by The big summer vacation is a double-edged sword: the specter of hope on the horizon, but also the initiator of stress (the handover at the last minute, the knowledge that someone out of office won’t get the boss out of the office. ). Regular weekend resets are easy. But where to go? Below are 12 of our favorite restaurants with rooms, which will reward any traveler, weary or otherwise.
An ugly butterfly
Some restaurants are about the food they serve, others about their location. It’s hard to know what impresses more about Ugly Butterfly, the first Cornish post from newly-MBE chef Adam Handling. A butterfly sits overlooking Carribean Bay, a stretch of sand as romantic as they come, and the Handling dishes on the £135 menu are absolutely stunning: you might expect lobster caught that morning, or lamb from the fields nearby. Seals and dolphins play in the water below the dining room; keep an eye on them from the beachfront lodges (including Justin Trudeau and Joe Biden as guests). A cheaper bar menu is also available.
Carbis Bay Estate, Carbis Bay, St Ives, TR26 2NP, uglybutterfly.co.uk
The Suffolk
Among the blue and peach houses in the seaside village of Aldeburgh – quaint but not quaint, given that it is full of retired spies – is the Suffolk. It comes from George Pell, a name known to Londoners from his work at L’Escargot. Are there such things as daydream catchers? It seems so; leaving Soho, another life awaits Pell, who came here, bought an old coaching inn, renovated it and now serves great plates of oysters, garlic-grilled lobsters, double-baked soufflés and monkfish chops. Pell picks his seafood locally, knocking on the doors of fishermen’s huts and finding his favourites. The martinis are first class; be a couple, gently totter upstairs to the comfortable rooms (from around £135), and wake up to the sound of the sea rolling on the shingles. Read our full review.
152 High Street, Aldeburgh, IP15 5AQ, very suffolk.co.uk
Pythouse Kitchen Garden
Among Wiltshire’s winding lanes is the three-acre Georgian walled garden, Pythouse. There is usually a fire crack. There might be boiled pig’s cheeks or mackerel, vegetable skewers, venison skewers (at £37.50 for four courses, the place is a bargain). Seasonality is taken very seriously here, along with sustainability: owners Piers and Sophia Milburn have three stars from the Made Food Standard, which is hard to come by. That aside, guests come here for the peace, for the sunny evenings and candlelit evenings, for dogs snoozing under the tables, for families enjoying themselves. City dwellers may want to get outdoors briefly, especially if they’re glamping.
West Hatch, Tisbury, SP3 6PA, pythousekitchengarden.co.uk
Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons
Raymond Blanc, whose Le Manoir is 40 years old this year, has held two Michelin stars since 1985; which is amazing when you remember that he is completely self-taught. Le Manoir, now owned by the Belmond group, feels like another time, another country. The feeling of the occasion is clear and warm. Luke Selby, formerly of Soho’s Evelyn’s Table, is now in charge of the kitchen: he is a rare talent and the fine, delicate French food is exceptional, with many ingredients grown on the land. It can be reached in an hour from Marylebone, and the rooms are beautiful. All this costs a small fortune, but they are extremely heavy hands pouring out the wine glasses, so after a while the financial blow begins to soften. Read our full review.
Church Road, Miltonmore, Oxford, OX44 7PD, belmond.com
Seaside Residence
It is hard to imagine a more picturesque setting than looking out over the sea, cliffs and sands of Lyme Bay. The owners here are Mary-Lou Sturridge and Tony Mackintosh — the two who made Groucho famous (they both co-founded it) — and their commitment to a period of joy lasts. They keep the recipe simple: local fish and meat, classic dishes (prawn mocktail, steak tartar, Dover sole), a very French but fairly priced wine list. It’s not cheap but it’s not expensive (mains are in the £30s, but start at £22). It’s all just… right. The series of guest chefs, where the big names of London go to cook (Jeremy Lee from Quo Vadis, Anna Tobias from Café Deco, Abby Lee from Mambow and so on) does not add to its huge appeal. Rooms seem reasonable at £235.
Cliff Road, Burton Bradstock, Bridport, DT6 4RB, theseasideboardinghouse.com
Smoke at Hampton Manor
The Midlands probably wanted to keep Hampton Manor for themselves. Sorry, the secret is out. Once owned by former prime minister Sir Robert Peel, the Warwickshire estate now boasts a Michelin-starred restaurant in Grace & Savour, and a more casual fireside dining space in Smoke, which offers an interesting side-by-side £85 menu, mostly natural wines (if the South African El Bandito wine is available, order it). Guests can stay in the manor house (rooms from around £230) — which is old and elegant — or in one of the outhouses dotted around the grounds. Free wine tasting and an artisan bakery are bonuses. Read our full review.
Shadowbrook Lane, Solihull, B92 0EN, hamptonmanor.com
Arms of Harcourt
The Harcourt Arms is the last surviving pub in Stanton Harcourt, a typical Oxfordshire village less than two hours’ drive from London. Run by brothers Will and Olly Oakley, the cozy staff has a local drinking feel but there’s room for more upmarket food, finer cocktails and wines. Most impressive, however, is their commitment to value for money: beginners are hardly beaten; excellent steak frites are only £24. The rooms, for £150 per night, include a wonderful breakfast made with produce from nearby farmers.
Main Road, Stanton Harcourt, Witney OX29 5RJ, theharcourtarms.com
Grantley Hall
Although their vibe is different, Yorkshire’s Grantley Hall might rival Le Manoir for the event feel (albeit cheaper; rooms start at around £600 a night). It’s a stately old house of a place, inside all the ornate wood paneling and detailed corners, outside idyllic streams and a Japanese garden. They’re not short of eating-and-drinking spots, but Shaun Rankin is the one to go to. His kitchen garden makes its way onto the £160 menu, with vegetables gently promoted, but elsewhere there’s a mix of high-lo: beef tea with bread, butter and dripping (heaven), for example, and then Dover sole with scallops, oscietra. caviar, champagne and champagne. One for dressing up.
Grantley Hall, Ripon, HG4 3ET, grantleyhall.co.uk
Woven by Adam Smith
At the five-star Coworth Park – from the Dorchester group, to give an idea of both the quality and the price – is the clever name Woven: chef Adam Smith has thrown together all kinds of influences, but also stories. This is fine dining in a fine dining setting, but the staff keep it light, and food is plated with finesse. Smith, who made his name at the Ritz, makes things like Cornish crab with green Thai dressing and lemon verbena. Now and then, he adds little unusual twists, although nothing that would frighten the horses. Just as well, Coworth Park is famous for its polo fields.
Coworth Park, Sunningdale, SL5 7SE, dorchestercollection.com
Moor Hall
Two mysteries of Mark Birchall’s Moor Hall: one, it’s in Lancashire, but somehow only two and a half hours from Euston, and two, it has a serious reputation, but it’s actually a laughing matter. Make no mistake, the food here is as accurate as it gets, and the place has been named National Restaurant of the Year twice. But they read every table, follow whatever mood you find yourself in. The bar is from the 16th century to look at, although the dining room is more modern, perhaps a little Nordic in style. What comes out is the main course — turbard, lobster, duck — for £125 for lunch and £235 for supper. Ouch. But Moor Hall is for theater seekers. These are meals to remember in another place, at another time, in other expensive dining rooms. Read our full review.
Moore Hall, Prescot Road, Foreigners, Ormskirk, L39 6RT, moorhall.com
Farm house down
The past is an endless summer: it is a retreat, a respite, somewhere that offers human restoration among its wandering gardens. The place is run by Oliver Brown and Ruth Leigh: in a conservatory, under vines, they serve dishes with a Mediterranean twist – things like lamb with sweet cipollini onions and artichokes and mint, or halibut and mussels cooked in the Italian “acqua pazza” and plated with courgettes and tomatoes. Food is reasonably priced, especially the summer menu (three courses for £40), and the old farmhouse, where the rooms are, has a good taste: good cuisine, stylish furnishings. His joy.
Updown Road, Betteshanger, Deal, CT14 0EF, updownfarmhouse.com
Catch at the Old Fish Market
Admittedly, this one doesn’t have rooms, but it offers such extraordinary value that it’s worth the trouble of finding a nearby B&B. The menus (lunch £45, dinner £75) are dedicated to seafood caught daily: chef Mike Naidoo can tell you, down to the name, who caught the stuff and when. He then decides not to mess with him too much. The result in many cases is flabbergastingly good. Barbecued lobster to dream about, crab dumplings to vaguely mumble about, too lost in their memories to actually find reporters (can you tell?).
1 Custom House Quay, Weymouth, DT4 8BE, @catchattheoldfishmarket
