The meal started with a series of canapés including crab tacos with mayonnaise and Granny Smith apple and pale ale crustades with a delightful Berkswell cheese and onion ketchup inside.  Whilst the sourdough was more brown breadlike in its boule form, it was a good vehicle for the sensational butter that was subsequently hoovered up very quickly.

The table tried as many dishes as possible.  First up on the starters was Chalk Stream trout, golden beetroot tartare with an elderflower and sour cream on top which was a great, new combination not had before and worked very well.  The Devon smoked eel and tenderstem broccoli had a delightfully light preserved lemon foam around and the eel held a very good balance of saltiness.  

The aged striploin tartare was another very good starter served with red pepper, orange and a glorious pine nut oil with a few pine nuts as well; this was a brilliant version of tartare for flavour combinations and nicely diced.  Monkfish came with cocoa pod glaze, a lovely Jamón butter sauce and maitake mushroom – the Monkfish itself was cooked perfectly with a lovely, crisp exterior.  In short I thought all starters were actually all knock out and a very good intro to the meal.  An interlude course of Sea bass came with a smoked Espelette butter sauce and cocoa bean cassoulet which was very enjoyable, with quite a strong kick of espellette for two of the diners; perhaps if this was toned down even more it may be even more of a delicate dish.

The mains chosen were very tender Iberico pressa, artichoke, king oyster mushroom.  The meat was melt in the mouth and the accompanying jus was deep and rich. Guinea hen, with thin and crispy skin, parsnip, black truffle likewise came with a superb jus that made the dish.  Hereford cote de boeuf for two, came with a Béarnaise sauce, oak leaf and Lollo Rosso salad which was a very welcome bit of veg that was also a lovely salad with dill and garlic cream and dried onion sprinkled on top.  The beef itself didn’t create fireworks in comparison to other cuts enjoyed at other options experienced at places such as Smith and Wollensky or The Cut at 45 Park Lane, but was cooked perfectly and came with a very generous helping of béarnaise.  All was served with boulangère potatoes to share which is always a lovely touch for a table and looked very pretty.  No skimming on the portion size here and the caramelised onions provided much sweetness.  

The desserts were a pleasant mix. Coffee and Manjari delice with macadamia and coffee liqueur was a creative dish with snow-like textures.  I thought the miso and brown sugar brulee was sensational made with mandarin and excellent gingerbread pieces.  The custard was beautifully set with delicate sugar roof and a wonderful flavour combination with the miso and the lightly gingered bread pieces.  The Colston Bassett, Pink Lady apple tarte tatin with lemon verbena was a fun dish to combine blue cheese with a dessert albeit being a little out of kilter.  Cheese will always be good with a selection of sweet chutneys, fruit or sauterne jelly, so no issues with the two being together, but it was a little unclear whether they were to be combined fully or had separately (the blue cheese being quite overpowering for the available sweet) however, it was a fun and new dish. 

Petit fours included passion fruit and misu macron along with hazelnut and chocolate chocolates.  Such is the family orientated homeliness of Hampton Manor, we were ushered to having these by the fire in the main Manor drawing room which is also where we enjoyed a lovely welcome glass of sparkling wine when we arrived for staying over.  This is such a simple and effective touch.  Smoke is a short walk away from the Manor House, as is Grace and Favour, the latter having its own accommodation.

All in all, Smoke is a lovely and originally rustic restaurant with some quality dishes.  I would recommend staying over at Hampton Manor if you are driving a distance to get to the restaurant as this is likewise a lovely place to stay as well – a spot of electric charging wouldn’t go a miss for a 5 star hotel, but then again I would say this driving one! I will be very happy to come back and try Smoke again in a different season.

Food Grade: 74%

First up, the interior is a converted pub in tasteful and very homely decor.  On entering, my group felt right at home, the feel was utterly unpretentious and I was delighted to discover it is a husband and wife team (Tim in the kitchen literally on his own with Kitchen Porter assistant) and his wife on front of house and in the restaurant.  Amazingly, they were able to accommodate my group of 8 guests after the British Open being held in Liverpool for 2023.

The set lunch meal was a staggering £45 per head for this special, no choice menu for this size of group, but the normal menu is still an incredible £42.50 for 3 courses.  This is frankly outstanding value for money when having food of the quality.  When I return (which I am already planning), I will definitely be staying over somewhere so that I/we can enjoy the full tasting menu at £95.

Our meal started with some of the best focaccia I have ever had in my life and dare I say, I think it even may be a fraction better than the beloved Sportsman, in its outstanding lightness and crust appeal made with its own butter.  Next came a construction of tomatoes with tomato consommé with yuzu sourdough, Parmesan and Iberica ham.  The consommé was utterly transparent, light, with good flavour to compliment the  sumptuous, peeled tomatoes and the lightly cooked sour dough had the perfect crunch (not too oily) with befitting parmesan and ham to accompany all.  Cornish cod was next which came with aerated eel dashi, horseradish, a lovely, smoked Pike roe and nori seaweed.  This all came together beautifully, the roe not too salty, the dish again light in feel and went down extremely quickly.

The meat here comes from the nearby Butcher Fowl Emporium and the meat dish was a maple toffee pork with English peas, truffle ‘snow’ and puffed potatoes.  Delicate is not the word.  The whole table was again blown away how the wonderful pork had been cooked and balanced with the maple sweetness which was not too sticky or sweet as can very often be the case, but at the perfect level.  My group of Singaporean dining companions are somewhat used to meat with an Asian twist, to the extent that anything less than excellent is immediately picked up on – the entire table gave this dish a resounding thumbs up on its handling and wonderful flavour (as did I, especially the sublime texture of the pork) which is probably the biggest compliment to gain from the tough dining crowd.

Cumbrian Duck came with fermented cherries, Scottish girolles, green pepper and sweetcorn.  I was initially concerned about the use of sweetcorn as can sometimes be almost too sweet when combined with other sweet aspects, but again, the fermented cherry had toned this down and the portion size of sweetcorn and all to accompany the superb duck was just right.  Another, carefully conceived and executed dish, gaining empty plates across the board.

The dessert was a triumph.  Lemken Strawberries were served with a vanilla ‘fresher’, garden lemon verbena and meringue shards that resembled the delicacy of my dessert at 3 Michelin starred Zen in Singapore.  This was perfectly light, sweet, refreshing and gorgeous in one.  In a final twist, as the chef knew that we had been enjoying the golf at the British open, the lemon verbena soft cream sphere was presented as a golf ball in a lovely touch for the group. A stunning dessert.

If that wasn’t enough, I was delighted to see that coffee was sourced from Difference coffee, one of the finest coffee producers in the world that only supply their coffee to chosen venues (the Yellow Bourbon being wonderfully full in body but lightly citrusy at the same time) and was the perfect finish with chocolate truffles that were pure velvet inside.  The conclusion was that everyone was sated yet not bloated and frankly, there was nothing that everyone did not enjoy – a huge hit rate.

As mentioned, I cannot speak more highly of this venue and for all the reasons above it is my firm recommendation that you try this venue if you are passing through anywhere near Liverpool or the surrounding counties.  This was the best meal from Tim Allen I have had to date, is easily one of the strongest 1 Michelin starred venues I have enjoyed.  I am frankly excited for the potential of where this could go.

Food Grade: 86%

Grace and Savour gained its Michelin star in the 2022 guide, just one year after opening and provides a clean and well-judged menu using British produce.  The menus are naturally better value at lunch, for which ours was £90 per person for the 8 course lunch menu with a 15 course tasting menu also available for £155.  In the grand scheme of things, this actually represents good value for money when considering the surroundings, clear investment in the huge development cleverly bathed in light and overlooking a listed Walled Garden which holds its herbarium and vegetable garden. 

There is counter dining available as well as private dining areas, with the normal tables directly overlooking the garden, along with a very comfortable and large bar area to enjoy some surprisingly good Cava at a reasonable price for aperitifs.  This was a good to see as a recommended option without the obligatory, overpriced and narrow selection of champagnes only.  There is a large, open kitchen for all to see on entering (where the counter dining is) and the husband and wife team (David and Anette) along with the staff make you feel very welcome from the off.

Head chef David began by introducing himself to all the tables and chatting with all in his rounds and I was most impressed by how genuinely welcoming (and seemingly rare) this was.  Our meal began with canapés of thin crackers with goat’s cheese and herbs.  The herbs and flower decoration were as fresh as they come and ultimately an agreeable beginning albeit in its relatively unexciting format.  The first course however, of good quality asparagus were served with one of the best hollandaise sauces I have ever had – a glorious hollandaise with miso, perfectly balanced in acidity, umami with a touch of sweetness and expertly beaten to just the right level of egg white ‘frothiness’ to feel slightly lighter in the mouth.  This was a master lesson for making a simple asparagus dish sing and there was no issue in spooning all remaining sauce away, long after the asparagus was dealt with.

Agnolotti pasta with chicken, cheese and garlic was next which I have to say was another belter.  Small in size but big on flavour, perfectly seasoned with good quality chicken, lovely chicken skin bits for texture and another cracker of a creamed sauce to accompany.  The trend of wonderful sauces continued with the Skate wing (from Plymouth), with droplets of herb oil and fresh sea vegetables including salty fingers for texture and seasoning.  I enjoyed this naturally, even if the dish was perhaps not the most innovative of fish courses. 

The home made sour dough, served beautifully warm and with an extremely good crust came with a superb, home whipped butter as the star of that show.  The beef fillet from Pembrokeshire was absolutely succulent and perfectly cooked.  One could almost cut this with a fork and the reduction to accompany was a quality jus, livened up with mustard seeds, but as an overall dish sat in the simple, pleasurable domain again.

The pre-dessert of honey-glazed ice cream and fruit sponge was a pleasing start of sweet richness with the main tart dessert being beautifully presented with fresh herb flowers and a magnificent custard within the thicker, biscuit-based case of the tart.  Almost a play on a cheesecake, this was very good on the eyes as a finalé and concluded just the right amount overall to finish feeling perfectly sated at the end of this smaller, tasting menu.  Therefore, a very well portioned sized and worked out menu for overall filling.

There’s no doubt this was an enjoyable meal with a good accompanying wine list, utterly friendly staff and a convivial atmosphere as I recall it was very well in the Manor House as well on my first visit here many moons ago now.  The meal itself was a mix of explosive parts and general offerings that were lesser in fireworks in today’s world, but pleasurable nevertheless.

The next on my hit list is the more casual restaurant in the other garden area of the estate called Smoke, headed by the winner of The Masterchef Professionals (2019), Stuart Deeley cooks over coals.  It will be a pleasure to revisit this hotel in general which I heartily recommend, especially as a whole stay over and reliable cooking having now seen the whole operation – for foodies, this would make a very good weekend stay and escape from it all indeed.

Food Grade: 76%

The restaurant is split between two levels with the ground floor affording seating for 20 covers to give an idea of space. Hospitality was immediately accommodating and each waiting staff were very knowledgeable on the dishes which is always a good sign in any restaurant.  I also liked the rather nice touch of simply scanning a QR code to gain wifi connection without a password (rather a bonus when dining on one’s own).  The stained glass that adorns the front of the dining room is rather impressive and was sorry to have run out of time to not have a peak at the upstairs on this visit – another reason to return.

On to the snacks, a savoury gougere with 60 month-aged Parmesan cheese, black garlic and honey  was a fantastic start.  The choux pastry was warm and with good crunch on the outside, bursting with lovely, soft cheese and had lovely texture and flavour all round.  Next up came a pale ale croustade with Brixham mackerel, pear, pear gel, shiso gel and shiso garnish.  The croustade had a delightfully light crunch in texture but I was not hugely convinced by the combination of the smoke (from part of the mackerel preparation) and pear as an unusual coupling.  I love pear and I love mackerel, but didn’t quite fit with their pairing (personally I have found mackerel to be better paired with rhubarb or fruits / lightly pickled vegetables but this may just be me).  

The first amuse bouche of asparagus with a savoury custard, wild garlic oil, green asparagus from  Abington, Iberica ham and asparagus foam was an absolute knock out on the other hand.  I have lost count how many foams I have had that have had absolutely zero flavour, but this was one of the rare foams that actually did, with very good asparagus flavour. The warming, subtle, flavour and texture of the savoury custard combined with the delicate feel all round made this an outstanding introductory offering to enjoy.

Home made Brioche, laminated with 24 layers was extremely good and served with whipped cultured dairy butter from Ampersand in Oxfordshire with a chicken liver parfait.  The parfait  was deep with red wine in flavour and the butter was extremely good.  My only observation here was that it was quite butter intense even for me as a butter lover – as the brioche already had 24 layers of butter, I felt the menu could afford to have another or choice of a less buttery sour dough or simple grain roll to allow the butter to be enjoyed more fully without overdosing on butter, but this is a small point.

Another amuse bouche was afforded with Chalk Stream trout (a slightly less impressive fish to the heights of wild, Scottish salmon), ponzu and yuzu dressing, pickled cucumber balls, mooli radish, habanero, cucumber sorbet and coriander oil.  This was a fresh dish indeed but it packed a strong punch of the habanero which even the sorbet could not quite cool.  As nice as parts of the dish were, the overarching impression was the heat which dominated everything else, which was surprising.

The starter was Newlyn cod, brassicas, dill, anchovy; lightly cured and steamed, romanesco, purple spiriting broccoli, broccoli purée, crispy kale, mint and lemon gel, boquerones pieces (Spanish anchovies), dill and mustard beurre-blanc sauce with dill and seaweed oil drops. This had beautiful balance of sweet from the lemon gel and lightly pickled turnip (pickled in Chardonnay vinegar), to assist the rich sauce, dill and seaweed.  There was also a lovely touch and texture from the crispy kale and blow-torched romanesco. The tiny pieces of Spanish anchovies added pleasant seasoning of salt and seafood essence and these were all lovely elements to grace the simple cod which was also perfectly soft and flakey.

The main was 50 day salt-aged Waterford Farm beef (Sirloin and braised ox cheek) with asparagus from Great Abington again, (barbecued and then brushed with beef fat), celeriac purée and morels done three ways – diced, as a ketchup and as a powder; asparagus spears, sauce Bordelaise using  additional pickled mustard seeds and capers.  Now, this was a particularly good ox cheek and the dish had beautiful components all working well together, with the only aspect being not my favourite was the actual Sirloin which was quite tough and with a subtle flavour. The surrounding sauces, purees and additional elements were basically the highlights above the main component.

A pre-dessert of yoghurt sorbet topped with steamed Swiss (soft) meringue was hollowed with a elderflower jelly covered with a thin lemon jelly sheet of apple-marigold oil, Amalfi lemon and then decorated with almond granita.  This was certainly a palate cleanser no doubt with quite sharp tartness of lemon sorbet and large quantity of the granita.  The chocolate  dessert however was as smooth as they come.  This was a Valrhona Araguani, ganache (from Venezuela) with a hazelnut mousse, salted milk ice cream, frangipane base, caramelised banana gel in centre, mushroom infused shortbread and shaved Australian winter truffle on top.  This was an entirely elegant and silky, salted chocolate dessert and overall, very pleasant way to finish of the meal.  Although I did not have coffee, this appeared appealing from the Brew Project company along with choice petit fours which were boxed up for me in another very nice touch as I needed to hit the road.

There is a lot to like about this restaurant and I would say its craftsmanship is certainly at Michelin starred level however with one or two tweaks I would have wished for on this menu in terms of sourcing or dosage.  It is a homely and hospitable venue in a charming setting and the effort gone in to the menu is clear to see.  I will come back another time to try a fuller menu.

Let me start with the cost, as this is probably the first thing you may be wondering.  £410 is quite expensive for a lunch granted, but this is aboard a luxury train and was the Golden Age of Travel by Steam, using the original steam-pulled train.  Such is the attraction of this locomotive,  photographers and train enthusiasts alike were gathered all along Platform 2 at Victoria Station just to have a look before setting off and on return.  You can also get a 10% discount as we did if you are a member of The Luxury Restaurant Guide (LRG) whose annual fee was actually covered for in full for the savings of 4 people enjoying this experience at over £160 in savings! I do not have shares with the LRG, but is genuinely useful as an option to consider if you dine a lot like myself for the benefits it brings.

I was also very pleased and somewhat relieved with the value for money of the wine list onboard which included numerous hitters including Dom Perignon 2010 for £200 which would actually cost £180 in Waitrose and therefore is not the normal, hideous mark-up that it can be of being at least twice as expensive retail in retail, far more in lavish restaurants.  Veuve Clicquot was also provided to everyone as well on being seated and a £45 voucher to my group of four for spending on any wine included in the price.  We obviously used this pretty quickly, but from these to the gin and tonics at £10, I was actually expecting it to be a lot scarier price-wise on the booze, being trapped on board with no other bar options.  So this was better than expected.

The head chef onboard the Pullman has been in situ for the past twenty plus years and takes care of the seasonal menus all year round with the periodic guest-chef occasions for menus from Michel Roux Jr (Le Gavroche), Tom Kerridge (The Hand and Flowers) and the eponymous James Martin among others.  For this 5 course menu from the resident head chef (which included coffee and petit four) we began the meal with canapes of some very good blue cheese mousse and fig bites (the blue cheese mousse being well-judged) and vibrant, tomato and asparagus blinis.  The crab starter was served with avruga caviar, and spicy mango chutney and again, I was pleasantly surprised at the well-judged acidity and quantity of the chutney to spruce up the sweet crab meat.  Thin, white sourdough shards and samphire gave an additional, pleasant crunch and texture.

Next came pea and mint soup with crispy shallots and summer truffle oil.  I did not establish whether this was genuine truffle oil or whether this was oil using the very common 2,4-dithiapentane (which is actually a synthetic compound).  However, the resultant effect was everyone immediately enjoying each mouthful as the soup itself was beautifully rich, viscous with a pleasant truffle-like aroma and lovely complimentary crunch from the shallots.  Nothing rocket science level about this, but a very pleasing effect regardless.

The main course on this June occasion was salt marsh from Romney served with charred baby fennel, wild rocket puree, potato and caper croquette and a Kentish wine reduction.  All in all, this was a pleasing main but the only disappointment was the lamb being a little tough and not as pink as advertised and therefore hoped.  The large croquettes with its caper were a welcome addition with a pleasant breadcrumb shell, all held together with a particularly good jus.  But this was the moment that for me that resembled something a little dangerously close to a Business class flight offering.

The cheese consisted of Oxford blue, Costa cheddar and Somerset Brie all served with a very agreeable pineapple chutney with its dialled down vinegar content and this was followed by a Devonshire clotted cream summer pudding made with Angus raspberries, and an elderflower cheesecake.  Nothing to sing about on the dessert, but a harmlessly suitable sweet addition.  Surprisingly the handmade truffle petit fours were more notable than the dessert and better than most restaurant petit fours and this accompanied tea from Tregothnan and Coffee by Drury.

As we pulled into Victoria there was a bit of a hold-up and we were delayed and the train management kindly offered another glass of Veuve to keep everyone occupied during the wait.  On return to Platform 2, I think I can safely say that everyone was in a state that was entirely happy with the experience and stumbling into a taxi was the next and final hurdle to overcome.

My summary is that this is a wonderful celebration activity to do with definitely pleasing food for the journey.  It will always be difficult to get high-end dishes for the multitude of covers in the numerous carriages from one, small carriage kitchen, but it was a non-fussy and well-considered to please as a menu selection, ableit with a little dip in the lamb and an adequate dessert.  Was it worth £410 (£360 with Luxury restaurant Guide Discount)? I’d say yes with the discount based on what was had yes (including the original drinks offer which can be toned down) and the overall impact the day had.  It’s not something you will do every day and inevitably you will end up wanting to splash out more when onboard which, the prestige and glamour of the train will no doubt keep ensuring happens to the many willing future passengers to come.

Food Grade: 62%

Homemade bread with yeast butter was the most flakey in the world, and was nice and light at same.  This was a good way to start! No canapes or amuse bouche (which wouldn’t have gone amiss) so I was straight into the chosen starter of cured mackerel which had onion, chicory jam pickled fennel, diced celeriac in vinaigrette, crisp tempura with vodka butter and chilli oil.  A harmless and pleasant opener. The somewhat subdued mackerel had a nice tang from pickled fennel.  The tempura was however extremely good with the fried mackerel. 

Plaice had apple, seaweed & crab butter sauce, watercress and cauliflower purée and baby leaks. This was at the perfect level of acidity from the apples with a rich sauce, complemented by each other and the succulent fish very well. A very good dish with just the right kick of sweet from the cooked leaks.  Lovely. 

Quince poached orange and vanilla syrup, orange mouse hazelnut biscuit, orange jelly, quince puree and orange granita. I was worried over the quince but this was handled delicately.  A delightful creamy orange mousse had a lovely biscuit crumb. I literally lapped this up with a spoon.  Coffee was from a local brand called Rail Town.

As set lunches go, this was perfectly enjoyable.  It was hard to be truly excited but this was during an interim lockdown with supplies being affected, so for what it was it did its job well.  I would come back in a heartbeat for the mopping up the fish main sauce with their bread after demolishing the fish, but otherwise will have to wait for another time to return.

Food Grade: 69%

This was probably one of the hardest restaurants to finally get a table at so I was already intrigued to look at the fanfare. Atmospherics-wise, this the space inside is large with electronic music playing through and not many changes required on table covers post lockdown as it already was spacious enough.

First to arrive was bread which was 48 hour proved sourdough bread with own cultured butter – this had a wonderful crust and light crunch with soft bread and was frankly gorgeous.  Mushroom on toast with M25 Shrenki caviar was an absolutely delightful texture of toast with the smooth mushroom purée (albeit it a little faint) but the salt from caviar and floral notes added a pleasant, aromatic finish.  Devon blue mussel was next which was a superbly fresh, soft, intestine take as the mussel had been prior removed and turned into a mouse and placed back in, served warm with gentle black garlic. Very well balanced and beautiful essence of the sea. 

Beef with pork (nice and sweet) and aged beef charcuterie was a delicate offering served with langoustine on the side that came with spruce and cured egg yolk.  This was an extremely plump and sweet langoustine, so top marks here. Japanese custard, nettles with raw caramelised scallop was utter Unami.  An oily and rich dish with crunch coming from the fried nettles and the smoked eel was well done. 

An interlude of tomato sorbet in broth with British jalapeno heat was subdued in the mind from the cold of the sorbet and refreshing.  Inoculated grain sauce covering onions and roses grown in Daresbury produced sweet onions with a good streak of umami throughout. 

Goosnargh duck slowly baked with artichoke & bread sauce with artichoke leaf was a very supple duck, well-rendered fat and lashings of umami again with the accompanying sauce which was never going to go down badly.  A herbal & aromatic relief provided from sprinkling on the top lemon thyme and this was a knock-out dish.  Beef and camomile tea stirred with bouquet garnet was a particularly nice touch and reminded me of my many garnets that I had to prepare during my cooking courses.

Guernsey ice cream with marigold, honey and made with plum seed that actually has cyanide but taken out was thankfully very good. The dairy, was smooth, with a touch of savoury in the mix as well. Apple pie made with fermented brown butter and custard foam was very sour and not my cup of tea sadly. Not even the sweet from the apple could balance it. The apple texture and base were wonderful but overtly salty and sour custard was almost impossible to enjoy. 

It’s worth reflecting on what I really enjoyed about this experience: not being asked how everything is in between each course unnecessarily (I and many people will say if not); the executive chef visiting each table and whilst there was strong creativity and presentation here, most flavours were very good.

Although I was initially charged £140 for the experience, I was sure that wasn’t quite right from the booking and a mistake was acknowledged and the lunch set menu was £65 (check your bills always!).  Once rectified, I think this is extremely good value for money for the creative skill and efforts gone in. I have no doubt you may not be this lucky by the time you read this post-more lockdowns and the industry strives to get back into making ends meet more – it is simply bound to have the result of rising menu prices everywhere to survive is my instinct.  That said, if you can make it here, I doubt you will be disappointed on any level.

Food Grade: 85%

The primary menus range from the £55 for the four courses that I had, £7o for 7 courses tasting menu or an a la carte menu for an average of £50. What was a lovely surprise to see was the Friday and Saturday set lunch menus of 2 courses for £24 / 3 courses for £29 available in the evenings on Wednesdays and Thursdays as well.  Having a superb value set menu in the evenings is rare and can be found at other good finds such as Michelin starred pub Red Lion Freehouse and remarkably at Le champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham as well.

Originally a 12C workmen’s drinks shelter (the main bar area), Michelin reports that it is also reputedly one of the oldest pubs in the country with Oliver Cromwell supposedly staying here before the Battle of Edgehill in 1642.  Produce is very carefully and locally sourced with a strong ‘farm to fork’ philosophy here, fish being sourced mainly from Fine Fish in Cornwall and the butter being made onsite from wonderful milk from Holmleigh Dairy in the Cotswolds (where Richard Craven is from).

That brings us to the start of the meal where a mix of wholemeal and brioche bread was served with pork dripping with pork crackers and their gloriously golden butter I was delighted to hear has a very short shelf life – most of the best things do.  There was somehow an almost smokey quality to both butter and dripping and these are worth a mention in themselves and the homemade bread became the spatular for this butter and dripping.

Muntjac tartare with celeriac, apple and horseradish ice cream was my starter and thank god I went for this option as this was terrific.  The lighter style venison of muntjac had diced apple cubes, a lovely crunch from the fried and crispy alliums and the clincher of the horseradish ice cream at just the right kick. All finished with parsley oil, this is a standout and superb tartare.

Next up was pigs head and black pudding lasagne with toasted hazelnut and a cider reduction.  The had pleasant pork flavour and the cider notes were obviously a good match but I was less convinced about the filling on this dish as the overall feel was quite stodgy and sticky in texture. The good pasta was somewhat eclipsed by the richness of this dish and I felt it could do with something either green or with inherent moisture to make more manageable.  Good flavour with the black pudding but overall a little too heavy for me.

The halibut with Jerusalem artichoke, sunflower seed and monks beard (crisp, green shoots) on the other hand was an absolute masterstroke. The generously portioned fish was delightful and basted with butter with artichoke served three ways and was paired perfectly. Practically seasoned to perfection by the artichoke crisps and butter, this was simply a brilliant dish in its simple and quality execution.

The forced rhubarb dessert was another very good dish.  Forced rhubarb (grown with the heads of the rhubarbs covered) are slightly more sour (so on their own is not their forte), but these were complemented beautifully by white chocolate and fennel Crémeux (interesting lift from the fennel) and the aerated white chocolate along with a very nicely balanced rhubarb jelly.  What was also very good to see was the top end coffee one can gain of Difference coffee, which can go for up to £25 per cup at the 3 Michelin starred restaurants it is offered to when using Panama Geisha. Thankfully, the far more reasonable Rwanda champion cup of Excellence was the Difference coffee sourced here which is arguably far better than any of the highest grades of mainstream coffee and a fraction more expensive at the dining table.  Homemade madeleines in the bar with this coffee was a nice way to finish.

This is a lovely addition to the Michelin starred family of the UK and especially good for the Michelin starred pub family to increase with yet another well-deserved newcomer.  This is also something that other countries simply do not have and I would commend a visit here.

First things first, the name of the restaurant is after a plant; it is otherwise known as Lady’s Mantle as the Alchemilla plant is thought to have healing powers for gynaecological disorders.  That aside, there are impressive flower decorations inside this restaurant owing to the head chef’s wife being a keen horticulturist and guiding the interior design accordingly when it opened after significant building works from scratch in 2017 (the site was formerly a coach house).  My waitress informed me that of all the plants used in the decor, the head chef liked the intriguing sound of that plant the most and hence the restaurant name was born.

The menu is a non-choice selection of three tasting menus: 5 courses for £65,  7 courses for £80 and 10 courses for £95.  Time was not on my side and after the long drive up to Nottingham from London and a further journey north after dinner, I had to opt for the 5 course menu, however, for interest, when all was said and done with snacks and interludes, this worked out more like a 10 course event.

The snacks began with crispy Jerusalem artichoke skin, crispy chicken skin and truffled goat curd in between which was an enjoyable way to begin.  The second was potato ‘roe’ with black garlic, caramel and smoked eel with grated smoked cuttlefish on top was a sensational combination and with gorgeously sweet garlic sauce.  Finally,  a seaweed tapioca cracker with parmesan custard, fermented dry mushrooms, caramel and a reported 36-year-old Parmesan used for the shavings gave a subtle and delicate texture and another lovely sweet-savoury beginning.  

Following the snacks, the first course was tender stem broccoli cooked in garlic and chilli with hazelnut, satay sauce and with nori shavings on top.  This was light, carefully prepared and with a pleasing satay sauce which was also nice to have away from a Thai setting with customarily average chicken as is very often the case for its use.   

Next up was an amalgam of squash.  Squash discs came with lovage emulsion, a pumpkin seed tuile, dehydrated & fermented squash juice, smoked cream & lovage sauce.  The squash itself was cooked in garlic butter and thyme, Maneul Jangajji (fermented garlic and soy gel akin to pickled garlic) which sounded quite exciting but ultimately wasn’t very noticeable.  All was finished with a smoked cream and lovage sauce. I liked the way the fermented discs gave the rest of this dish the break it needed and came with ethereally delicate tuiles, but as skilful as these are, I felt they could have more texture as these practically disintegrated into the cloying texture of the rest of the dish which, ultimately was a lot of effort for relatively minimal return on the palate.

Venison was the main with hen of the woods mushrooms and served as loin and fillet.  Blackberry ketchup with mushroom and mushroom crumb, pear dipped in spruce (a tree within the pine family) vinegar, pear glazed in maple syrup and venison and spruce oil. The meat had reasonable flavour although was a fraction under for me and certainly not at the standard as the Venison experienced at Artichoke days prior; the mushroom purée was very good as well but I was less convinced about the combination with pear in both vinegared and mapled forms.

Bergamot ice cream ‘sandwich’ came as the pre-dessert.  Bergamot is not one of my personal favourites as is extremely bitter (it is a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange that looks like a round lime) but personal likes aside, the biscuit on top and beneath I thought was very well textured, but the ice cream itself not entirely smooth, with quite a few large water icicles.  I also had mixed emotions on the main dessert as well which, although had some very good Yorkshire Rhubarb and nasturtium parfait, the sourdough bites (caramelised croutons), were a little too hard to enjoy overall.  There was a very pleasant caramelised, almost popcorn-like scorched meringue with nasturtium oil in the middle which was a very good combination and wonderfully smooth Swiss meringue.  I couldn’t taste a huge amount of rhubarb, as I thought was the main component of the dish, but had just enough to cut through all of the rest. 

Finally, the signature dish turned out to be the palate cleanser at the end –  yoghurt, pine sherbet and pine gel with wood sorrel. This was a very good combination with the sharp of the sorrel, cool and refreshing sour of the yoghurt and lovely, smooth texture to the ice cream.  It was clear to see the Sat Bains influence in this final dish particularly and good to finish on a positive note.  

Service throughout was very efficient and switched on, with water topping up competently monitored throughout from a small army of bright staff although in some cases, staff appeared to want to deliver explanations and leave as humanly quickly as possible.  The acoustics is also quite a new experience as the high brick walls and stone floor does mean that if you are in an enclave as I was, it serves as an amplifier to the sound of other corner tables as if you were on the whispering balcony of St Pauls Cathedral, the reverberation being that loud.  However, the design is certainly eye-catching.

Overall, my meal came to £71 with no drinks or coffee which represented fair value for what was had.  You can expect in the region of £130 per person if you come on a romantic trip with pre-dinner drinks and economically chosen wine.  This is a distinct restaurant with skilled designs and no question of hard graft that has gone into this venue and menu, all with creative flare, but with some clashes within the dishes for me making this meal a minor disappointment but with some very good moments in the mix.  On a miscellaneous note, the shortest menu I had, took just under 2 hours, (the staff being kind enough to oblige my table in the first place being so unavoidably late) and sped up service so I could get on the road in quicker time, meaning, give yourself a wide berth here if you are going for any of the longer menus with plenty of space for the fully 10-course tasting menu.  If you are having the latter at lunch, frankly, I would ensure you have written-off the rest of the afternoon to properly enjoy.  Whenever I am in Nottingham next, I will try here again to give another go and try to make that in the warmer months to see the garden in more of its summer glory.