Holbeck Ghyll is situated just outside of Windermere and offers a country house hotel with a Michelin starred restaurant. Visiting for dinner, we were unable alas to see the views though we’re assured they are stunning and it is clearly a landmark property in the area. The style of the hotel and restaurant is traditional with wood panelling throughout, real fires and furnishing in keeping with its manor house status. The restaurant too maintains the theme with old wood tables and chairs, though it’s now looking a little tired in our view. One (occupied) chair next to our table displayed a broken wooden leg support and had upholstery in desperate need of a deep clean. A case for permanent disposal of the chair (indeed many/all of the chairs) could have been made but I sense they have a preference for ‘unchanging’.
The menu itself is a somewhat ‘safe’ affair, well, dull actually, but there’s no reason why if great produce is combined with a talented kitchen that a good meal shouldn’t grace the table. Holbeck Ghyll has held a Michelin star for over a decade and more recently shot to prominence through its inclusion in the TV series The Trip. Food orders are taken in the sitting room over an aperitif and some finger food including salmon mini fish fingers.
Before the starters arrive, a mushroom cappuccino is served which is nice enough with good flavour; sadly, it would prove to be the highlight of the meal.
There’s three of us dining tonight and with a choice of five starters and five mains, each of us choosing something different, we sampled 60% of the menu. Two of the five starters are ‘pressings’, one of Guinea Fowl, one of Ham Hock. The ham hock at least delivered some flavour while both were texturally mushy. The guinea fowl was deemed ‘absolutely awful’. The third starter was the honey glazed pork belly with langoustine: the pick of the bunch, this was adequate but not elevated. The two starters we didn’t partake of were: smoked salmon with pickled beetroot, and tuna with tomato, confit pepper, anchovy and quail egg.
The menu itself is a somewhat ‘safe’ affair, well, dull actually, but there’s no reason why if great produce is combined with a talented kitchen that a good meal shouldn’t grace the table. Holbeck Ghyll has held a Michelin star for over a decade and more recently shot to prominence through its inclusion in the TV series The Trip. Food orders are taken in the sitting room over an aperitif and some finger food including salmon mini fish fingers.
Before the starters arrive, a mushroom cappuccino is served which is nice enough with good flavour; sadly, it would prove to be the highlight of the meal.
There’s three of us dining tonight and with a choice of five starters and five mains, each of us choosing something different, we sampled 60% of the menu. Two of the five starters are ‘pressings’, one of Guinea Fowl, one of Ham Hock. The ham hock at least delivered some flavour while both were texturally mushy. The guinea fowl was deemed ‘absolutely awful’. The third starter was the honey glazed pork belly with langoustine: the pick of the bunch, this was adequate but not elevated. The two starters we didn’t partake of were: smoked salmon with pickled beetroot, and tuna with tomato, confit pepper, anchovy and quail egg.
mushroom cappuccino
Honey glazed Gloucestershire old spot pork belly with spiced carrot, sautéed Scottish langoustine and pea foam
A pressing of ham hock and corn fed chicken with fig and pear chutney
On the mains, the Label Anglais free range chicken with smoked bacon, Jerusalem artichoke risotto tasted of nothing at any point. The risotto was over cooked, the bacon chewy and the chicken skin flaccid and unappealing. The presentation sought to do the ‘vertical’ thing but seemed simply awkward.
The sea bass came with spiced cauliflower, braised gem, dill gnocchi and horseradish veloute (not pictured). The fish itself was perfectly cooked inside but the skin was soggy. The gnocchi was considered unpalatable, the cauliflower strange and the horseradish reminiscent of Colman’s. The final main dish was fillet of veal with butternut squash, broad beans and baby leeks, which did little more for the recipient than the other mains. We wonder about the baby leeks which are not in season from local providers.
The sea bass came with spiced cauliflower, braised gem, dill gnocchi and horseradish veloute (not pictured). The fish itself was perfectly cooked inside but the skin was soggy. The gnocchi was considered unpalatable, the cauliflower strange and the horseradish reminiscent of Colman’s. The final main dish was fillet of veal with butternut squash, broad beans and baby leeks, which did little more for the recipient than the other mains. We wonder about the baby leeks which are not in season from local providers.
Label Anglais free range chicken with smoked bacon, Jerusalem artichoke risotto
fillet of veal with butternut squash, broad beans and baby leeks
On desserts, billed as a Cold Rhubarb Crumble: poached rhubarb, sorbet, cheesecake and crisps, this dish was confused and wrong. The rhubarb was solid, there was no crumble as such, just a dry crisp, the cheesecake was more of a mousse and the sorbet brought to mind cheap ice cream. Both plates were returned to the kitchen only half eaten. Dessert number three was the chocolate plate: chocolate soufflé, delice, tart and orange sorbet. This didn’t really work with the petit fours sized desserts mostly excessively sweet or bitter.
Rhubarb Crumble: poached rhubarb, sorbet, cheesecake and crisps
chocolate plate: chocolate soufflé, delice, tart and orange sorbet
Meanwhile, none of this comes cheap. It’s listed as £65 for the starter, main, and either desserts or cheese from the trolley though when it came to it, the cheese option incurred a £5 supplement. Had the beef been chosen for the main course, that too would have been a £5 supplement. The problem is that this was a bad meal and at half the price, it would still not have been value. When we asked for the bill at the end, we were required to take it to the cashier to pay.
Service varied. There were some genuinely good service moments, but as a venue, ‘serious’ appears to be a corporate identity and the service too often appeared constrained by this. Having the Michelin star has, in my reckoning, inhibited them from doing a more friendly though still professional service with them consciously opting it seems for a more formal approach.
By the reception in the hotel there’s a framed review of the restaurant by Matthew Fort but it is dated 2003 – a better time perhaps. We were unanimous around the table that not only did they fail to deliver a Michelin standard meal, but no single plate was at the requisite standard either in our opinion. This is a real shame because Holbeck Ghyll is a destination venue for tourists in the region, tourists who deserve better at any price, let alone pushing £100 a head all in.
Post script: the following day we were contacted by the restaurant with an apology regarding the rhubarb dessert and offered a refund. We appreciated this move on their part.
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Service varied. There were some genuinely good service moments, but as a venue, ‘serious’ appears to be a corporate identity and the service too often appeared constrained by this. Having the Michelin star has, in my reckoning, inhibited them from doing a more friendly though still professional service with them consciously opting it seems for a more formal approach.
By the reception in the hotel there’s a framed review of the restaurant by Matthew Fort but it is dated 2003 – a better time perhaps. We were unanimous around the table that not only did they fail to deliver a Michelin standard meal, but no single plate was at the requisite standard either in our opinion. This is a real shame because Holbeck Ghyll is a destination venue for tourists in the region, tourists who deserve better at any price, let alone pushing £100 a head all in.
Post script: the following day we were contacted by the restaurant with an apology regarding the rhubarb dessert and offered a refund. We appreciated this move on their part.
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