. We arrived a little early and had drinks in the nice bar and then were shown to our table. I had a really good view of the open kitchen and it was so nice to be able to see the clear passion and attention to detail the chefs put into their dishes. We had the tasting menu and an accompanying wine flight. It was of the scale good. The food was full of flavour the quality of the ingredients was top notch. The service was amazing, each course and corresponding wine was explained to us and everything went together beautifully. It was pricey and definitely a place to celebrate something special but my oh my it was 100% worth it. We had an amazing night and we will be back.

Loved our dining experience at The Lighthouse, definitely worth a visit,

A delightful dining experience - excellent food components paired with fine wine.

Absolutely amazing small restaurant serving high end delicious food. All of the courses tasted amazing in a fabulous setting. We also went for the wine pairing, which was really well crafted to go with each course. If your going for a special occasion I would definitely recommend eating here as well as paying the extra for the wine pairing as its well worth the extra cost.

Perfect meal. We opted for the pescatarian taster (which requires 48hr notice). It could not be faulted. The service was impeccable from start to finish.

The quality of the food and the work that went in it is definitely the highlight of this lovely place and well worth the price tag. A romantic diner sharing the perfectly accorded peering of wines with the tasting menu made for the almost perfect night out. Almost perfect because we can always improve. I found the service, maybe rushing at the start of the evening, could manage better the order of cocktail or wine as we almost started the food without drinks. It was quickly rectified nevertheless. Also, if the bushes and edges in the car park could be trimmed that would be even better. Thanks you, we will be back for sure. Berenger

We dined for a special occasion and these guys didn't disappoint. The team were very attentive, the decor of the restaurant is super tasteful as was every course we ate. Will return and recommend!

Wonderful culinary experience. Every bit of the spring taster menu was a taste explosion. Can't wait to go again.

Absolutely wonderful food. Made my birthday extra special. All the staff are so helpful, & polite. A truly lovely experience

The setting is perfect, quite relaxed bit still special, the wonderful staff are very attentive and the food is just exquisite. We have eaten in Michelin stared restaurants and The Lighthouse is on par or even better! We shall be returning with family and friends as this gem is too good not to share. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

Lovely venue, nice atmosphere, if a little cold. Expect to be there for over 2.5 hours. Food really nice, although the veggie main was two small carrots and a few other bits. Gaps between courses are overly protracted. Drinks are on the pricey side too.

Our second visit to the Lighthouse and we had slight nerves as it was that good the first time would it live up to the expectations. Well in short, yes it did. From arrival to exit the staff were unbelievably friendly and knowledgeable without any feeling of superiority you get in some top end establishments. The food was incredible and it was great to see how much care and attention the amazingly talented chefs put into each plate of food that leaves the kitchen. The wine flight paired the courses to perfection and the staff gave us the description of each wine and how it enhanced each dish. One of my favourite things here is that you put your trust in the chef to deliver a taster menu full of items, flavours and textures you would not probably chose if they were on a standard menu. That trust is well deserved. A great evening and we will definitely be coming back again, this time in the full knowledge that it wasn't a one off.

An all round wonderful dining experience. Incredible food and service in a comfortable and ambient environment. Well worth the journey wherever you're coming from!

Went for a celebration meal out too try the spring 22 tasting menu. It was fantastic and we loved every dish served. They mention on the website to allow for 2.5 hours which was nearly exact to our experience. We will certainly be keeping an lookout for the next menu update to visit again soon.

Quite exceptional food, course after course - not just a great meal but an unforgettable experience. Also great staff and a beautiful location.

Taster menu with well planned menu and good wine pairings. Would definitely eat here again when menu changes. Not the easiest place to get to so stayed at a hotel 3 miles away, taxi was very expensive to get there and back for such a short journey, so worth planning on transport before you go.

If I could give it a million stars I would...food, service, decor, wine, everything beyond anything I've ever known, incredible

We booked this for us four girls and originally it was fully booked. I was so gutted as the place looked amazing. And then we got a call on the day saying there was a cancellation and did we still want to attend? Obviously we attended. The food was AMAZING. The waiters even gave us little crates for our handbags. Super cute. The food was tasty, delicious, full of flavour. Gives you a great way of trying things and the bread, oh goooodddd the bread was just so delicious. I dont know how the chef does it but this amazing amalgamation of flavours with the most fantastic restaurant vibe and atmosphere. I would love to come back here again. Also the chef came over to the table and didnt hesitate to have a chat with us, super friendly guy. Wishing I lived locally so I could visit all the time. Don't be disappointed if you don't book early and reserve your table, I am surprised we managed to get one at all!! Thanks for everything :)

We were warmly welcomed and the staff were knowledgeable and attentive at all times. The presentation of the food was artistic and each dish was divine. A truly wonderful evening, thank you.