Oakley Hall is a beautiful example of a classic countryside hotel, residing in Basingstoke and surrounded by stunning greenery and gardens. As soon as you see its proud, warm-toned facade you'll no doubt recognise the Georgian architecture, and indeed the building was established in 1795 and even has links to Jane Austin, who lived nearby.
As well as a selection of lovely rooms, Oakley Hall is a haven of British cuisine, both for those staying and locals looking to enjoy a meal out. The in-house restaurant is named Glasshouse Restaurant, after the original glasshouse which was designed in 1850 by Edward Milner, a renowned landscape architect who also designed Oakley Hall’s gardens. Since opening in 2014, Glasshouse Restaurant has strived to provide a contemporary menu celebrating the best of British with locally-sourced ingredients specifically within a 50-mile radius and even growing much of the herbs and vegetables used in the on-site garden.
While the menu changes with the seasons, there's a sample example online offering sandwiches like honey roasted gammon and watercress for lunch, as well as classic afternoon tea with a selection of artisanal sandwiches, homemade cakes and, of course, plenty of scones, jam and clotted cream.
For a larger lunch or evening meal, diners are encouraged to start off with some small plates such as rosemary and garlic roasted camembert and charcuterie for the table, before moving onto starters such as woodland pig saddleback pork belly with apple and chorizo jam, morcilla and butternut squash.
For mains, the chef's special sounds delicious, which at the moment is 550g dry-aged côte de boeuf steak (for two) with caramelized bone marrow and triple-cooked chips. There are also plenty of vegetarian options, like the beetroot tarte tatin, as well as pescetarian dishes such as whole roasted Chalk Stream trout filet.