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EGERTON GREY, PORTHKERRY
Elegance and luxury in the country
Step into the Egerton Grey Country House Hotel and you step into a gentler way of life - and one you don’t want to leave in a hurry.
Egerton Grey has rightly gained a reputation as a distinguished country house hotel and has received many well deserved accolades for its interiors, restaurant and service. The moment you step through the door, a peace descends as you are transported into a world of charm, sophistication and elegance. All this in an atmosphere that is so comfortable and welcoming that you are surprised at the ease and speed with which you have been able to completely relax. The superbly warm welcome by the owners and staff only adds to this feeling and it’s not long before you start to imagine that the hotel is your house and that you’ve always lived like this – surrounded by excellent taste and a wealth of fine antiques.
Having visited the hotel previously, we were delighted to return to review the restaurant and we knew that we had a treat in store. This is the closest you come to a Michelin starred restaurant without the star – although the restaurant is no shrinking violet – the cuisine has invited a number of accolades including an AA Rosette.
The restaurant is situated within the former billiard room of the house and has a superb period sky light which adds to the grandeur of the room – it is surprising therefore to find that your surroundings are also intimate and comfortable. The menu is both sophisticated yet simple – the descriptions tell you exactly what you need to know and make choosing dinner over a glass of champagne a real treat. Do ensure that you do this in the drawing room and linger over the excellent and extensive wine list.
After much contemplation we decided to start with the Chicken Liver Parfait, Toasted Brioche and Red Onion Marmalade and the Pan Seared Scallops, King Prawns with Garlic and Herb Butter. The Chicken Liver Parfait was superb with a wonderfully silky texture. The scallops were full of beautifully complex flavours with a surprisingly sweet but delicate sauce and king prawns which were satisfyingly firm and full of taste.
For our main course we choose the Noisettes of Wye Valley Lamb with Homemade Faggot, Garlic, Mashed Potato and Rosemary Jus and the Pan Seared Medallions of Pork Tenderloin, Apple, Celery and Stilton Tian and Grain Mustard Cream. The Noisettes of Lamb were cooked to perfection with the pièce de résistance of this dish being the homemade faggot - a hearty dish made elegant and a real success.
The pork tenderloin, again, was excellent. The meat was incredibly tender and full of flavour and contrasted well with the crunch of the apple. The stilton flavour came through well but was delicate enough that you questioned the flavour seconds before the answer came to you.
Excellent side dishes of vegetables accompanied the main course, some of which were grown in Egerton Grey’s own gardens – a thoughtful and intriguing seasonal mix. We chose a very good Pouilly Fuisse from the wine list to accompany our meal.
Desserts were almost impossible to choose, as the menu offered such a range, but we decided on a White Chocolate and Baileys Cheesecake, which was as good as it sounds, and the Assiette of Chef’s Desserts which included a wonderful mix of miniature puds, including the cheesecake (to die for), a wonderfully light sticky toffee pudding with rum, and raisin ice-cream and a dark chocolate torte accompanied by an excellent sweet white wine.
We enjoyed our coffee and cognacs in the Edwardian Drawing Room, sinking into the squashy sofas and wondering why we didn’t book in for the night! We decided to leave the car at the hotel and the restaurant manager booked us a cab back to Penarth. What a superb reason to come back again the next day and bring some friends – we all booked in for afternoon tea, preceded by a stroll around the gardens with our children. The tea was an elegant mix of sandwiches, delicate cakes, including local specialities and tea and coffee served, as it should be, in stylish china and silver ware – and not forgetting, of course, the bucks fizz to get into the mood. This is the life…
Mark and Tamsin Carey-Lang
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