The Camellia, Sussex Review

The Camellia Restaurant sits inside the five-star South Lodge Hotel near Horsham, West Sussex. It’s a semi-formal affair with fine linens, great décor and superb service. It shares the hotel with The Pass, another restaurant that has just won its first Michelin Star.

Before being shown through to our table, we had a pre-dinner drink in the lounge. We chose the locally brewed organic blonde lager from Horsham and a Chilean Merlot wine to accompany the meal, both excellent choices.

The menu offered an extensive choice of tempting dishes using local ingredients. After making our selections from the dinner menu, we were escorted through to the beautifully decorated restaurant.

The dining room is large and high ceilinged with huge windows. The floral wallpaper, rich fabrics and classic furniture set the scene in a light and relaxed way. The white linen was crisp, the cutlery shone and everything was set for a nice, relaxed dinner.

“The Camellia Restaurant at the South Lodge Hotel offered an extensive choice of tempting dishes using local ingredients.”

We began with vegetable consommé, and asparagus with a hen’s egg and Hollandaise sauce. The consommé was very light, but tasty. Asparagus is in season, so was the ideal choice to begin. It was crisp, fresh and a great first course. The Hollandaise was light and full of flavour.

Our main course was mushroom tart, served with morels, with a side dish of broccoli and an 8oz fillet steak with field mushroom, vine tomato and red wine sauce. We also ordered a side dish of South Lodge chips.

The mushroom tart was fresh, earthy and delicious. The morels were perfectly cooked and the broccoli was ever so slightly al dente, perfect. The steak was rich, juicy and decadent, while the red wine sauce added a richness to the dish. The South Lodge chips were excellent.

For dessert, we had apple and rhubarb shortbread and crème caramel with baklava and pistachio ice cream. Both of these were delicious!

After dinner, we couldn’t resist taking a look at the hotel’s beautifully restored wine cellar, where there is a vast display of wines which can be sampled by the glass at the tasting table.

The service was very professional and friendly. Each course was artistically presented and made from locally sourced food. We will gladly return here as soon as possible.