Henrock, Bowness, Cumbria: ‘It blew my mind’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

‘Of all the Lake District’s pinky-in-the-air places that exist only for the fleeting delight of fancy people, this is the one that truly moved me’

Eating in the Lake District, which I do a great deal, always involves a certain level of struggle. Staffing issues and brief opening hours are normal, while all the delicious, sanely priced places are booked up six months in advance by the control freaks in every Lake District Weekend Woo-Hoo! WhatsApp group. This leaves a plethora of nigh-inaccessible fine-dining spots that almost nobody local has ever visited. They’re often in hotels, with big-name chefs, where your tatty banger will have been noted by security from the moment you turned into their majestic driveway, and where an overnight stay for two with dinner will set you back about £1,000, with check-in at 3pm and checkout by 11am. At the Linthwaite House hotel, where the Simon Rogan restaurant Henrock lives, I was quoted £775 by a “bargain” website for a room for two on 29 August. I’ve lived among London dandies for decades, so am used to high-rollers, but still, even I can’t envisage settling a bill of that magnitude without openly weeping at reception.

However, of all the Lake District’s pinky-in-the-air places that exist only for the fleeting delight of fancy people, lunch at the gorgeous Henrock is the one that truly moved me. If you have a special occasion, Henrock at Linthwaite is one worth scrimping and saving for – with starters at about £13 and mains £30, you could go easy on the booze and get out for about £75 a head. From the moment you exit your vehicle, it’s all, well, a bit too much. The 14 acres of landscaped gardens feel like something from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World list; in fact, I fail to believe that Nebuchadnezzar’s hanging gardens were prettier than Henrock’s cocktail terrace with its dizzying vantage point across Lake Windermere, or, for that matter, the private tarn, the sculpture collection, the outdoor chess or the pretty boules pitch. I felt like Alice in Wonderland.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3wEaHvu