Àclèaf

High quality cooking

‘A top restaurant experience in an incredible setting,’ commented one fan after visiting this impressively proportioned, Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor house. Aclèaf – oak leaf in Anglo Saxon – is the small, intimate premier dining room, an elegant space occupying a former minstrel’s gallery overlooking the majestic great hall. Here, well-spaced, linen-covered tables seem to mandate a sense of occasion, which is amply supplied by a brigade of ‘outstanding, knowledgeable and passionate staff’ and by chef Scott Paton’s ‘creative’ contemporary cooking. His compact, seasonally driven dinner menus are inventive yet simple, cooked with assurance and technical know-how. From the moment the snacks and freshly baked breads arrive, it’s clear that concentrated thought has gone into every detail, with ‘lots of unique personal touches’ adding to the experience. The ‘inspirational’ four-course menu is perfect for taking in the whole experience, with tip-top supplies and bright, upstanding flavours evident in opening salvos ranging from goat’s cheese with brambles and pecans to a Middle Eastern-inspired combination of squab, dates and preserved lemon. Elsewhere, thoroughbred meats such as venison with prunes and beetroot or a whole-table speciality of Highland wagyu ‘au poivre’ with parsnip exemplify the style perfectly. Savoury notes also appear in the final course (perhaps duck egg with exotic fruits and coconut), or you could round things off with a delicate confection of vanilla, bergamot and star anise. Wine matches offer pure class by the glass, and readers applaud the dedication that has gone into compiling an authoritative list with better-than-fair mark-ups.

4 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence