Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House

The present Danesfield House was rebuilt at the end of the Victorian era by Robert Hudson, heir to the Sunlight soap fortune. Faced with squeaky-clean local rock-chalk and gazing out imperiously over the Thames, it's an impressive sight. These days, it manages to be the kind of hotel that's as commodious for business weekends as it is for couples on getaways, being within easy reach of the airports and motorways of the southeast. Spa treatments and helicopter tours are all part of the package, and at the centre of it all is a dining room named after its chef. And what a chef. Adam Simmonds is among Britain's most talented practitioners of contemporary cooking, bringing astonishing levels of technical skill to outstandingly creative dishes that can be challenging, deeply satisfying and fun all at the same time. Today's culinary techniques are enthusiastically marshalled, so expect plenty in the way of foam and jelly garnishes, but there is purpose and point to it all, and every mouthful has been carefully thought about. Flavours and textures work intricately together in dishes such as sliced chicken boudin with Cornish crab salad, sweetcorn purée, oat crunch and malt foam, or red-roasted pigeon breast with puréed mango and coffee, the last two elements forming a bitter-sweet axis that re-orientates the dish entirely. At main course, fish is quite as inventively handled as meat, so poached turbot comes with lemon verbena pannacotta, asparagus, girolles and peanuts. Virtually no dish comes without a purée, and a loose-textured carrot version is the chosen partner for slow-cooked lamb with its sweetbreads and cumin-scented potato croquettes. Classic presentation of a tonka bean soufflé in a copper pan, with a scoop of coffee ice cream dropped into it at the table, is one way to finish, or you might light out for the more avant-garde territory of coconut and mango rice pudding with olive caramel. The fine cheeses come with apple and celery sorbets. Choose your style, and the world's your oyster on the extensive and classy wine list.