The Samling, a jewel in the Tom Maxfield crown of companies, was built in 1780 by a Mr Edward Thorneycroft and now offers discreet comfort to the cognoscenti. With remarkable views over the surrounding Lake District this is a place where hospitality reigns supreme. The dining room, if anything, is understated but offers ample space for seven tables.

Two menus are of interest to this review, the gourmand and the dinner. The former attracts unstinted admiration and could consist of a salad of Iberico ham, pan-fried, line-caught sea bass with a tomato and red pepper bouillon and saffron potatoes. For pudding the poached figs with spicy caramel crust, yoghurt cream and spiced trails seems to strike the right note.

The slightly humbler dinner menu has the benefit of offering a wider choice, some of which are included in the gourmand menu, so presumably a question of size, and a starter could be roasted breast of quail and oven-dried grapes with sautéed wild mushrooms, followed by chargilled loin of veal with a caramelised sweetbread and woodland herb risotto.

The interestingly named redesigned tiramisu might possibly get the runaround in favour of the ginger cream with lychee sorbet and a poached nectarine.

The wine list is almost as breathtaking as the views, with seven quality house wines by the glass for £5-£6 each, and there is no doubting its global scope. Watch out for the "Something Different" section which yields some interesting scoops. The award of a Michelin Star in 2005 confirms what the cognoscenti have known for some time about The Samling.