Dining at the Garden Restaurant is both enjoyable and surprising, in equal measures. When I visited on a busy Friday evening with my husband and two young children, I was delighted to discover that we weren’t relegated to a ‘child-friendly’ section of the dining area – you know, the furthest corner of that upmarket restaurant, where you’ll be less likely to annoy other guests with the inevitable chaos that ensues from dining with toddlers in tow. Especially noisy ones like mine. The Garden Restaurant, however, seemed entirely non-plussed, and seated us dead centre in the middle of the restaurant, and right on top of a (probably very expensive) woven rug. A great sign that they cater well for children, but I don’t envy their cleaning bills much!
The design and decor of the restaurant lends itself to fine dining, and the menu prompts you in that direction as well; you won’t find pies and deep fried chicken for dinner here. What you do get comes as a bit of a surprise, but a very pleasant one at that. Fine dining, without the fine portion sizes.
The children’s meals arrived first, which is always helpful for parents and very much appreciated, but forget the run-of-the-mill ‘bangers and mash’, because the Garden Restaurant doesn’t do things that way. The sausage and mashed potatoes that landed in front of my 4 year old could have fed an army of 4 year olds…for a year. The gravy, which tasted fantastic, was real onion gravy – but it had two downsides; firstly, my husband kept eating it, secondly, my 4 year old picked the onions out. Still, the majority he consumed a fair amount, and for a fussy child, that’s a pretty good result. My 3 year old had a pasta dish that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an authentic Italian trattoria, and again, portion control was more than adequate.
We tried the chicken liver pate and the melon starters, before moving on to a gammon steak and a duck breast with orange mains. Everything was cooked well, and a favourite sign of mine that a chef knows how to cook, is ordering duck and getting it with perfectly rendered skin. I don’t do flabby duck breast – trust me! The meal was relaxing (or as relaxing as it can be with two under-5′s causing mayhem), so we eventually settled for coffee and dessert in the private gardens outside, which was a delightful way to end the meal.
It’s clear that the restaurant of the Stone House Hotel is a firm favourite with locals. It’s location, which is right off the main road, is still isolated enough to give you a feeling of solitude and privacy but there’s a very welcoming and homely feel that is an obvious attraction. The terrace and garden area is well used, and I suspect that the long warm summer evenings make this the perfect spot for a lazy summer lunch or an after-work drink.
Check out our review of the accommodation at the Stone House Hotel, part of the Oxford Hotels and Inns group, by clicking here.
