Gravetye Manor Hotel

“Wonderful historic setting for equally wonderful modern food” - AA Inspector
WEST HOATHLY, WEST SUSSEX


Our Inspector's view
Built in the 1590s, Gravetye Manor set in acres of grounds, with some of England’s most important historic gardens surrounding the sumptuous Tudor country house hotel with all the period details you could wish for, from the mullioned windows to the plasterwork ceilings and panelled walls. The stunning dining room is rather more modern, with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the beautiful gardens and create a wonderful setting for the dynamic, contemporary British cooking that makes the most of the produce from the huge kitchen gardens. The daily-changing set menus (three course lunch, four course dinner) are seasonal, and dishes are pretty as a picture, as well as offering exceptional levels of skill and depths of flavour. Dishes are complex without being fussy or convoluted, be assured this is some of the best food in the country. Begin with a luscious mousse of Dorset crab with apple and coriander, or an immaculately seared hand-dived scallop with delicate, crisp-skinned chicken wing and an intense cauliflower purée. Ryeland hogget with spring greens, onion and wild leek is a fabulous main, the loin pink and tender, the shoulder rich and gamey, the whole dish offering clear, deep flavours and great balance. Pre-dessert might be sesame crisp with intensely lemony sorbet, light and cleansing, with a great nutty crunch in cracker and little bits of brittle. A top class forced rhubarb soufflé, risen to perfection, is light as air and beautifully pink, and comes with deeply flavoured stem ginger ice cream. As you might expect, everything from bread – maybe black malted barley or seeded onion – to deliciously flavoured butters – chive and lemon, or tomato and paprika – and canapés like a melt-in-the-mouth truffle and Sussex Charmer cheese gougère or a beetroot and citrus gel tart – is exceptional, demonstrating the same high levels of skill and creativity.
Facilities – at a glance
Credit cards accepted
Private dining
Service charge
Tasting menu
Vegetarian menu
Features
- Seats: 60
- Private dining available
- On-site parking available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accessible toilets
- Assist dogs welcome
- Open all year
- Wines under £30: 5
- Wines over £30: 400
- Wines by the glass: 20
- Cuisine style: Modern British
- Vegetarian menu
Also in the area
About the area
Discover West Sussex
Divided from East Sussex back in 1888, West Sussex is so typically English that to walk through its landscape will feel like a walk through the whole country. Within its boundaries lies a wide variety of landscape and coastal scenery, but it is the spacious and open South Downs with which the county is most closely associated.
In terms of walking, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Studying the map reveals a multitude of routes – many of them to be found within the boundaries of the South Downs National Park – and an assortment of scenic long-distance trails leading towards distant horizons; all of them offer a perfect way to get to the heart of ‘Sussex by the sea,’ as it has long been known. If you enjoy cycling with the salty tang of the sea for company, try the ride between Chichester and West Wittering. You can vary the return journey by taking the Itchenor ferry to Bosham.
West Sussex is renowned for its many pretty towns, of course. Notably, there is Arundel, littered with period buildings and dominated by the castle, the family home of the Duke of Norfolk, that dates back nearly 1,000 years.
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