Clare House

Dating from the late 19th century, Clare House is in well-tended gardens with magnificent views over Morecambe Bay. The Victorian elegance of the restaurant has been enhanced with rich contemporary wallpaper, wall and picture lights, a mixture of polished mahogany and clothed tables and fresh flowers, creating a warm, relaxed atmosphere. This is the setting for traditional country-house cooking with modern and continental flourishes. The daily-changing dinner menu might open with crisp belly pork with baked beans, or hot-smoked salmon with beetroot, potatoes and a soft-boiled egg. A soup - perhaps tomato - invariably precedes the main event: roast brisket slowly braised with root vegetables in a rich beer-based gravy, or roast sea bream with Puy lentils, mash and a mushroom reduction. Puddings tend to run along the well-established lines of Eton mess and tarte Tatin.