The English Inn

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Historic Estate with a Table Worth Traveling For

The English Inn sits on 15 acres of grounds just outside Lansing, Michigan, occupying the Medovue Estate originally built in 1927 for Irving Reuter, then President and General Manager of Oldsmobile. The estate passed through the hands of a Catholic diocese, served as a seminary, and was eventually converted into an inn in 1989. It became a State Registered Historic Site in 1991, and the Nelson family has owned and operated it since 1996. That layered past gives the property a weight and character that newer venues simply cannot manufacture.

Fine Dining and an Authentic English Pub Under One Roof

The restaurant offers American and European fine dining in an upscale dining room, while a separate English pub and terrace provide a more relaxed setting — two distinct atmospheres within the same storied building. The wine program has earned the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for more than 20 years, a consistent mark of quality that few restaurants in Michigan can claim. General Manager and certified Sommelier Joe Todd oversees a cellar serious enough to anchor regular wine dinners — past events have featured producers from Chinon, France and California's Alpha Omega Collective, with multi-course pairings that draw guests from across the region.

The inn also holds a place among the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA), a certification granted to fewer than 800 restaurants on the continent. OpenTable has named it one of the nation's 100 Most Romantic Restaurants on multiple occasions, and Lansing City Pulse recognized it as the Best Upscale Dining Restaurant in the Greater Lansing area.

More Than a Meal

The English Inn functions as a full destination: luxurious guest rooms, event spaces accommodating 20 to 200 guests, and a calendar of happenings — wine dinners, whiskey tastings, holiday meals — that keep the community returning throughout the year. For those who want to extend the experience, the Croquet Cottages added in 2013 offer a quieter retreat on the grounds. Whether the occasion is a weeknight dinner or a weekend stay, the estate delivers American and European hospitality with a sense of place that is genuinely its own.