Restaurant at Esseborne Manor

The dining room of this gracious house makes a warm and relaxing setting for the extensive range of appetising classic dishes offered by an experienced and dedicated team in the kitchen. Avoiding the temptations of the daily list of soups, you might consider dishes such as pan fried breast of pigeon served in a pastry tartlet before weighing up the respective merits of the beef Wellington against the magret of duck astride a base of tarragon potato puree.

But it is in the pudding department that real brilliance is on display and hard choices await. For many the steamed orange pudding with a chilled vanilla Anglaise would be inevitable, whilst savoury lovers would follow me into the Welsh rarebit with grilled mushrooms lobby. A sound wine list and competent service leaves little else to be desired.