fine dining in England 2021, 2022 and 2023

We love a bit of fine dining – the attention to detail that you find is second to none and almost always leads to a great experience. I would really like to explore more fine dining overseas (we have in Thailand and it was remarkable) – this will hopefully come in time. There are a myriad of options for fine dining in England and exploring some of them is a good excuse for a weekend in a different place every so often.

Gill is more the list person than me but I do get very excited when a new Restaurant of the Year list is released. The 2024 release of the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 was a nice prompt to take a look back over some of the amazing meals in the brilliant restaurants that we’ve enjoyed over the past few years – here are some of my brief thoughts on them.

November 2021 – Muse by Tom Aikens, Belgravia

our first ever taster menu
The taster menu here felt like a journey through the chef’s life – every dish was brilliantly put together and told his story. Tom’s version of KFC chicken was such a clever dish! We sat at the chefs’ counter so were able to see the workings of the kitchen from up close.
Watching the action in the kitchen was fascinating; it was like art was being assembled on the plates in front of our eyes. Everyone played their part, and knew it perfectly, which resulted in beautifully formed, identical dishes being painstakingly crafted. We had all the extras on offer and felt very giddy after completing our first wine pairing!

November 2022 – Rogan and Co, Cartmel

a fine dining experience with Amy
Great food and great service. We really enjoyed eating here. This was an a la carte menu rather than a taster menu, so we mixed and matched in order to try as much as possible between us. The extras were a nice touch – the snacks before the meal set the tone for how good the food would be and the pre desert worked perfectly.

March 2023 – Lazy Lobster, Chew Magna

when passing through
I’d eat here again in a heartbeat! This ended up a bit like tapas because we ordered as close to one of everything as possible. Each dish was tasty, fresh and full of flavour. The service was amazing and all of the seafood was great. It was a relaxed setting, with a fun vibe and we spoke for ages with the owner, who wondered if we were restaurant inspectors (which maybe should have been a prompt to get on a diet!)

April 2023 – etch by Steven Edwards, Brighton

the best way to tick off a fancy meal with a mate
Thinking about our meal here makes me smile. It was fab from start to finish, and the service was friendly and personable. The 9 course taster menu was brilliant and we actually met Steven who is there a lot of the time. He signed a menu for us (our first signed menu) which Gill now won’t let out of her sight. Dippy Egg’ is etched (sorry!) in my memory as one of the best dishes I have ever had.

May 2023 – Seasonality, Maidenhead

creative, fresh and personal
The food here was great, as was the service. We visited with a friend of Gill’s who’s a vegan and despite there not being a vegan menu, they spoke ahead of the meal and prepared suitable dishes for her especially. A lot of the food is cooked in an island in the dining area which was good to watch.

August 2023 – The Angel at Hetton, outside Skipton

Gill’s dad’s first taster menu experience
Everything about our time here was exceptional – the food and the service was amongst the best that we have experienced. During covid they introduced wine cards to reduce the amount of time spent talking around the table, and they have upheld this excellent idea. Gill’s dad enjoyed reading out the information on the cards and we were able to take them home with us too. One of the stand out dishes here was the bread course – it was so nicely done!

September 2023 – The Cross, Kenilworth

a fancy weekday lunch
A really smart taster menu for lunch – the crab bisque was such a good dish that I have tried to recreate it a couple of times at home. I wasn’t blown away by the service, but the food made up for it. The setting was very nice. The Cross is in a converted village inn, and the décor (as well as beer garden) were beautifully presented.

September 2023 – The Fat Duck, Bray

the experience
This was indeed an experience – one of the top restaurants in the world and an all-round ‘foodie’ stalwart! I’d wanted to eat here since seeing Heston on TV experimenting with food in the late 90’s and it lived up to the anticipation. The food was good, but the experience overall was phenomenal!

We have tried not to share too much about the Fat Duck in order not to ruin any surprises, but it’s safe to say that all of your senses are used during the course of the evening. One thing that we’d definitely recommend is the optional wine cellar experience. For this you go upstairs (I know – it’s a fully enclosed, climate controlled ‘cellar’) to sample a glass of wine each. The aim is to show you how the taste is affected by light and by noise so these are modified and you try it again…we found it definitely did make a difference.

October 2023 – The Hand and Flowers, Marlow

the one with the hangover
Brilliant food and great service. Despite having 2 Michelin stars it was unpretentious and felt like dining in your traditional local pub (with better food!). We felt instantly at home from the moment we were sat down. We had an excellent 3 course meal, with a pre-starter snack; really nice, rich, flavoursome food for a very different twist on a Sunday roast. The banana soufflé was one of the best deserts I’ve ever had. The portions are HUGE so don’t have a big breakfast before you go (or turn up hanging!).

November 2023 – Moor Hall, Aughton

simply put…WOW
This felt, and still feels like the pinnacle of fine dining. The evening started in the lounge for an aperitif and snacks, with the final snack being served in the kitchen by Mark, the chef patron. Once seated every dish was meticulously presented, both on the plate and by the knowledgeable and friendly staff. The food was stunning and the overall experience makes it easy to understand why Moor Hall has been consistently rated so highly in various ‘Restaurant of the Year’ awards.

For the first time we were able to split the wine pairing. Gill and Amy were happy with the standard wine pairing and I had the premium one. This worked very well and has been repeated since, giving us the best of both worlds when we (sometimes reluctantly) are able to share. Some restaurants aren’t initially keen on the idea but quickly become more understanding when we explain that ‘it was absolutely fine at Moor Hall’!

December 2023 – Purnells, Birmingham

Gill would eat here mid-week, every week
We really enjoyed eating here. The food was super cool, with a trendy atmosphere and the service was relaxed and friendly. One of the snacks was a savoury meringue dyed black with squid ink to make it look like a lump of charcoal…very different! Every course was brilliantly presented and the overall quality of the food was great.

Once we had started with fine dining I found the idea of stopping really hard! We really pushed the boat out in 2024 – read all about it here.