Lovely venue with a nice relaxed atmosphere and nice grounds. However, though a lot of the food was good (the crab amuse-bouche being a highlight), it was the first time that part way through a testing menu I have felt the salt level get too much and it detracted from subsequent dishes. Some sweet courses were also overpowered by sweetness which almost lost some of the great touches like apple blossom which give a lovely fragrant flavour. Overall I feel that either the reducing the salt level on certain dishes or better menu planning would have resulted in a much better experience.
LeonSouthLondon
We stayed at Whatley Manor for a long weekend to celebrate reaching a significant age with most of my facilities intact, especially my taste buds and eye sight, and what a treat they were rewarded with in The Dining Room. From the moment they arrived with an additional off menu first course as we sipped aperitifs in the lounge, tiny pastry shells with crab topped with individual strands of grapefruit, the flavours exploding, it was a gastronomic experience. The crab was so delicious I wanted a large one as a main course, but more was to come as we moved to the kitchen to meet Monty the head chef for the night, and his team. We love fish so were delighted to have a concoction of mussels in a kind of panacotta, but the couple alongside us, one veggie one prejudiced against fish were also well catered for. Moving to the dining room Clare and her team, Matt, Amanda, Connor and some others couldn't have been more attentive. Each tiny work of of art ( matched by the genuine Miro on the wall above us !) was exquisite. Triangles of potato flavoured with balsamic and stuffed with lobster, layered caviar trifle, a creamy chicken topped with granola, a fillet of halibut with a crescent of mouth watering mash potato, tiny venison fillets. Clare patiently reiterated the ingredients after each course ( one's short term memory goes with age ) and Matt unhurriedly acquiesced with my decision to drink rather more wine than I'd intended. Puddings were equally yummy, accompanied by a naturally sweet wine from the Pyrenees. Yes it isn't cheap, but for ingredients of this quality and the hours of work that go into assembling each tiny dish it's worth every penny. We were so full at the end but I managed both mine and my partners home made chocolate and tiny marshmallow. Truly the finest tasting menu I've eaten to date. Bravo to Monty and all the team. A 70th birthday dining experience to remember.
ManUMike1999
Tried the spa facility earlier this year so fancied another trip for same plus Michelin Dinner and overnight stay. So glad we did. The tasting menu was outstanding and delivered the WOW I'm sure all serious fine dining folk want to have when paying decent money. Such quality in flavours . Generous portions. Good ingredients. On top of that service was friendly, perfectly timed and we never felt rushed. A nice bonus to start off was a few Amuse Bouche in front of the kitchen staff hard at work . Wonderful to see the precision and team work. Then to wrap up at 1am in the bar over a G&T, we were so pleased to have an appearance from Ricki Weston himself. I wanted to compliment him on a brilliant meal. This really is worthy of being 2 Michelin Stars in our opinion.
Karen M
Really lovely evening and amazing food. Staff were really attentive, well informed, friendly and extremely accommodating. Was really interesting to have one of the courses in the kitchen to see them in the real environment Food was tasty and brilliantly presented We had the pairing wines and when we weren’t keen on one of them we we’re offered alternatives without any issue. Twice on one occasion. So good and amendable. Doesn’t happen in some restaurants Not cheap but was really enjoyable
Cheryl H
We visited the Dinning Room to experience their vast tasting menu and must say what an experience. It was great to meet and chat with head chef Ricki Weston to to observe his very calm and coordinated kitchen in operation. All 12 or so courses were exquisite and the presentation and service of them was all a 'theatre'. The only slight downside was the expensive cost of the the 'pre drinks' £19 for a gin and tonic !. All the staff were extremely courteous, knowledgeable and made the evening complete. For a Special Occassion we can't rate this place highly enough and would certainly recommend it for couples looking for that Michelin Star dinning experience.
Jackie Ahearn
A wonderful way to celebrate a birthday! Everything was perfect. Thank you to all the staff.
Mostin-33
We enjoyed dinner in the Dining room over the Easter break as part of a weekend stay at the hotel. The food and service were great. The restaurant was very quiet with only a handful of covers all evening and a large portion of the room sectioned off and empty.
TorridonPair
We went to The Dining Room for my birthday last week. Off the scale brilliant. Food to die for. We don’t have enough words for how good it was. The only way I can describe it adequately is to say it is pure artistry, skill and passion playing out on every plate and in every mouthful. Kudos to Ricki and the whole team for what you have created and the experience you give your diners. It’s extraordinary. We’re not gourmets but we celebrate wonderful food when we experience it, and The Dining Room is among the very best there is. The service is exceptional - like everything at Whatley, it’s top quality while warm and welcoming. They make everyone feel special and you relax instantly. And that can’t be said of all restaurants of this quality - they really do put the diner, and your enjoyment of the food (and excellent wine list) at the heart of it. For anyone who enjoys fine dining in beautiful surroundings and exceptional service, we’d always recommend The Dining Room and Whatley Manor. We would also add that given the quality of the whole experience, and knowing how costs have increased massively in this industry in the past year or so, we felt the price was well worth it and appropriate. Enough from us - it’s a special place.
FussyBvggerBrit
Having lost their second star, the Dining Room's prices singularly fail to reflect this demotion. At £175pp this equates with some of the finest restaurants in the land, but the anticipated quality and finesse is distinctly lacking. Having dined in all but one of the 3 star restaurants in the UK I do feel this judgement of quality and value to be fair and analytical. The Dining Room's proclamation of a "7 course tasting menu" is misleading as the various little extras that one normally receives gratis on a 5 course menu - canapes, amuse-bouches, petits fours - are (perhaps cynically?) included here as actual named courses. Ignoring subjective personal taste, of the seven "courses" three were truly delightful and faultless - brilliantly conceived, prepared and presented. The remainder ranged from pretty bland and unremarkable to incompetently ill-balanced and with poorly matched component flavours. The brief trip to the kitchen for the first "course" (most would call canapes) is a little gimmicky, but possibly interesting for those unfamiliar with the workings of a Michelin Star establishment. On the plus side: - The wine list is comprehensive and sensibly priced with availability to suit most pockets. - Service throughout is, from the moment of arrival, as one should expect at this level, attentive, courteous, efficient and professional. - The ambience and quality "feel" of the place are elegant and prestigious. However for those not staying overnight, having received the bill for the meal itself one is left feeling that one has paid heavily towards the excellent hotel and grounds (reviewed separately) rather than the just the meal. In summary the restaurant itself is overpriced by at least 25% and seems to have forgotten it is no longer a two star establishment.
Juan Antonio Navarro Pérez
Very creative and delicious food, beautifully prepared with utmost care.
We had a fantastic meal in the Dining Room to celebrate my husband’s birthday. The front of house staff and kitchen team were friendly and attentive. We thoroughly enjoyed our kitchen experience, watching the chefs perfect the dishes and meeting the head chef was a real pleasure. Each course we had was so flavoursome and beautifully presented - like art on a plate! The Dining Room deserves its one Michelin Star and we are sure it will achieve 2 stars in the future. Thank you to everyone for making our special occasion so memorable.
Ningqian Yang
One of the best restaurants I have been. Everything has been great, though the total portion is a bit too much for me (I could not help finishing all the bread haha). The scallop is my favorite dish.
MrC1997
I wasn’t going to make this review as I genuinely enjoyed my stay at the hotel but I thought people need to be made aware of how poor the food in the restaurant is. Restaurant aside, the hotel and its grounds are beautiful and the staff are very friendly and helpful. The rooms are large and the rates per night are agreeable for the product you get. However, what is not acceptable is the food being served in the dining room, I’m not exactly sure what Michelin were thinking as this restaurant utterly discredits the guide. I’m increasingly losing faith in the UK guide as the inspectors evidently don’t know what they’re talking about anymore. First of all the cost of the tasting menu is comical. A one Michelin starred restaurant charging three star prices is a joke and considering how bad the food being served is, this is quite frankly out of order. £175 is similar to what you’d pay at Clare Smyth, Claude Bosi or Hélène Darroze, which are some of the best restaurants in the country and closest to what you’d encounter in France. Here there’s no real luxury ingredients and the execution of the dishes are just poor and flavours badly judged. Everything was forgettable, minuscule in portion, a series of amuse bouche than meal. Someone in my party was served some kind of vegetable, which was grilled and this was the restaurant’s excuse for a vegetarian menu, as if this is what vegetarians eat. This restaurant is not vegetarian friendly whatsoever, you will be totally disregarded. The “highlight” of the meal was some awful chocolate desert served with what tasted like vinegar and a chocolate dusted twig of some kind of herb. I had to pick the herb out of my mouth as this was akin to chewing on a branch from a tree. Disgusting to say the least. The canapés in the kitchen, for me, was just utterly pretentious and try hard. Standing there watching the kitchen team hard at work while we wait to be served was just awkward. The dining room was very small and the décor was like stepping back in time to an early 2000s living room… not stylish at all and not in keeping with the rest of the hotel. Interior designer is blind or retired long ago. The staff were attentive and friendly enough, though the pace of the meal was a joke, however, yet again, this was down to the kitchen. It seemed like forever to be served tiny underwhelming dishes and towards the end of the meal I was getting quite frustrated and wanted to leave and retire back to my room. When the meal did end and we had coffee, we weren’t even served petit fours for £175… thank the lord in heaven for the bread is all I can say. On another note, when we were served breakfast the next day, the joke continued. For some reason we were given half a mushroom and half a black pudding… the tiny portions are even applied to breakfast in the morning. The vegetarian breakfast also had half a mushroom despite having less items on the plate. This for me was just downright offensive and a real lack of attention to detail. Whatley Manor is a very beautiful hotel with lovely grounds and nice staff, however its restaurant or kitchen as a whole is a serious cause for concern and really ruins the whole experience and stops the hotel from being a truly top class establishment. The restaurant is holding the hotel back and personally I think Michelin need to come back and make a review with a clear head. This review would’ve been a 1/5 if it wasn’t for the staff who actually earned their service charge for being attentive and professional. Cannot recommend this restaurant at all until something is done about the kitchen. What a shame, what a waste…
Sue B
Very lovely dinner included the Cinema Club.Parking: There were plenty of spaces in their car parks
Lovely venue with a nice relaxed atmosphere and nice grounds. However, though a lot of the food was good (the crab amuse-bouche being a highlight), it was the first time that part way through a testing menu I have felt the salt level get too much and it detracted from subsequent dishes. Some sweet courses were also overpowered by sweetness which almost lost some of the great touches like apple blossom which give a lovely fragrant flavour. Overall I feel that either the reducing the salt level on certain dishes or better menu planning would have resulted in a much better experience.
We stayed at Whatley Manor for a long weekend to celebrate reaching a significant age with most of my facilities intact, especially my taste buds and eye sight, and what a treat they were rewarded with in The Dining Room. From the moment they arrived with an additional off menu first course as we sipped aperitifs in the lounge, tiny pastry shells with crab topped with individual strands of grapefruit, the flavours exploding, it was a gastronomic experience. The crab was so delicious I wanted a large one as a main course, but more was to come as we moved to the kitchen to meet Monty the head chef for the night, and his team. We love fish so were delighted to have a concoction of mussels in a kind of panacotta, but the couple alongside us, one veggie one prejudiced against fish were also well catered for. Moving to the dining room Clare and her team, Matt, Amanda, Connor and some others couldn't have been more attentive. Each tiny work of of art ( matched by the genuine Miro on the wall above us !) was exquisite. Triangles of potato flavoured with balsamic and stuffed with lobster, layered caviar trifle, a creamy chicken topped with granola, a fillet of halibut with a crescent of mouth watering mash potato, tiny venison fillets. Clare patiently reiterated the ingredients after each course ( one's short term memory goes with age ) and Matt unhurriedly acquiesced with my decision to drink rather more wine than I'd intended. Puddings were equally yummy, accompanied by a naturally sweet wine from the Pyrenees. Yes it isn't cheap, but for ingredients of this quality and the hours of work that go into assembling each tiny dish it's worth every penny. We were so full at the end but I managed both mine and my partners home made chocolate and tiny marshmallow. Truly the finest tasting menu I've eaten to date. Bravo to Monty and all the team. A 70th birthday dining experience to remember.
Tried the spa facility earlier this year so fancied another trip for same plus Michelin Dinner and overnight stay. So glad we did. The tasting menu was outstanding and delivered the WOW I'm sure all serious fine dining folk want to have when paying decent money. Such quality in flavours . Generous portions. Good ingredients. On top of that service was friendly, perfectly timed and we never felt rushed. A nice bonus to start off was a few Amuse Bouche in front of the kitchen staff hard at work . Wonderful to see the precision and team work. Then to wrap up at 1am in the bar over a G&T, we were so pleased to have an appearance from Ricki Weston himself. I wanted to compliment him on a brilliant meal. This really is worthy of being 2 Michelin Stars in our opinion.
Really lovely evening and amazing food. Staff were really attentive, well informed, friendly and extremely accommodating. Was really interesting to have one of the courses in the kitchen to see them in the real environment Food was tasty and brilliantly presented We had the pairing wines and when we weren’t keen on one of them we we’re offered alternatives without any issue. Twice on one occasion. So good and amendable. Doesn’t happen in some restaurants Not cheap but was really enjoyable
We visited the Dinning Room to experience their vast tasting menu and must say what an experience. It was great to meet and chat with head chef Ricki Weston to to observe his very calm and coordinated kitchen in operation. All 12 or so courses were exquisite and the presentation and service of them was all a 'theatre'. The only slight downside was the expensive cost of the the 'pre drinks' £19 for a gin and tonic !. All the staff were extremely courteous, knowledgeable and made the evening complete. For a Special Occassion we can't rate this place highly enough and would certainly recommend it for couples looking for that Michelin Star dinning experience.
A wonderful way to celebrate a birthday! Everything was perfect. Thank you to all the staff.
We enjoyed dinner in the Dining room over the Easter break as part of a weekend stay at the hotel. The food and service were great. The restaurant was very quiet with only a handful of covers all evening and a large portion of the room sectioned off and empty.
We went to The Dining Room for my birthday last week. Off the scale brilliant. Food to die for. We don’t have enough words for how good it was. The only way I can describe it adequately is to say it is pure artistry, skill and passion playing out on every plate and in every mouthful. Kudos to Ricki and the whole team for what you have created and the experience you give your diners. It’s extraordinary. We’re not gourmets but we celebrate wonderful food when we experience it, and The Dining Room is among the very best there is. The service is exceptional - like everything at Whatley, it’s top quality while warm and welcoming. They make everyone feel special and you relax instantly. And that can’t be said of all restaurants of this quality - they really do put the diner, and your enjoyment of the food (and excellent wine list) at the heart of it. For anyone who enjoys fine dining in beautiful surroundings and exceptional service, we’d always recommend The Dining Room and Whatley Manor. We would also add that given the quality of the whole experience, and knowing how costs have increased massively in this industry in the past year or so, we felt the price was well worth it and appropriate. Enough from us - it’s a special place.
Having lost their second star, the Dining Room's prices singularly fail to reflect this demotion. At £175pp this equates with some of the finest restaurants in the land, but the anticipated quality and finesse is distinctly lacking. Having dined in all but one of the 3 star restaurants in the UK I do feel this judgement of quality and value to be fair and analytical. The Dining Room's proclamation of a "7 course tasting menu" is misleading as the various little extras that one normally receives gratis on a 5 course menu - canapes, amuse-bouches, petits fours - are (perhaps cynically?) included here as actual named courses. Ignoring subjective personal taste, of the seven "courses" three were truly delightful and faultless - brilliantly conceived, prepared and presented. The remainder ranged from pretty bland and unremarkable to incompetently ill-balanced and with poorly matched component flavours. The brief trip to the kitchen for the first "course" (most would call canapes) is a little gimmicky, but possibly interesting for those unfamiliar with the workings of a Michelin Star establishment. On the plus side: - The wine list is comprehensive and sensibly priced with availability to suit most pockets. - Service throughout is, from the moment of arrival, as one should expect at this level, attentive, courteous, efficient and professional. - The ambience and quality "feel" of the place are elegant and prestigious. However for those not staying overnight, having received the bill for the meal itself one is left feeling that one has paid heavily towards the excellent hotel and grounds (reviewed separately) rather than the just the meal. In summary the restaurant itself is overpriced by at least 25% and seems to have forgotten it is no longer a two star establishment.
Very creative and delicious food, beautifully prepared with utmost care.
Restaurantji Recommends
We had a fantastic meal in the Dining Room to celebrate my husband’s birthday. The front of house staff and kitchen team were friendly and attentive. We thoroughly enjoyed our kitchen experience, watching the chefs perfect the dishes and meeting the head chef was a real pleasure. Each course we had was so flavoursome and beautifully presented - like art on a plate! The Dining Room deserves its one Michelin Star and we are sure it will achieve 2 stars in the future. Thank you to everyone for making our special occasion so memorable.
One of the best restaurants I have been. Everything has been great, though the total portion is a bit too much for me (I could not help finishing all the bread haha). The scallop is my favorite dish.
I wasn’t going to make this review as I genuinely enjoyed my stay at the hotel but I thought people need to be made aware of how poor the food in the restaurant is. Restaurant aside, the hotel and its grounds are beautiful and the staff are very friendly and helpful. The rooms are large and the rates per night are agreeable for the product you get. However, what is not acceptable is the food being served in the dining room, I’m not exactly sure what Michelin were thinking as this restaurant utterly discredits the guide. I’m increasingly losing faith in the UK guide as the inspectors evidently don’t know what they’re talking about anymore. First of all the cost of the tasting menu is comical. A one Michelin starred restaurant charging three star prices is a joke and considering how bad the food being served is, this is quite frankly out of order. £175 is similar to what you’d pay at Clare Smyth, Claude Bosi or Hélène Darroze, which are some of the best restaurants in the country and closest to what you’d encounter in France. Here there’s no real luxury ingredients and the execution of the dishes are just poor and flavours badly judged. Everything was forgettable, minuscule in portion, a series of amuse bouche than meal. Someone in my party was served some kind of vegetable, which was grilled and this was the restaurant’s excuse for a vegetarian menu, as if this is what vegetarians eat. This restaurant is not vegetarian friendly whatsoever, you will be totally disregarded. The “highlight” of the meal was some awful chocolate desert served with what tasted like vinegar and a chocolate dusted twig of some kind of herb. I had to pick the herb out of my mouth as this was akin to chewing on a branch from a tree. Disgusting to say the least. The canapés in the kitchen, for me, was just utterly pretentious and try hard. Standing there watching the kitchen team hard at work while we wait to be served was just awkward. The dining room was very small and the décor was like stepping back in time to an early 2000s living room… not stylish at all and not in keeping with the rest of the hotel. Interior designer is blind or retired long ago. The staff were attentive and friendly enough, though the pace of the meal was a joke, however, yet again, this was down to the kitchen. It seemed like forever to be served tiny underwhelming dishes and towards the end of the meal I was getting quite frustrated and wanted to leave and retire back to my room. When the meal did end and we had coffee, we weren’t even served petit fours for £175… thank the lord in heaven for the bread is all I can say. On another note, when we were served breakfast the next day, the joke continued. For some reason we were given half a mushroom and half a black pudding… the tiny portions are even applied to breakfast in the morning. The vegetarian breakfast also had half a mushroom despite having less items on the plate. This for me was just downright offensive and a real lack of attention to detail. Whatley Manor is a very beautiful hotel with lovely grounds and nice staff, however its restaurant or kitchen as a whole is a serious cause for concern and really ruins the whole experience and stops the hotel from being a truly top class establishment. The restaurant is holding the hotel back and personally I think Michelin need to come back and make a review with a clear head. This review would’ve been a 1/5 if it wasn’t for the staff who actually earned their service charge for being attentive and professional. Cannot recommend this restaurant at all until something is done about the kitchen. What a shame, what a waste…
Very lovely dinner included the Cinema Club.Parking: There were plenty of spaces in their car parks
Wonderful fine dining experience.