Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, A Belmond Hotel

Few places hold as much gravitas as Le Manoir, a bastion of Franco-British hospitality for over three decades and the brainchild of one Monsieur Blanc. Its Tudor, wisteria-clad exterior and spellbinding organic gardens are almost as iconic as the main man himself, but the beating heart of it all is the kitchen.

After 24 years the team waved off head chef Gary Jones and ushered in Luke Selby in 2023; a full circle moment with the young chef returning to the very stoves he started on as a trainee in 2009.

Understandably, there are tight reigns in the kitchen, with guests of Le Manoir expecting a certain style of timeless French cuisine. There are glimmers of Selby making his mark however, with his love of Asian ingredients subtly spiking the menu. A flawless scallop escabeche - intense with orange - had a hum of lemongrass, and later a strawberry dessert came buoyed on an undercurrent of ginger.

The old half of the dining space is all low beams and spot lit tables, which gives way to the brighter, more spacious conservatory. The decor is old school and simple with immaculate, double layered crisp white tablecloths and dark wood accents. It's a combination that oozes class, and the atmosphere is one of utmost hospitality. Full to the brim, the restaurant is packed with diners keen to soak up the silkily choreographed service with the team explaining everything in detail.

Back to the food, and there’s a real knack here for distilling and intensifying the flavours of the garden's just picked produce. The results are plates that sing of just a few select notes but do so in exacting harmony. Earthy, sweet peas and creamy ricotta evoke early summer succinctly in canape form, and there’s the most beautiful blush lamb chop later on, with sweet asparagus and a kick of wild garlic.

Whichever way you cut it, dining at Le Manoir is damn near perfect in every department. It’s the sort of place you’ll end up comparing every subsequent meal to, and with your now permanently fixed rose-tinted glasses on, you’ll have to accept that nothing else can compare.

Having opened in 1984, Raymond Blanc’s critically acclaimed Le Manoir is one of the most famous restaurants in Britain which serves two Michelin starred French food. The building itself is a 15th century manor, a house that lies in acres of manicured, organic grounds.

While you can come and dine as an evening guest, most people choose to stay the night in order to make the most of the surrounds. Here you’ll find wildflower carpeted fruit orchards, manicured vegetable gardens, ordered herb beds, a little pink Japanese tea house on the edge of bright green algae covered pond, and even a small walled lake. Everywhere you look there are sculptures and art details, and there’s a perfectly flat croquet lawn to boot. Just across the path there are clusters of tables and chairs where you can enjoy drinks and snacks before you meal, with the only sound to disturb you being the thwack of the balls going through the hoops.

One seated ini the dining room, you’ll be treated to a seven course tasting menu. The experience doesn’t come cheap with lunch priced at £205 and dinner coming in at £230 per person (increasing to £220 for lunch and £245 for dinner in 2024). Sure, it’s not a bargain, but you get a lot for your money. Kick off with canapes and the most indulgent breadbasket you’ve ever seen, before moving on to seasonal starters, mains and desserts.

Using the bounty of the gardens and local suppliers for fish, meat and game, the menu bounces and bends over the course of the seasons. Things usually kck off with a cured fish dish before moving through a pasta course of something like crab raviolo with courgette and a lemongrass bisque. Later on you might find milk-fed lam with asparagus and wild garlic, before finishing on a Yorkshire rhubarb baba.

If you’ve managed to secure a bed for the night, breakfast the next morning is an event in itself, and it would be a crime not to take one last wander through the gardens before you depart.