Restaurant review, The Olive Branch, Main Street, Clipsham, Rutland.

Around 100 miles up the A1, the hunger pangs begin in earnest. Regularly toiling north on this thoroughfare, I have become only too familiar with the meagre fare offered at the noisome Peterborough Services and craved more substantial replenishment. After some research into halfway houses, I discovered the near-perfect solution. Just two miles off the A1, the Olive Branch in the Rutland village of Clipsham is one of only 13 UK pubs to hold a Michelin star.

I say 'near perfect', because there is a slight problem for the casual caller. You can't. When I rang on a Thursday to reserve a table for two on Saturday lunch, normally a tranquil time in rural boozers, I was told that we could only be accommodated in "the barn" (presumably converted, but not quite what I wanted). Sunday lunch was, of course, fully booked. How about Friday? "Sorry, sir." So we postponed our trip to Monday.

On a rain-lashed lunchtime, the car park was packed and so, it appeared, was the picturesque pub. Originally created from three farm cottages in 1890 by the local squire as a placatory replacement following his closure of a more raucous establishment (hence the curious name), it was refurbished in 1999 by three alumni of the nearby gastronomic palace, Hambleton Hall.

Initial signs suggested that our protracted wait was worthwhile. A neighbouring table told the waiter that their meal was "absolutely gorgeous". The overture to our meal took the form of a warm half-loaf of brown bread. You're given a whacking big bread knife and 'olive and herb butter' to slather on. The demi-loaf lasted us approximately three minutes.

Though the owners also have an elegant hotel across the road, they evidently adhere to the maxim 'Clutter is Good' where pub décor is concerned. Every surface is laden with empty wine bottles from grand chateaux and well-thumbed cookbooks (Larousse rubs shoulders with volumes on Australian and Portuguese cuisine) from the collection of cook and co-owner Sean Hope.

Read more at http://www.independent.co.uk