A restaurant that I have been waiting to goto for some time. The last time we attempted to go I had to cancel due to illness. We finally got to go on Saturday the 7th August, with a couple of very good friends, with all of us celebrating our 11th anniversaries!

After  seeing the venue on the TV show, “The Restaurant” I kinda had an idea of the grandness of the whole place. Turning right into the main driveway you immediately get a feel of how classic this establishment is. After parking the car we walked to the main entrance, through a lavender edged path that cut through some immaculate lawns – one was set for croquet and the other for boules.

On entering we were kindly greeted by the front of house staff, and then ushered to meet our friends who were having a drink in the lounge area. Very nice room too, and comfortable furnishings (which is always good to relax). The menu’s were already on the table, and as our table was booked for 9PM we decided to go for the  Á la Carte which consisted of 3 courses. One thing that initially struck me was the price of the dishes, but this was a 2* Michelin restaurant so hey, it goes with the territory.

I ordered the following:-

Plancha-seared Cornish lobster, warm Jersey Royal potatoes, Oscietra caviar, cardamom; red pepper jus for Hors d’oeuvres, followed by Slow-roasted aromatic Cornish turbot, scallop and citrus fregola for the main, and then finally a selection of cheeses for dessert.

Apart from these 3 courses, we had an amouse bouche with our drinks (I can’t remember what they were – but one thing I did note; there were 4 of us, but only 2 of each choice which was a bit poor as that meant you couldn’t try each one yourself. There wasn’t anything here that was amazing….this was going to set the tone of the meal, which I didn’t realise at first)

Before the first course we had a free course, a small pot of spring vegetables with flower petals in a broth, in a cup about the size of an espresso. This was light and refreshing. The selection of breads were good, and the types I chose were very nice indeed.

So, the first course was delivered, and to be honest, seeing that this was the a la carte option, I thought the portion size was a bit mean. This dish alone cost £42, and I had 1 piece of claw meat, and a few smaller parts of the tail. I was expecting half a lobster for that price! The dish was very tasty, the lobster perfectly cooked, and the little potato pieces deep with flavour.

The main, for me, was the strongest dish of the night. Another perfectly cooked slab of turbot this time, with a flavoursome broth poured over it. Very appetising, but I really should have asked for a spoon as a knife and fork isn’t that great for scooping up sauce!!! Even now, I’ve been to a fair few Michelin restaurants and still not 100% of the etiquette for asking for other things!

For dessert I opted for the cheese board, and what a great trolley and a well versed waiter who knew his cheese! I was asked to choose 5 different pieces, and ended up with a real plateful of cheese, and no skimpy cuts but good portions (pity the other courses weren’t the same eh!). I liked 4 of the 5, and again I didn’t jot down all the names (rubbish I know), but I had 2 blue, 1 hard and 2 others. 1 I remember was a Welsh Cow cheese, which was nice. One of our friends, Dean (a bit of a cheese connoisseur) mentioned about having honey with blue cheese, so we got some and it really works! Make a mental note to try it yourself!

Of the 4 of us who were dining, only Dean and I were drinking, and we had wine by the glass, 1 with each course. I had an Alsace Riesling 2007, Grand Cru Saering, Dirler-Cade (I asked the waitress to write these down) and a Chassagne Montrachet, Les Masuves 2008, finished with a 1985 port with the cheese.

Overall I felt a bit disappointed with Le Manoir. Why? Well I think for the costs of the courses the portions could have been bigger. Each course was well cooked and presented, but I didn’t have one “WOW!” moment in the whole night, which is quite uncommon when fine dining, even with or without a Michelin star. And this place isn’t cheap – the bill came to about £640 between 4 (including a tip) and I personally think the food at “The Royal Oak” tasted better, and cost about £150 for 2 people.

Overall score? 4/10