Beaverbrook – the Surrey Hills hotel, once the country estate of Lord Beaverbrook is, without doubt elegantly majestic. But tucked behind its traditional walled kitchen garden is The Garden House – a restaurant designed for more leisurely gatherings. Here, garden-inspired interiors are paired with Anglo-Italian, seasonally changing menus crafted from locally sourced ingredients by head chef Adam Sharpe. Its new £65 Sunday roast offering presents comforting classics with a thoughtful, seasonal touch.
On approaching it feels less like a formal restaurant and more like going to a friend’s country house for lunch. Relaxed and perfectly suited to a Sunday mood, on entering one is immediately enveloped in an atmosphere that is both refined and inviting. Wooden floors below and a skylight above and plenty of greenery, there is an airy almost orangery feel about The Garden House, where French doors will, once the warmer weather arrives, open out onto a lovely terrace, bounded by flower beds.
But for us, on a grey Sunday in February we were glad to be ensconced inside, where once seated, a freshly baked warm fluffy focaccia was served to start alongside a creamy seeded dip, which complemented both the bread and endive superbly. This was followed by two exceptional starters: burrata and crab. The crab, accompanied by a vibrant herb purée, was particularly noteworthy and consisted of tomato, cucumber, dill, basil and garlic.
But the highlight of the meal for me was of course the headline act, the pork and lamb roasts. The servings were generous, the pork, with its impeccable crispy skin, exemplified succulence, while the lamb was equally well executed and perfectly pink.
Yorkshire puddings were impressively tall, roast potatoes were both crisp and fluffy and infused with a delicate herby flavour. The vegetables were expertly cooked, with carrots glazed subtly for a touch of sweetness and each guest was offered a side with the set menu. We chose to share the cauliflower cheese and a pecorino rocket salad, both of which were excellent.
The sommelier had presented an impressive wine list, ranging from £58 up to £4,000 for a Petrus, but the recommended Senza Alibi Perini paired excellently with our roasts, offering harmonious and full-bodied flavours, complemented by a lingering finish and gentle, pleasant tannins. To end, a tiramisu was outclassed by a very good, well-balanced sticky toffee where sweet richness was suitably tempered with gorgeous ice cream.
Robins Nest Bar
In contrast to the airy atmosphere of the dining room, there is also the plush, richly decorated snug bar, the Robin’s Nest, for those who may want a digestif amidst the velvet next to a roaring fire to round off a very pleasant Sunday dining experience. The Garden House has a lovely atmosphere that, although suitably relaxed is still infused with trademark Beaverbrook refinement, elegance and visual hints (in the form of the iconic Spitfire emblem) to the history of an estate that was once home to Winston Churchill’s Minister of Aircraft Production.
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