Restaurant at The Old Vicarage Hotel

The awards list at The Old Vicarage cannot be lightly ignored, unlike some of its kind, amongst them are AA Three Rosettes for food, the Michelin Bib Gourmand and numerous awards for the distinguished wine list. I mention them as the best way of underlining the attention to detail and confidence evident in the cooking.

Once an Edwardian vicarage, the Old Vicarage is now a luxury country house hotel in rural Shropshire, in a quiet and peaceful area near Bridgnorth. It is furnished with antiques, original paintings and limited edition prints. Each bedroom is unique and has its own charm and character. You could choose from a romantic four poster, a sumptuous half tester or perhaps you might prefer the luxury Allscott Room in the Coach House with french windows opening onto its own private garden.

However, it is most famed for its food, and has been included in The Good Food Guide for many years, one of very few in that part of Shropshire; achieving recognition through such signature dishes as homemade black pudding with sweetbreads and a swede and rosemary galette to loin of Bobbington boar with creamed Savoy cabbage.

Lunch is a simpler affair than dinner and could offer choices of baked fillet of mackerel and horseradish potato salad with tomato dressing or butternut squash soup with herb dumpling, followed by Oriental spiced salmon with glazed baby vegetables and soy dressing or roast rump of Shropshire lamb with mustard mash and rosemary jus.

With puddings such as baked banana malva pudding with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream or dark chocolate pave with passion fruit sorbet. This is a bargain, for food of this quality at £21.50.

In the evening things are altogether more sumptuous, and the menu might include arborio rice risotto with roasted local asparagus, parmesan tuille and basil oil; thyme marinated French quail, roasted and served off the bone with lambs lettuce and raisin sauce or vine tomato and tapenade tart served with roquette pesto, and those are just to start with.

Mains might include Gressingham duck breast served sliced with roasted figs and cracked black pepper sauce; braised South Coast turbot fillet topped with its own mousse served in a crab bisque with local asparagus; pavé of Cornish lamb, braised red cabbage, dauphinoise potatoes and garlic sauce or seared red mullet fillet, arborio rice risotto with fresh herbs and tomato pesto.

Desserts are light and imaginative like candied cherry and champagne jelly; blackcurrant parfait; sorbet and pannacotta; vanilla bean ?crème brûlée?; pear and lime sorbet and orange cappuccino or banana ice cream and caramelised banana.

Special attention is paid to the wine, with user-friendly prices and a changing list of ten house wines starting at £16.50, glasses from £4.40. The surroundings are relaxing to an almost dangerous level and combine with a quality of service to ensure that your next visit will not be your last.

More information, including their menus and wine list, plus details on private dining and all of the bedrooms, is available on their Website.