Wine, dine and then recline. It’s a perfect combination. After all, how often have each of us wished we weren’t facing a car ride or train journey home after a great meal? But ‘restaurants-with-rooms’ are more than just convenient, they are destinations. A way to get out of the city or to celebrate an occasion and, of course, to experience dining out as part of a total experience – always more difficult among the clamour of competing attractions in a city. So, this week, we bring you some of the best restaurants-with-rooms.
To give some sort of order to the list, we’ve added twice the meal cost to the cost of a room to give a – very rough – pecking order by the cost of a night away.
Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons, Great Milton – £897
Restaurant: £171
Rooms: From £555 per night
“Absolutely perfect, not cheap but worth it” – the cost issue may be ever-present, but Raymond Blanc’s “fabulous” manor house hotel and restaurant remains THE destination for those in search of a “fantastic all-round experience”; make sure you leave time for “wandering round the garden”.
The Waterside Inn, Bray – £627
Restaurant: £201
Rooms: From £225 per night
“Deservedly a legend”; for reporters of a more traditional bent, “nothing can beat” the Roux family’s “perfect” Thames-side haven; “shocking” prices notwithstanding, it’s the ideal destination to mark a major birthday or anniversary… or “one’s investiture at Windsor Castle”.
Lucknam Park, Colerne – £574
Restaurant: £107
Rooms: From £360 per night
“This “ravishing” Palladian country house hotel offers a “fantastic experience, starting from the second you walk through the door”; Hywel Jones’s cooking is “top class” – “just what an award winning restaurant should be about”.
The Latymer, Pennyhill Park Hotel, Bagshot – £573
Restaurant: £109
Rooms: From £355 per night
“Michael Wignall’s “phenomenal” food (with “inventive combinations” and “superlative attention to detail”) is beginning to put this “professional” and “friendly” country house hotel dining room very firmly on the map; the experience? – “not too stuffy… but formal enough to feel special!”
Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles Hotel, Auchterarder – £557
Restaurant: £131
Rooms: From £295 per night
“The best place to eat in Scotland” (and, for some reporters, “in the UK” too) – a visit to Andrew Fairlie’s “dark” dining room, within the famous Edwardian golfing hotel, is summarised in almost all reports as an experience that can only be described as “phenomenal”.
Gidleigh Park, Chagford – £535
Restaurant: £135
Rooms: From £265 per night
“An extraordinary experience in all respects!”; this culinary Shangri-La – again, the UK’s foodie No. 1 – occupies a plush Tudorbethan mansion, set in “glorious” scenery (and gardens), on a remote fringe of Dartmoor; Michael Caines’s “beautifully crafted” cuisine is “unbelievably excellent”, and matched with a “vast selection” of unusual wines.
Boath House Hotel, Nairn – £456
Restaurant: £96
Rooms: From £260 per night
“A blissful oasis”; this imposing country house hotel offers a “relaxing and top class experience” combining Charlie Lockley’s “outstanding” cuisine, with “excellent and very obliging” service, in a “very elegant” setting.
Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, The St Endoc Hotel, Rock – £441
Restaurant: £123
Rooms: From £195 per night
“The finest fish restaurant in the UK”, according to this year’s survey – Nathan Outlaw takes “zingingly fresh” seafood and treats it “with respect and intelligence”, to create “simple, yet beautifully crafted” dishes; the interior is a touch “anodyne”, but the views of the Camel estuary are “fabulous”.
The Pass Restaurant, South Lodge Hotel, Horsham – £409
Restaurant: £87
Rooms: From £235 per night
“It’s a delight to watch the experts at work”, and to sample Matthew Gillan’s “divine” and “inspiring” 7-course menu, say fans of a dining room which seems “very modern” in the setting of this 19th-century country house hotel – Lord Grantham would certainly not approve of the way the chefs pass dishes directly to diners!
Northcote, Langho – £399
Don’t miss this week’s competition!
Restaurant: £72
Rooms: From £255 per night
“Maintaining the highest standards in all respects”, this long-established manor house restaurant-with-rooms Messrs Bancroft and Haworth’s “flagship” impresses almost all who report on it with its “superbly executed” menu, its “old-fashioned customer service” and its “extensive” selection of wines.
Mr Underhill’s, Ludlow – £394
Restaurant: £87
Rooms: From £220 per night
“A wonderful riverside setting, a relaxed yet discreetly attentive atmosphere and food that takes eating to an altogether different plane” – the many reports on Chris & Judy Bradley’s “fantastic” restaurant-with-rooms remain quite remarkable in their consistency.
Hambleton Hall, Hambleton – £373
Restaurant: £89
Rooms: From £195 per night
A “beautiful location on a peninsular jutting into Rutland Water” sets the scene for Tim Hart’s “impeccable” (and slightly “stiff”) country house hotel, where Aaron Patterson’s “complex” and “wonderfully confident” cooking achieves an “utterly consistent” standard.
L’Enclume, Cartmel – £355
Restaurant: £118
Rooms: From £119 per night
Simon Rogan’s sheer “artistry” – “mixing innovation, tradition and local produce” in an “astonishing range” of dishes, delivered by “passionate” staff – produces one of the UK’s most “divine” culinary experiences, at this “beautiful and remote” former Lakeland smithy.
Yorke Arms, Ramsgill-in-Nidderdale – £350
Restaurant: £89
Rooms: From £172 per night
“OMG, what truly amazing food”!; Frances & Gerald Atkins’s grand inn is a “picture-postcard building” with a “beautiful location” in a “quiet Dales village”; for once it’s Mrs who’s the chef, and her “brilliant attention to detail” shines through in “perfect” seasonal cuisine.
Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham – £347
Restaurant: £109
Rooms: From £129 per night
“Under the flyover and pylons is a strange setting” for this renowned restaurant-with-rooms, near the city limits; Sat Bains is “a really down-to-earth guy”, but his cooking is “stunning” and “continually surprising” – “inventive without being plain stupid”; “it’s expensive for the Midlands” (and this location) however.
Winteringham Fields, Winteringham – £371
Restaurant: £108
Rooms: From £155 per night
“Fast becoming a destination of choice” once again – this rural restaurant-with-rooms (in the middle of nowhere) is re-establishing its reputation for “all-round excellence”, with “divine” cuisine and all-round attention to detail; even fans, however, note prices are a bit “daft”.
Simon Radley, The Chester Grosvenor, Chester – £359
Restaurant: £97
Rooms: From £165 per night
“For a “luxurious experience” full of “old-fashioned graciousness”, this “comfy” (if windowless) dining room – in an unusually grand hotel, next to the city’s iconic Eastgate clock – makes a fine destination; service is “immaculate” and the cuisine “consistently first class” (with a “massive” wine list to go with it).
Tyddyn Llan, Llandrillo – £351
Restaurant: £78
Rooms: From £195 per night
“A true find” with food “really to shout about”; Bryan & Susan Webb’s “super-comfortable” (“traditional” and quite “low key”) rural bolthole wins acclaim for the “inspired simplicity” of its cooking (served in “comforting-sized portions”) and “excellent wine list”.
Seafood Restaurant, Padstow – £314
Restaurant: £82
Rooms: From £150 per night
“Fish simply-served” and “seafood as it should be” – Rick Stein’s “outstanding” but “unpretentious” (and sometimes rather “cramped”) waterside HQ has waxed and waned over the years, but is currently on a high – “as devoted fans of his on TV, this place is The Holy Grail for us, and it was everything we hoped for!”
The Peacock, Rowsley – £306
Restaurant: £73
Rooms: From £160 per night
“A “high class” of cooking that’s “unexpectedly good” wins top marks for this “charming and historic” inn, which has “exceptional staff to boot”; some nights see the service only of a simple bar menu, but it’s “still good”.
Read’s, Faversham – £287
Restaurant: £81
Rooms: From £125 per night
“A little bit of chintz and old-fashioned good manners” never go amiss, and the Pitchford family’s “delightful” long-running venture (est. 1977) put in a “fabulous” showing this year, winning enthusiastic praise for its “memorable” cooking and its “thoughtful” service.
One to watch…
Restaurant James Sommerin, Penarth
Restaurant: £80
Rooms: From £150 per night
After a spell running celebrated ‘restaurant-with-rooms’ The Crown at Whitebrook, James Sommerin has set up his own place, set on the seafront on Penarth’s Esplanade. The restaurant has just opened and rooms will be available from June. Could well be one to watch. Survey reports gratefully received!
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