Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

Penrhos is a 700 year old manor farm, now converted to a delightful hotel and restaurant. The restaurant is requested "Organic" and was the first to register in the U.K. "Penrhos" is so healthy that a weekend there probably does not count against your allotted time on earth" - A.A Gill Sunday Times.

At Penrhos they make a big occasion of New Year. As the old year dies tea and cakes are srved by the log fire, before drinks followed by a five course organic supper set against a musical background in the medieval cruck hall, with champagne to welcome in the New Year. The following day is recovery time, perhaps a gentle walk, before a four course organic supper, leaviing around midday on the 2nd. All-in rates start at £420 per couple sharing a double en-suite room.

Very well located in the exciting Hereford development down by the river, Floodgates offers wholesome and generously served food with more than a little local flavour including the daub of beef from their own farm at Ford Abbey.

The whole atmosphere is one of relaxed good style and the choices of places in which to eat helps this along. But the choice is yours and since they are open all day making that choice is really your only problem. A well thought-through wine list completes the picture of a well-run, highly popular addition to the delights of this Cathedral town.

The Butchers Arms, an exquisite old half-timbered pub in the gorgeous countryside offers modern British cuisine with local cask beers, ciders and perry, and a punchy wine list . Open fires warm the low-ceiling bars in winter, and the stream cools the garden in summer providing a unique experience to visitors.

For a start you could try home-cured salmon and roll mops with potato salad and terrine of duck and pork, apple jelly. Consider whole lemon sole with char-grilled peppers and courgettes in basil dressing, and Cornish hake in beer batter with chips and peas for main course. If you have a sweet tooth you could try pear and frangipani tart, and chocolate and almond cake with clotted cream. End your meal with farmhouse cheeses with apple jelly and chutney.

The wine list features some familiar as well as lesser known wines, each with a distinct and alluring personality.

Tucked away on the Homend and a short walk from Ledbury's grand old Market House is The Seven Stars, originally built in the 16th century and reputedly the oldest inn in town. After a serious fire largely destroyed it in 2001, the Grade II listed coaching inn was painstakingly brought back to its original glory and once again offers guests a true taste of English hospitality.

The interior that has been updated to make diners feel comfortable still exudes an unmistakable traditional charm that helps it hold hands with the building's half-timbered cream exterior and red-tiled roof.

Owners Paul and Nikki Baker offer simple, homemade British dishes that are created from prime local produce and rare-breed meats. Both locals and visitors enjoy the food and relax over a range of beers, cider, wines and spirits.

Three oak beamed ensuite bedrooms at The Seven Stars, which include a double and two family rooms, offer guests a chance to stay a night or two in Ledbury.

A secluded corner of Herefordshire is home to The New Inn, which as opposed to its name, is a 16th century coaching inn situated ten miles from Hereford. If you're looking forward to meeting friends or taking the family out for a meal there are few other venues that can match the tranquillity, beauty and freedom of this Good Pub Guide 2008 listed inn in St. Owen's Cross.

Consider spending time in comfort of the inn's two rooms, the lounge bar and dining room made warm both by their old world ambiance and by crackling fires in the winter, or in the garden when the weather permits.

Start your morning with the all day breakfast. At mealtimes you could begin with homemade soup or country chicken liver pâté before moving on to mains of steak, mushroom and ale pie; an 8oz Herefordshire beef burger, pan-roasted chicken breast or wild mushroom risotto.

End proceedings on a sweet note with Rowlestone Farm strawberry sorbet or homemade sticky toffee pudding.

Tucked away in the heart of rural Herefordshire, Verzon House is a charming refuge that made a humble beginning as a farmhouse in 1790. The world has changed much in more than two-hundred-years of the hotel's existence but the views it offers over an unspoilt country landscape stretching as far as the Malvern Hills are as pretty as they were years before.

Features such as original cornices, an inlaid staircase and open fireplaces appear alongside modern ensuite bedrooms that are refurbished to a high standard. The hotel's Brasserie welcomes guests with its magnificent Victorian fireplace and earthy colours. Noteworthy is the fact that everything from the bread to the rosemary roasted nuts is made in house. European and modern British dishes all created from locally sourced produce could consist of ravioli of salmon, crab and lobster with tarragon and chive sauce, and a rack of Peter's pork spare ribs roasted in his special sauce with pilau rice and shrimp.

Stop by at The Mulberry Bar for an enjoyable pint of Wye Valley Ale or a light lunch.