The country house hotel
Lucky Harome, not only do they have one stellar restaurant in the beamed and thatched Star Inn, at one end of the village, but they have the Pheasant Hotel, a cosseting hotel of 16 bedrooms and high-end dining, at the other. It’s been under new ownership since 2022, taken over by owners of Rockliffe Hall in County Durham and happily the transition has been seamless.
The interior is best described as soothing, not just the soft lights, the candles and the log fires but also the burnished silver, polished oak and acres of sofas and plumped-up cushions.
The lounge leads onto a vine-laden terrace overlooking the village duck pond, a delight for summer lunches and afternoon tea - add a glass of English sparkling wine for the real deal.
In winter the dark and snug bar comes into its own, with tartan throws and winged chairs – it has hints of a Scottish hunting lodge crossed with a gentleman’s club. Pick up a magazine, read a book and sooner or later someone will thrust a drink into your hand and offer you a menu.
British with a contemporary touch is the Pheasant’s dining style, served in the elegant dining room or the conservatory with ingredients from Yorkshire’s bountiful larder. Smoked haddock fish cake with poached egg and bearnaise sauce, chalk stream marinated trout with celeriac panna cotta and to follow, game from the moors, halibut. Skrei cod and a couple of plant-based dishes.
They offer a multi-course tasting menu, a good value Sunday lunch and a comprehensive wine list. It’s hard to think of more elegant dining in a more cosseting setting.