The Vineyard

There's no vineyard at the Vineyard, although the five-star hotel is in itself a celebration of the world of wine and gastronomy. Named in honour of owner Sir Peter Michael's world-class Californian winery, the operation is luxurious to the n-th degree, offering the full-works spa and business conferencing package, plus putting on swanky weddings. But even if none of the above is on your agenda, chef Daniel Galmiche's contemporary French cooking should have you hot-footing it to the classy contemporary restaurant, where a sweeping staircase with a balustrade fashioned as if it were a coiling grapevine connects the two levels; it is a thoroughly refined space of mellow tones splashed with eye-catching art, and well-spaced tables turned out in their best whites, tended by an unstuffy front-of-house team who make sure everything ticks over just as it should. Galmiche's French pedigree naturally underpins the output, delivering electrifying marriages of Mediterranean and Asian-accented flavour and texture without recourse to gimmickry. An elegant terrine of rabbit and parsley opens proceedings in the company of onion marmalade and white bean salad. Next up, pan-roasted monkfish wrapped in pancetta avoids the all-too-common pitfall of oversaltiness, and is perfectly matched by braised fennel, carrot and clementine purée, and citrus jus - nothing flashy, just mature restraint at work. For dessert, blackberry parfait shares a plate with Earl Grey rice pudding, and sesame and nougatine biscuit. Wine-wise, you'd need a lifetime and a lottery win to take the epic list to its outer reaches - the statistics say it all: in the cellar are 30,000 bottles, priced from £20 to £20,000, of which 100 or so are available by the glass.