Garden Restaurant, The

The Manor at Lower Slaughter, a magnificent country house with its roots deep in Cotswold history, offers a timeless atmosphere rich in tradition and with a hint of the theatrical that makes a visit there an occasion to remember. A manor house occupied the site before the Norman conquest and the present house was largely rebuilt in 1658 by Valentine Strong, chief stonemason for St Paul's Cathedral under Sir Christopher Wren. Country house features such as flowers, substantial drapings, candlelight, comfortable furniture made for real people rather than midgets - you get the picture?

The food follows an up to date approach with time honoured dishes, some given a modern boost, but seldom out of recognition, all served with a flourish by staff who give every appearance of enjoying their work, probably because they have been trained how to do it, thus confidence follows. Chef Robert Wear is more than playing his part in bringing this splendid hotel back to life. So also is the cellar with its stock of around six hundred carefully selected wines from round the whole world. No children under twelve years old.