Lincoln guide

Where to take your parents in Lincoln: by the kind of visit, the price, and whether anyone has to climb Steep Hill

When your parents come to Lincoln, two things shape the visit more than the food: the hill and the bill. The cathedral, the castle and half the good restaurants sit at the top of Steep Hill, which Visit Lincoln says is unsuitable for anyone with mobility needs. And “somewhere nice” can mean a £15 pizza or a £99 tasting menu.

So this page is sorted by the kind of visit: a first-evening dinner you can book, Sunday lunch, an afternoon uphill with somewhere to sit down, and somewhere good for under £20 a head. Every entry gives a price from the venue’s own menu, how to book, and where it sits: downhill on the flat, on Steep Hill itself, or on the flat top of the hill, which you can reach by bus or taxi without climbing. One thing to plan around: the Walk and Ride bus up the hill does not run on Sundays.

A first-evening dinner you can book

For the night they arrive, when you want a table waiting. Prices are for mains unless the entry says otherwise, before drinks.

  • Reform, Restaurant at the Castle HotelWestgate, uphill on the flat top, by the castle. Mains £12 to £34 on its à la carte, which it calls a sample menu. Dinner Wednesday to Saturday 7pm to 9pm. Book with the online form, which is not confirmed until you get an email, or phone 01522 538801. Its site says nothing about step-free access.
  • Olé Olé, Spanish tapasThe Lawn, Union Road, uphill on the flat top. Tapas £6.95 to £15.45 a plate. A two-course set menu is £31.95 a head for four or more. Weekday lunch for two is £33.50 a couple, 12pm to 2.30pm. Book online or on 01522 534222; groups of seven or more should phone. Its site mentions accessible parking nearby. Sunday is lunch only.
  • Olivares, Spanish tapas3 Castle Hill, uphill on the flat top, between the castle and the cathedral. Tapas £4.95 to £19.95. The sharing menu is £39.95 a head for two or more. Book on its own online calendar or on 01522 410627. Closed Sunday and Monday, although some listing sites still show it open on Mondays.
  • The Old Bakery, Restaurant26–28 Burton Road, uphill, west of the castle, reached by road rather than Steep Hill. Run by Lincoln College as a not-for-profit. A three-course set menu is £34, the tasting menu £85 a head. Dinner Thursday to Saturday, plus Wednesdays in term time. Book on its website or 01522 244646. Cancel within 24 hours and you lose the deposit. Card only.
  • The Duke William, Hotel pub and restaurant44 Bailgate, uphill on the flat top. Mains £17 to £29 on its September 2026 menu. A two-course weekday lunch is £23. Book online or on 01522 532753; at busy times it holds a table for 15 minutes. It also does Sunday roasts (see Sunday lunch).
  • The Jews House, Fine dining15 The Strait, at the foot of Steep Hill, in a 12th-century stone house. The splurge on this page: a four-course tasting menu is £99 a head and six courses £130, for the whole table. A three-course set menu (Wednesday and Thursday) is £88. Evenings, Wednesday to Saturday. It charges £30 a head if you cancel within 24 hours and £50 a head if you don’t turn up. Its site says nothing about step-free access, and in a building that old, ask before assuming.

Sunday lunch

The Walk and Ride bus does not run on Sundays, so for the uphill options, plan on a taxi or a car if anyone would struggle with Steep Hill. Two of the dinner places above also do Sunday lunch: the Duke William (roasts £19 to £28, beef £23, food 12pm to 8pm) and the Old Bakery (£35 for two courses or £39 for three, 12pm to 3pm).

  • The Wig & Mitre, Pub, operated by Punch Pubs & Co30–32 Steep Hill, near the top of Steep Hill. Sunday roasts £17 (vegetarian wild mushroom pie) to £21 (beef). Food on Sundays 12pm to 8pm. On weekdays, lunch and a drink is £14.50 until 5pm. Book through its website (wig-lincoln.com) or on 01522 214668. Rooms are on two floors.
  • St Paul's Drink & Dine (Café St Paul's), Café and restaurant12 St Paul’s Lane, off Bailgate, uphill on the flat top. Sunday roasts £16.95 to £20.95, so the cheapest roast on the page. Open Sunday 10am to 6pm; closed Tuesdays. Book on 01522 212905 or by email, not by social media message. Groups of five or more pay a £10-a-head deposit. Its menus carry no date.
  • The Dining Room at Washingborough Hall, Hotel restaurantChurch Hill, Washingborough, outside the city, by car. Sunday lunch is £37.95 for two courses or £47.95 for three, 12pm to 2pm. There is a £10-a-head deposit, refundable up to 48 hours before. The only place on this page that publishes a full access statement. The main entrance has six steps, but there is a level route from the car park, the dining room is on one level, and there is an easy-access toilet. Book online or on 01522 790340.

An afternoon on the hill, with somewhere to sit down

For the cathedral-and-castle afternoon. The first two are on the flat top of the hill. The third is on Steep Hill itself.

  • Lincoln Cathedral café, Café in the cathedral visitor centreThe Old Deanery, Minster Yard, uphill on the flat top. A cream tea (scone, jam, cream and a pot of tea) is £6.75, and mains are £11.95 to £14.25, on its April 2026 menu. The cathedral says the visitor centre has level access throughout and a Changing Places toilet. Open Sunday 10am to 4pm. Afternoon tea must be booked on 01522 561654; no price is published. The cheapest proper sit-down on the page, and the easiest for a parent who can’t manage steps.
  • Stokes Lawn Coffee & Kitchen, CaféThe Lawn, Union Road, uphill on the flat top, by the castle, with pay-and-display parking opposite. Afternoon tea is £26 a head, or £32 with prosecco. It is served in a 2pm to 3pm slot only, with a £5-a-head non-refundable deposit taken off the bill; book on 01522 581921. Its site says it has fully accessible facilities. Stokes’ High Bridge café downhill charges the same, but serves afternoon tea upstairs, and only its ground floor is accessible.
  • Hobbsons Restaurant & Pie Shop, Restaurant33 Steep Hill, on Steep Hill itself. Pies £16.50 to £24.80, such as steak and Spitfire ale at £16.90. Closed Monday and Tuesday; Sunday 11.30am to 4pm. Book on 01522 527330. It is a five-storey listed building with a spiral staircase, so it is not the place for a parent who struggles with stairs.

Under £20 a head, on the flat

One main each, before drinks and sides, from the venue’s own menu. All three are downhill, so nobody has to climb.

  • Riverside Thai, Thai restaurantBrayford Wharf North, downhill on the flat, on the waterfront. Chicken or pork mains £13.95; beef, duck and seafood £15.95 to £21.95; rice extra. A two-course set menu is £27.95 a head for two or more if you want to go over budget. Bookings need 24 hours’ notice: online, by email or on 01522 568625. Open Sunday; closed Monday.
  • The House of Phở, Vietnamese restaurant4A Wigford Way, downhill on the flat, by the Brayford. Pho £13.50 to £14.60, from menu images dated December 2025; the site warns its online prices may not be current. Book online or on 01522 262871. Groups of five or more book by phone with a £5-a-head deposit. Open Sunday; closed Wednesday.
  • Slow Rise, Vegetarian pizza8–12 St Martin’s Lane, downhill. Pizzas £9 to £15, with a Margherita at £12. That is from its delivery menu, because the dine-in menu would not open. On Fridays, 12pm to 4pm, a pizza and a drink is £13. Book a table through its website. Open Sunday 12pm to 9pm; closed Monday.

If a parent can’t do Steep Hill

Visit Lincoln is blunt about it: Steep Hill is steep and cobbled, and “unsuitable for wheelchair users or for those with mobility needs”. You don’t need to climb it to reach the top, though.

  • The Walk and Ride bus runs from the Stonebow on Silver Street up to the cathedral (Minster Yard), Bailgate, the Lawn and the castle. The operator, PC Coaches, runs it Monday to Saturday except public holidays, and Visit Lincoln says it leaves every 20 minutes. Under-5s and concessionary pass holders ride free. We could not confirm the adult fare on an official page, so check it on the day.
  • On a Sunday there is no Walk and Ride, so an uphill Sunday lunch means a taxi or a car. The Lawn has a pay-and-display car park opposite Stokes.
  • The easiest pairing for a parent who can’t manage steps: the cathedral, then its café, which has level access and a Changing Places toilet. Downhill, the Brayford restaurants are on the flat.
  • Avoid for stairs: Hobbsons (spiral staircase) and Stokes High Bridge’s upstairs tea room. Most of the other places here publish no access information, so if it matters, phone before you book.

Where to go next

For the morning before lunch, free things to do in Lincoln says exactly which parts of the castle and cathedral cost money. And best independent restaurants in Lincoln names the owner behind each one, if your parents want to know who they are paying.

How this was checked

Every price, booking detail and opening day was read on 23 September 2026 from the venue’s own website or menu PDF. Where a menu carries a date we give it, and where a site warns its prices may be out of date we say so. Access notes come from the venue’s own site, Lincoln Cathedral’s visitor centre page, Washingborough Hall’s own access statement, and Visit Lincoln’s accessibility page for Steep Hill and the Walk and Ride. Where a venue says nothing about access, the entry says so rather than guessing. Nobody from Highstreett visited or phoned these places for this page.

Fifteen places are named. Fourteen have a page in our directory; the cathedral café does not. None yet carries our verified independent badge. The Wig & Mitre is a pub company pub and is labelled as one. Left out: The Bronze Pig, which closed on 19 July 2026; Castle View Indian, which we could not confirm is still trading; No.38 at the Tower, which publishes no prices; La Trattoria Da Vincenzo, closed on Sundays and with nothing dated on its site to show it is trading; and VINE’S, which has no sit-down café on Steep Hill. Nothing was scored, so the entries are grouped, not numbered.