Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel

Hanbury Manor is a full dress Jacobean stately home in 200 acres of Hertfordshire with delightful walled gardens and more oak panelling than you would think possible. The formal fine-dining restaurant goes by the name of Zodiac, courtesy of the signs picked out in gold leaf on the vaulted ceiling. It is an imposing setting of leaded windows, white-painted panelled walls hung with oil paintings and tables that are as well dressed as the diners. Brilliant staff are friendly, attentive and clued-up as they serve up inventive, well-balanced modern dishes. Seared scallops are teamed with cauliflower purée, fried quail's egg and pancetta vinaigrette to start, then well-timed turbot arrives with a buttery clam fondue and red mullet soup. Dessert ends on a high note with poached rhubarb in a custard flan with cinnamon foam and rhubarb sorbet.