Peel’s Restaurant can be found inside Hampton Manor in Hampton in Arden. This hotel is renowned for its culinary skills, and during a recent visit we were very excited to experience it for ourselves. We decided to begin our evening in the Parlour, where we enjoyed two glasses of the British Nyetimber Rosé along with a gorgeous selection of canapés on crisp bread. This provided a fantastic beginning to our evening which left us in great anticipation of what was to come.
We were soon shown through to the restaurant, and I must say the décor is nothing short of impressive. Having been fortunate enough to have dined in some of the world’s most renowned restaurants I can honestly say the design and finish to this dining room are truly unique, and Hampton Manor has managed to create a very memorable setting in which to enjoy your meal. We must point out that the walls are hung with hand-painted wallpaper, which is quite exquisite.
Naturally we opted to go for their seven course tasting menu with wine pairing, which has been created by Head Chef Rob Palmer, who started working at Hampton Manor just over 8 years ago. Each wine throughout the evening had its own story, which had been perfectly paired with each course.
For our first course, we enjoyed fresh beetroot served with Bosworth Ash goat’s cheese, complete with a rye crumb. The combination of beetroot and goats cheese always makes for a taste sensation, and this certainly didn’t disappoint. This course was paired with a glass of Ancre Hill Chardonnay, Monmouth, Wales 2015 which provided discreet vanilla and grapefruit notes
Moving onto our next course, we were served salmon which was served with a wonderful marriage of cucumber, dill and crème fraîche. The salmon was just beautiful and its taste was accentuated by the delicate cucumber and dill. This course was served with a glass of Gruner Veltliner, Ried Steinsetz, Schloss, Gobelsburgh, Austria, 2015 which was an impressively full-bodied wine with some citrus pepperiness.
“Our entire evening from start to finish was impeccable.”
Up next we were served duck liver parfait which was presented with walnut and mushrooms. This dish was very rich and tasted divine the presentation was picture perfect, this was paired with a glass of Ramoro, Pinot Grigio, Lunaria, Terre di Chieti, Italy, 2016 which offered a pinkish hue in the glass. This wine saw citrus and peach and was most enjoyable.
Our next course was in the form of smoked eel with Kohlrabi and samphire. This dish was actually one of our surprising highlights of the evening; it was wonderfully fresh and simply delicious. It came paired with a glass of Kisi Amber, Vita Vinea, Telavi, Georgia, 2014 which is an amber orange wine with an interesting marriage of flavours which worked very well with the smoked eel.
For our fifth course, we were served duck with red cabbage, salted apple and Colston Bassett. This was a dish full of bold flavours that were complimented perfectly by a glass of Evolution Red, 5th Edition, Sokol Blosser, Oregon, USA with aromas of cherry and red plum.
The sixth course saw a pre-dessert dish that consisted of parsnip, whisky, raisin and brown butter. It was an interesting combination as it’s not often that you’re presented with parsnip in a sweeter dish, although it tastes absolutely heavenly. This came paired with a Tokaji, Aszu 6 Puttonyos, Dobogo, Tokaji, Hungary, 2008 that was deep yellow in colour, full of dried fruit flavour, with a long, sweet finish.
Our final course was a beautiful creation of textures of chocolate complete with vanilla and sherry. I cannot begin to describe just how good this dessert was; it was faultless. We were also served our final wine pairing which was a glass of Banyuls, Coume del Mar, Banyuls, France NV.
Our entire evening from start to finish was impeccable. Peel’s Restaurant comes highly recommended by us as a foodie destination of choice.
The Bill: £155 per head
