Lainston House

十分滿意的酒店

Having seen Tom Hamblett on Masterchef and been very impressed with his dishes, the opportunity to experience a 3-course meal at Lainston was too good an opportunity not to take up. £85 for 3 courses, extra for additional sides, drinks and service at this level is pretty decent value, as long as the meal lives up to expectation, and it went way beyond that! We’ve been lucky to experience many 3-star Michelin and fabulous meals and restaurants all over the world, and whilst the theatre and starched service is not on the menu here, the food was amongst the best we have had in a very long time. The service is really friendly, the right side of familiar and the crew we experienced certainly knew the dishes and their wines. From the moment the home made breads and butters as a complimentary palette wetter were brought, it felt this was going to be good. Lobster (£10 supplement) was simply sublime. The scallop starter was possibly one of the best things I have ever eaten, to combine scallop, cauliflower, ponzu and raisins in a dish is audacious and it paid off! We both went for the signature beef fillet with beef tartare and roscoff onion stuffed with brisket - incredible. The additional side of truffled new potatoes were absolute perfection too. Desserts were simply outstanding - olive oil cake and the now legendary peanut and chocolate slice with banana ice cream. I can still taste it. We were celebrating a birthday and our anniversary, and we also got a little chocolate cake with a Happy Birthday, a very nice gesture in a high-end place. To top it all off we met Tom in person afterwards; you could tell he had been burning the oil for the last few months but was so humble, interested in what we had ordered and what we liked. We have vowed to try and celebrate our anniversary wherever he is cooking next time as he really is an exceptional talent.

This was an overnight trip with dinner in The Avenue and breakfast in the morning. Beautiful accommodation and location. The staff were friendly, helpful and professional throughout. Recommended for a quiet and relaxing break, just wished we could have stayed longer.