Manor House Country Hotel

Although the estate dates back centuries, the present house on the shore of Lower Lough Erne was built in 1860, by the scion of a military family who brought a team of workers over from Italy to do up the place as the last word in Victorian elegance. It's a majestically proportioned house, but any sense of intimidation is soon banished by the warmly welcoming tone of the front-of-house staff. The flagship Belleek dining room is a many-windowed room with gaily striped upholstery, plank floors and huge, eye-catching chandeliers, and provides a suitably relaxing space for Cedric Bottarlina's highly polished contemporary Irish cooking. Start with a stunning bowl of dillisk (red sea-leaf) consommé in which reposes a trio of agnolotti parcels stuffed with sea-fresh crabmeat, gently pointed with chilli. The show-stopping main course in autumn may well be an assemblage of game, encompassing Finnebrogue venison with a dab of blackberry and hazelnut dressing, a pinkly tender breast of pigeon on a bed of crunchy wild rice, and a potently gamey stew of wild boar with a celeriac cake, all accompanied by a filo parcel of steamed roots. The labour-intensiveness of it all pays dividends in terms of the flavour impact and textural thrills of each dish.