1851 Restaurant at Peckforton Castle

The Victorian craze for building in the medieval Gothic style, in which a well-to-do gentleman's home really could become his castle, is celebrated in full bells-and-whistles style at Peckforton. The vision of a local businessman and MP, it is a sprawling pile from the battlemented walls of which one might imagine volleys of arrows being fired, were it not for the fact that it's so picture-perfect. Its relative youth is announced in the name of the main restaurant, where Mark Ellis determinedly mixes old and new in a singular, boldly imaginative style of cooking. Prepare for a welter of ingredients in starters such as terrine of potted local pheasant with caramelised pistachioed trotter, pickled shiitakes, redcurrant preserve, creamed chestnuts and baked leek, before setting about mains like the two-tiered serving of sea bass with almond and Cheshire yoghurt whip, followed by poached lobster with bourbon and vanilla noodles. Or you could have a fine steak and chips. The dessert menu teems with metaphors (sushi, ravioli), but also takes in apple tart and cider sauce. There are excellent local cheeses too.