Whatley Manor

Whatley Manor has an old English grandeur that can take your breath away, especially as you enter the majestic courtyard and see creepers working their way along the Cotswold stone walls. Opening in 2003 after a refurbishment of painstaking detail, it is now one of the foremost country-house hotels in the country. The 12 acres of grounds - meadows, woodland, gardens - reinforce the sense that this is a rather special place. Inside it is clear that money has been spent to create chic and opulent spaces, but there's nothing ostentatious about the place, with the soul of the building very much remaining intact. Le Mazot, a brasserie styled like a Swiss chalet, is one of the dining options. The main player, though, is The Dining Room - a quietly dignified room with pale wood floors and buttermilk walls hung with bright splashes of modern art. It is here that chef Martin Burge delivers his form of modern French cooking, with dishes of genuine finesse, verve and refinement. Flavours are judged to a tee and technical skills are finely tuned; take a main-course poached monkfish tail, for example, supremely tender and served with caramelised scallop, a beautifully flavoured fennel purée, haricot beans and light veal truffle jus. Goats' cheese ravioli comes as a first course with hazelnut sherbet, beetroot and Jerusalem artichoke foam, or go for roasted quail breast glazed in a sticky sweet wine, served with baby artichokes. Bitter chocolate and walnut cannelloni with poached pear and orange purée is a dessert of intelligent design, although those of a curious disposition may find it hard to resist black truffle ice cream dressed with lightly creamed Roquefort, deep fried goats' cheese and candied walnuts. Such thrillingly confident cooking deserves to be accompanied by a good drop of something, and luckily the wine list brings together modern and classic bottles from the Old and New worlds. And to cap it all off, the service is both friendly and knowledgeable, and without a trace of starched formality.