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I was a little surprised at the state of the main market square in Gainsborough, it looked a bit sub-optimal with the closed and derelict buildings dotted all around. It was also surprising quiet during the evening, not a bustling hub of activity, it more harked back to the period of Covid when town and city centres felt oddly empty.

This is a listed building, so seeing it like this doesn’t seem ideal.

The closure of some former grand bank buildings, like the one on the left, certainly hasn’t helped matters. There are numerous grand structures once owned by the banks, but they’re falling into disrepair and it’s not entirely clear who will rent them at the moment.

There is hope though, with the Townscape Heritage Initiative having been set up to help with the economic development of the heart of Gainsborough. There has been a market held here since 1281 and since the eighteenth century, it’s taken place twice a week.

The Savoy cinema is coming soon, part of a £9 million investment project. Not only will there be a four screen cinema, but there will also be a restaurant, retail units and yet another car park.

If improved somewhat, this is a really quite grand town centre market place, so maybe the future is bright.

Before meandering off to watch the football, I thought I’d pop into the top rated Indian restaurant in the town as part of my vague quest to visit as many Indian dining venues as possible. I entered just after a few members of a larger group had come in, leaving the staff member the slight question of whether to sit me next to that table on a table for two, or to sacrifice a larger table for four in the other part of the restaurant where it might be quieter. She seemed to think the larger table was a bit more sensible, but the manager didn’t want the risk of a hoard of hungry people coming in and not being able to seat them. That was perhaps somewhat aspirational, but anyway, I was seated next to the large group of what transpired to be school teachers who ultimately proved quite entertaining. I wouldn’t dream of breaking any confidences, especially those I wasn’t involved with in the first place, but who would have thought school teaching could be so exotic?

Before commenting on this, back to the other table, they had ordered spicy poppadoms but had done so by calling them hot. The staff member obliged by making the standard poppadoms hot, with the table of teachers getting ever more confused as non spicy poppadoms kept appearing. It took quite a lot of poppadoms being delivered to the table before they got their spicy poppadoms when the staff member realised what they were referring to when saying hot. They were adequate, a little soft for my liking. The lime pickle had a bit of a kick which was pleasing, the mint sauce was moreish and the cucumber was, well, cucumbery.

I usually order mango lassi to drink at Indian restaurants even if alcohol is available. However, my choices were more limited here as they’re not licensed, so I went with the old reliable. Creamy, not much mango, but pleasant tasting.

The generous portion sizes were the most notable element of this arrangement, although I liked the coconut rice. The Peshwari naan was light, but needed more almonds and coconut for my personal taste. The curry itself didn’t have much depth of flavour and quite genuinely must have contained an entire onion that had been cut up into it. Ploughing through an entire onion isn’t entirely the experience I’d want before going to a football match, especially as the curry flavour didn’t add much excitement to proceedings. The chicken was tender and plentiful, but it hadn’t picked up the flavour of the sauce, so although it was all perfectly edible, it wasn’t as decadent as even the chicken jalfrezi I had purchased the evening before in JD Wetherspoons. I rather hope that doesn’t sound too negative, as I think highlighting the best elements is important for any small business, but it wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for.

The service was always polite, the surroundings were clean, the ambience was inviting and so it wasn’t a negative experience by any means, but it wasn’t quite the taste sensation that I would have ideally wanted with regards to the main event of the curry. The prices were reasonable, although I can’t recall the exact amounts as the receipt was seized back by the staff member. There was an After Eight mint provided at the end which tasted stale, I’m not sure what they’d done with that as they must get through a fair few of them. It’s possible it’s one of those substitute After Eights sold by discount stores. That makes me sound really rather snobby, demanding an authentic top tier After Eight and not an Aldi equivalent, but a little slice of decadence at the end of the meal is never a bad thing. Anyway, the experience was all acceptable and enjoyable, especially with the anticipation of seeing Gainsborough Trinity play, but it wasn’t quite at the level that I’d merrily start recommending it to everyone. Thanks also to the teachers for keeping me amused and entertained, even though they weren’t aware of it.

The White Horse is another Stonegate pub, part of their Craft Union pub which are little to do with craft products and far more to do with venues with a strong community feel and cheaper drinks prices.  I’m not sure how long it has been a pub (although I suspect it’s from the mid-Victorian period) and it’s also not a listed building, although the bricked up property on the left is. The pub used to be owned and operated by Hewitt Brothers of Grimsby, although they had operated the Trent Brewery on Silver Street in Gainsborough. The brewery ended up in a series of mergers and takeovers and it ended up being owned by Bass, who soon shut it.

The drinks range was typical for Craft Union, although just one real ale which was the Black Sheep best bitter. I can’t complain at the pricing of this, it was £2.10, which must be in the territory of making them very little money. It’s open long hours, usually around 10:00 until 23:00 for most days of the week, with the community element being evident. The service here was timely and polite, although it was evidently a pub where most customers already knew each other.

The head dissipated quickly, I think that’s likely soap residue on the side of the glass, but it was not the freshest ale that I’ve had although it remained drinkable. At £2.10 a pint though, it’s hard to find much to complain about.

For someone new to Gainsborough who wanted to meet people, this is likely a very good candidate pub as it’s laid-back and welcoming. I’m not sure that anyone wanting a range of real ales and craft beers would particularly rush here, but that market is likely covered by the JD Wetherspoon literally opposite to them. Craft Union pubs do offer some very keen pricing and I’m guessing that this is allowing more people to go out to the pub and is helping these venues remain open, so there’s a very real need for locations such as this.