1 L’ENCLUME, Cumbria
It upset the traditionalists when it opened back in 2003. What on earth was a
fancy, Frenchified restaurant doing in the land of Kendal Mint Cake? But
that was before they had eaten there, and been seduced by the sure touch and
relentlessly innovative approach of the chef, Simon Rogan. Rare herbs such
as agastache and galangal are a speciality – but it’s the way he balances
his flavours that is the real secret. He has a Michelin star; by rights, it
should be two.
It still feels odd to find Rogan so far away from the bright lights –
L’Enclume is squirrelled away down a narrow lane in the village of Cartmel,
within sight of a handsome 12th-century priory church. But that only deepens
the appeal. This is a relatively unvisited part of the Lake District, and
the unfussy, inexpensive rooms are a great base from which to explore the
rough stuff to the north or the gentler landscapes of the south Cumbrian
coast. Once you’ve slept off the effects of the excellent wine list, of
course. SN
Doubles from £98, B&B; nine-course gastronomic menu £50, three-course
dinner £39; 01539 536362, www.lenclume.co.uk
2 MR UNDERHILL’S, Shropshire
Chris and Judy Bradley were doing restaurants with rooms when the concept was
still mainly a French one. This is the couple’s 10th year serving impeccable
nosh in Ludlow, Britain’s foremost food town, and their 25th as
restaurateurs in all. Judy is in charge of “front of house and bits and
pieces”; Chris is “chef and maintenance man”. He is so passionate about his
craft that he gets up to cook for you in the morning – possibly the only
Michelin-starred breakfast in Britain.
It is dinner, though, that you’ll remember, taken in the candlelit
conservatory and plump with autumn goodness. Seven great courses, including
chestnut custard with smoked duck; monkfish pasta with wild mushrooms; and
iced plum sponge. Best of all is the melt-in-the-mouth main-course Mortimer
Forest venison. Keep your eyes peeled next morning and you may glimpse its
cousin skipping through the woods beyond the tumbling River Teme. VC
Doubles from £140, B&B; dinner from £45; 01584 874431, www.mr-underhills.co.uk
3 THE HORSE & TRUMPET, Leicestershire
Where do the Leicestershire hunting set spend their time, now their bugles
have been confiscated by the government? The Horse & Trumpet, in
Medbourne, naturally. In a setting that is purest village England – ducks on
a stream, dovecote, medieval packhorse bridge – this former village local
hogs the viewfinder of every visiting camera.
Behind its sandstone exterior, however, something rather racy is happening.
The chef, Gary Magnani, alumnus of London’s 1 Lombard Street, is putting
together dazzling flavour combinations – halibut with rhubarb and chick
peas, scallops with fennel panna cotta and basil – and serving them on
plates that jump with citrussy colour. Sounds iffy, some of it, but it
tastes sensational. Save room for a sliver of Colston Bassett stilton, made
up the road in the Vale of Belvoir. VC
Doubles £75, B&B; three-course dinner about £35; 01858 565000, www.horseandtrumpet.com
4 THE CROWN AT WHITEBROOK, Monmouthshire
The Michelin man finally heaved his spare tyre down to the Crown at Whitebrook
this year, awarding its sprightly chef, James Sommerin, his first star. Not
before time. Set deep in dormouse country, on the loveliest, leafiest
stretch of the River Wye, the Crown is a terrific place to hunker down for
autumn. Sommerin takes hefty Welsh ingredients (meat from Monmouth, locally
grown fruit and veg), drizzles on a soupçon of French finesse, and
the result is roast and confit quail with foie gras, beetroot and orange,
perhaps chased down by marinated loin of lamb with fresh morels, wild
garlic, liquorice and black treacle.
Golf, anyone? Fishing? A riverside hike? You’re unlikely to want to move
anywhere after that kind of feed – and, fortunately, the Crown’s eight wee
bedrooms have recently come over all stylish and sunlit, thanks to a
makeover by the new owners, Jonathan and Nicola Davies. VC
Doubles from £110, B&B; three-course dinner from £45; 01600 860254, www.crownatwhitebrook.co.uk
5 KINGS HEAD INN, Gloucestershire
A few years back, Archie and Nicola Orr-Ewing grew tired of managing a London
gastropub and fled to tiny Bledington, on the Oxfordshire-Gloucestershire
border. They converted the village inn into a multifaceted masterpiece, an
elegant restaurant with rooms that still serves its community as a welcoming
boozer.
The rooms are sufficiently stylish to satisfy the metropolitan sorts who make
the pilgrimage here for a reviving dose of Cotswold peace, but the food is
the real star. It’s locally sourced whenever possible, and the menu offers
the chance to acquaint yourself better with the creatures you’ve met on your
preprandial country stroll – Cotswold lamb, top-quality venison and Aberdeen
Angus beef from Archie’s uncle’s farm. The Vale of Evesham – England’s
greengrocer – serves up the fruit and veg, and the cheeseboard is widely
revered. It would be a crime not to try the Cotswold brie. BS
Doubles from £70, B&B; main courses from £9.95; 01608 658365, www.kingsheadinn.net
6 THE GREAT HOUSE, Suffolk
The beautiful medieval village of Lavenham is in south Suffolk, and not on the
coast, which means you don’t have to pay £250 a night to stay in a
half-decent hotel, as you would farther away from Essex and closer to the
beach. In fact, you can pay as little as £70 a night to stay in a stunningly
olde English room above a fantastic French restaurant run by Monsieur et
Madame Crépy (I told you it was French).
The 14th-century Great House overlooks the Market Square and has five rooms,
of which No 1 (with the four-poster) and No 3 (with a lovely sitting room
and ancient beams) are the best.
The food is reassuringly French – tartare de thon à la rémoulade de
céleri et coriandre, magret de canard rôti aux échalotes, vol
au vent de ris de veau aux pleurotes and so forth – and the surrounding
countryside perfect for a preor postprandial stroll. MR
Doubles from £70, room-only; three-course dinner £25.95; 01787 247431, www.greathouse.co.uk
7 BRUTON HOUSE, Somerset
Take two hot young chefs, James Andrews and Scott Eggleton (whose CVs include
stints with Rick Stein and Raymond Blanc), place on Bruton’s elegant
Georgian high street, mix with Somerset’s growing reputation for artisanal
food, allow to simmer for a couple of years and you have Bruton House, a
laid-back restaurant with rooms where the kitchen is already good enough to
have the Michelin inspectors nosing around.
The menu is reassuringly limited and local. The organic rare-breed meat is
from surrounding farms; salads come from a neighbour, Charles Dowding (whose
fans include the food critic Matthew Fort), and there are 12 cheeses from
suppliers in and around Bruton, including award-winners. The chef duo are
confident enough to keep it simple: Dorset crab salad is served with a
cucumber jelly, partridge with pearl barley and roasted ceps. The bedrooms
are equally unpretentious. Sd’A
Doubles £70, B&B; three courses for £39; 01749 813395, www.brutonhouse.co.uk
Reviews by Vincent Crump, Susan d’Arcy, Sean Newsom, Matt Rudd and Brian
Schofield
