le manoir?

[v8 westy]

mrs v has booked us a table for lunch at le manoir, raymond blancs gaff, is it any good?
its an anniversary treat so she is paying i am far too tight to pay £50 each for lunch
£100 usually feeds us both for a month

[bigandclever]

It's very nice indeed. Go for the suckling pig

Have you taken a look at the lunch menu? http://www.manoir.com/web/olem/olem_menu_dujour.js...

A few years ago we we were given a quick tour of the garden too. Not sure if that's a regular thing though.

[john_r]

Very very nice... great surroundings and stunning food!

I used to take American clients there when they were here on business and they would talk about it for years afterwards!

[trampagne]

Very nice spot, I'd fully recommend coffee and petit fours afterwards in the lounge followed by a stroll in the garden to look at the exotica and possibly helicopter parked outside.

[Make me a coffee]

My mate was a chef there a long time ago.

He said that he most certainly thought it didn't represent value from what else was available.

It's a fantastic sensory experience, just make sure you have enough change to get fish and chips afterwards. You're meant to come out hungry!

[LBird]

It's very, very good....

[v8 westy]

is there a dress code? i am probably a bit of a scruffy oik, i usually wear jeans and boots, the only smart clothes i own is my funeral suit

[Plotloss]

v8 westy said:

is there a dress code? i am probably a bit of a scruffy oik, i usually wear jeans and boots, the only smart clothes i own is my funeral suit

Do you have nothing in between?

Its one of the best restaurants in the UK, I'd suggest Jeans and Boots would be a little lacking in sartorial elegance.

[mitzy]

Cant you stay there too ??

[Fallon]

I went there last summer and loved it. The food is superb - okay, so the portions aren't hearty, but as someone else said, it's definitely a "sensory experience"!

And it's great to get poshed up and trip off to a lovely restaurant to celebrate a special occasion - buy a new outfit and enjoy yourself! (and don't show your very generous lady up by looking like an "oik"!).

[Plotloss]

mitzy said:

Cant you stay there too ??

Yes, its a hotel.

[Firefox72]

Took the wife there for her birthday dinner. Fantastic setting with great garden that you can view. I don't know about value for money but as an experience it absolutely blew me away at how food can be (I'm normally a steak and chips guy). We had the sampler menu which comprised of 10 courses of the house specialities. It was superb and I was stuffed even though the individual courses were quite small portions.

IMHO go and enjoy it as an experience. Even if you never do it again.

PS Dress code is smart casual and there website has all the info you need about how to get there and what the menus are.

Hope that helps

[AstonZagato]

Plotloss said:

mitzy said:

Cant you stay there too ??

Yes, its a hotel.

Ferociously expensive but very, very good. I took a suite there last time and it was extremely attractive and comfortable. The service is very attentive but never seems to stray into the intrusive or obsequious.

Afternoon tea on the terrace in the spring sunshine. A sunset stroll in the beautiful gardens before dinner. Some fine food washed down with over-priced '85 premier cru claret. Yes, Mrs AZ liked it. A lot.

It is best not to look at the bill but just hand over the credit card - otherwise it spoils the enjoyment.

[v8 westy]

Plotloss said:

v8 westy said:

is there a dress code? i am probably a bit of a scruffy oik, i usually wear jeans and boots, the only smart clothes i own is my funeral suit

Do you have nothing in between?

Its one of the best restaurants in the UK, I'd suggest Jeans and Boots would be a little lacking in sartorial elegance.

no i dont really buy clothes unless i have to, i have a couple of tweed shooting suits but i might look a bit of a tit in plus fours

[Plotloss]

Breeks, brogues and a tattersall. Olive flannalette neckerchief.

Its a bold look but I like it...

[v8 westy]

Plotloss said:

Breeks, brogues and a tattersall. Olive flannalette neckerchief.

Its a bold look but I like it...

i dont think i am quite mature enough (35) to carry the full leslie phillips look

[jonott]

Stayed there with my wife for 2 nights in April (father-in-law was paying thankfully). Absolutely superb. The food was fabulous, and the attention to detail even more impressive. Lovely setting and tons of flash cars - they parked a Ferrari, Lambo and Porsche at the front (not in the main car park). Rooms were gorgeous and ours had a complimentary decanter of madeira wine each day - it didn't last long
Finishing touch was having breakfast on the second morning when Raymond Blanc himself wondered in and shook hands with everyone there. Spends a lot of time there apparently. Seemed a really nice guy - even took my father-in-law's luggage in from the car on a previous trip...couldn't see Gordon Ramsay doing that!
I've stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel and eaten at the Hotel Bel Air (two of the best in the world) and neither compares - simply the best place I've ever stayed and eaten.

Enjoy it...

[ChrisnChris]

Absolutely superb, met the man himself....one of my culinary heroes, whilst he was making a film for ch4. Stopped filming so he could talk to Christine & myself...got a member of the crew to take photos of us in the vegetable garden. Stayed there, rooms are comfortable, the food excellent as you would expect. Overall a great experience. Lunch is really good value for money if you appreciate good food.
I hope you have a great time
Chris

[tertius]

Its superb and as mentioned a very nice place to stay.

I wouldn't worry too much about dress, just wear chinos/similar and a decent shirt (unless you really only have jeans and boots.

[Zod]

to stay over it is seriously expensive (and I am the last person to say such a thing).