The Buxted Park Hotel is a country house hotel in the heart of East Sussex, not far from Brighton. It’s a four-star hotel with its own restaurant called The Dining Room.
The hotel itself is a luxury retreat, set in acres of private land, lakes, woods and everything our green and pleasant land has to offer. The building is large, but airy and relaxed. The décor is light traditional that does a good job of conveying the history without being overbearing.
The Dining Room is one of two eateries in the hotel and the one that offers fine dining. The dining room is compact but not squashed. There is plenty of room to manoeuvre and have conversations in private. The service is efficient and all the dishes were served promptly.
“The Dining Room at Buxted Park is small but perfectly formed.”
We had the tasting menu, called the Degustation Menu. It’s a seven course affair that can be taken with Sommelier selected wines, or without. We elected to sample the wine as well as the food and both were exceptional.
The menu consisted of:
• Pea and crème fraiche soup served with a 2010 Domaine Cheval blanc-signee
Tasting of duck with wild mushrooms and tomato dressing with a 2009 Vivanco Rioja
• Pan-seared scallops with crisp apple and chorizo salad with a 2011 Pinot Grigio
• Elderflower and lime sorbet
• Beef fillet with vegetable served with a 2009 Chateau St. Louis Languedoc
• British cheese board with a 2009 Fonseca
• Assiette of chocolate and raspberry dessert with a 2010 Muscat De Beaunes De Venise
Each course was small but perfectly formed, just as a tasting menu should be. The ingredients were fresh, tasty and complemented each other well. The presentation was exceptional, it was almost a shame to eat them.
However, we were glad we did as they tasted even better than they looked. The meat was soft, juicy, the scallops cooked perfectly and each vegetable and accompaniment was excellent. The wine choices were of an equally high quality. Each had a distinct character that complemented each course perfectly.
The Dining Room at Buxted Park is a great place to dine. The food is great, the service efficient and the wine a delight. We would come back here again any day.