The Pass Restaurant at South Lodge Hotel

It says a lot about restaurant fashion in the 21st century that the most coveted table in the house might be in the kitchen. South Lodge Hotel has a perfectly standard panelled country-house dining-room, the Camellia (see separate entry), but if your soul chafes under a burdensome surfeit of country-house comfort, head it off at The Pass. Here is where the main action is, quite literally. A row of raised tables and swivel chairs overlooking the kitchens, with plasma screens set in the walls relaying a live feed of the chefs at their chopping and searing, offers the up-close-and-personal touch of realism. If you're expecting a sizzling cauldron of frayed temper, though, think again. Matt Gillan's team don't forget they're in polite company, and the prospect is one of serene creativity, as detailed on the fixed-price menus, which are teeming with excitement. Dinner might start with a vivid pasta dish of beetroot cannelloni garnished with orange and a wonderful horseradish sorbet, prior to chicken leg confit with baby artichokes and chick peas in lemon oil. Fish is handled with care, as when a piece of salmon is rare throughout, accompanied by a salmon version of brandade and a clever contrast of poached peach, and succulent pinkness also distinguishes a serving of duck breast with chervil root, purple carrots and chestnuts. A pre-dessert of pannacotta with soy sauce and popcorn has become something of a signature, while an understanding of the full flavour range of chocolate is on show in a white chocolate mousse with bitter dark chocolate sorbet, sprinkled with blackberries and passionfruit oil. If finances allow, surrender to the whole experience by taking the recommended wine flight, itself a voyage of discovery that may guide you from an improbably stunning Soave to a fortified Rivesaltes Ambré with the chocolate.