What: The relaunch of Berkshire nation home lodge Coworth Park’s flagship restaurant. Beforehand Restaurant Coworth Park, the Michelin-starred house has been utterly overhauled, with the title Woven chosen to mirror the restaurant’s ‘natural, multi-layered strategy’ to top-end eating.
Who: Coworth Park govt chef Adam Smith. The Ritz alumnus and Roux Scholarship winner has been on the lodge since 2016, attracting a star for its flagship a yr or so after taking the reins (he oversees the entire of the lodge’s F&B operation, which additionally consists of The Barn and The Drawing Room). Along with his title now above the door, Woven is an enormous deal for Smith. It’s not typically lodge house owners spend massive bucks relaunching a restaurant with out altering the chef however that’s precisely what Dorchester Assortment has opted to do at Coworth Park.
The vibe: A brand new paint job and a change of signal this isn’t. Money has definitely been splashed, with Martin Hulbert – a part of Coworth Park’s authentic design workforce – introduced in to present the house a extra modern and naturalistic look. General it’s a intelligent little bit of design that provides the restaurant its personal identification – the earlier house blended in with the lodge considerably – with out dropping sync with Coworth Park’s wider providing. The house feels extra textured and relaxed however nonetheless luxe sufficient to be a Dorchester Assortment manufacturing with design particulars together with a recent mild set up that mimics a woodland cover created from parachute strings, shows of seasonal produce and a 12-cover PDR that brings to thoughts a really upmarket potting shed.
The meals: Woven presents a 3 course menu that’s bookended by a number of savoury snacks and candy ‘Treats’. The strategy – basically a center floor between a tasting menu and a la carte – works nicely (the primary distinction between the £80 lunch menu and the dinner £130 dinner menu is the variety of additional snacks and sweets). Smith’s cooking type stays rooted within the classical – he spent practically a decade beneath John Williams at The Ritz – however the chef has expanded his culinary horizons to create a extra eclectic eating expertise. This variation of course is most evident within the snacks, with quite a lot of the dishes having a powerful Asian affect together with cured seabass with XO sauce with kalamansi and seaweed; and seared A5 wagyu expertly packed right into a mini summer season roll. The three gadgets chosen by the visitor are extra traditional however to not the extent it jarrs, with choices together with a neat terrine of rooster served with a wealthy rooster and artichoke soup; and a decadent however fantastically completed fundamental of turbot with lobster, salsify and truffle.
To drink: Woven by Adam Smith has two gorgeous floor-to-ceiling walk-in wine rooms that friends are invited to peruse (we had been even allowed up the ladder that grants entry to the upper rungs). The wine pairing (£65 at lunch and £80 at dinner) largely sticks to the classics, however there’s a deal with each glowing and nonetheless English wine.
And one other factor: Coworth Park is a rustic home lodge that has one thing for everybody (these that may afford it, at the very least) with its mix of equestrian pursuits – it’s the solely lodge within the UK with its personal polo floor – and extra standard 5 star actions like spa visits and afternoon teas. A lodge that attracts from many various components of the luxurious wants broad enchantment in terms of F&B and – with that in thoughts – Smith has completed a high-quality job of updating Coworth Park’s high-quality eating restaurant in a fashion that received’t frighten the horses.