Former Ludlow Michelin star restaurant Mr Underhill's back on the market for £1,150,000
A former Michelin-starred restaurant has gone on the market for more than a million pounds.
Mr Underhill's in Ludlow was the town's last remaining Michelin star holding eatery when it owners Chris and Judy Bradley closed its doors for the last time in December 2015.
Now the Bradleys have decided to sell up, with the idyllic riverside property at Dinham Wier House, on the River Teme beneath Ludlow Castle, going up for £1,150,000 – and there is a possibility the venue, complete with it's top-of-the-range £70,000 kitchen where chef Chris conjured up his magical dishes, may become a restaurant once more.
When it closed 18 months ago Mr Underhill's was as popular as ever but after 35 years, with both Chris and Judy battling through a period of ill health, the couple decided to take a year out.
Judy said: "At that point we didn't know whether we wanted to retire – what we had thought was that we needed to get ourselves repaired, which we have now done, and then we would see.
"Everyone said we wouldn't like retirement but actually we love it. We just wanted to live here for a while.
"It's really strange because for the first time in 35 years we have a home of our own that we are no longer sharing with guests and staff – I couldn't go back to sharing this place again."
She said she cooked more than Chris these days.
"The kitchen we've got, I love it for cooking myself, it's great to work with and even if we move to our own house I'll still want a kitchen like this.
"We're loving living there but it is just a bit too big for the two of us.
"It's really difficult because while it made a really lovely restaurant with rooms it makes an even lovelier home."
Mr Underhill's was a key player in the gastronomic boom that made Ludlow the gourmet capital of rural Britain back in 2000, and outlasted three other Michelin-star holders in the town, to be given the Harden’s Award for Britain’s Best Restaurant in 2010.
Judy said they had carried the torch for Ludlow's foodie reputation for as long as they could but something had to give.
She added that they were in no rush to leave but thought they should finally put the property on the market – and there is every possibility it will attract interest from budding restaurateurs looking to follow in their footsteps.
Dinham Weir House is up for sale with Strutt and Parker.
Kevin Boulton at the estate agents said: "Whilst currently a fantastic home, minimal changes could return it to its previous commercial use.
"The bespoke Swiss kitchen which was designed for everyday domestic cooking as well as for the production of Michelin star dishes," he said.
