The Hampton Manor
Shadowbrook Lane
Hampton-in-Arden
Solihull
B92 0EN
http://www.hamptonmanor.eu/
I love discovering new places especially when they are literally on your own doorstep leaving you wondering how you never knew about them before! I had such an experience last Sunday when I visited the new Hampton Manor Hotel in Hampton-in-Arden.
Once the estate of Sir Fredrick Peel, the house was originally designed to host political, commercial and social meetings that a man of such standing would have been expected to hold, so as you can imagine it’s quite an impressive building. Until recently the estate was used as a care home for people with learning difficulties until it was bought by hoteliers Derrick and Janet Hill who have successfully converted the manor into a luxury hotel and conference centre.
The restaurant is currently only open for Sunday Lunch prior to the official launch of the hotel, a clever idea as it gives the kitchen a chance to iron out any potential issues before they fully open and also allows the waiting staff a good opportunity to perfect their service.
Sunday Lunch is a tour de force of five courses for £29.95 a head. A weekly changing menu features locally sourced seasonal produce and features a choice of starters, mains and desserts.
On our arrival we were shown to the bar to have a pre-lunch drink as we considered the menu. The house has been lovingly renovated with a few modern touches in the furnishings. Our order was taken whilst we had our drinks and we were shown to our table in a nice, leisurely fashion when our food was ready. The meal began with an amuse bouche of vine tomato soup with freshly baked bread, a delicious gutsy start to the meal that would have been welcomed as a full starter in its own right. This was followed by starters of sweet melon with passion fruit sorbet and a smoked mackerel and crab parfait, both of which were interesting and rather unusual but none the less tasty. The sorbet was a rather new way to begin a meal while the fish parfait was more of a terrine.
For mains we had roast pork with crackling, roast potatoes, apple puree and sage, and roasted vegetable with polenta and a fresh pepper sauce. My companion thoroughly enjoyed the pork, however is a fan of more chunky apple sauce. My vegetarian main was packed with flavour and very satisfying.
Between dessert and mains we were served a vanilla panna cotta with rhubarb compote which was rather rich and creamy. The rhubarb cut through the cream nicely but there wasn’t enough in comparison to the panna cotta.
We both opted for crème brulée for dessert which was, for what is essentially baked eggs, very, very good!
Overall the lunch was a real treat and the service was impeccable. The team at the manor is well on their way to opening with a finely polished product when they launch the full Hotel.
Alternatives:
Mint – Sutton Coldfield http://www.mint-restaurant.com/
Pascals – Edgbaston www.pascalsrestaurant.co.uk
