Review of Gravetye Manor, East Grinstead, West Sussex | The Good Food Guide


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Gravetye Manor: A Review

This review highlights Gravetye Manor, a restaurant located in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. The restaurant features a new executive head chef, Martin Carabott, following the departure of George Bloggs.

Ambiance and Setting

The manor, originally purchased in 1884, boasts beautiful grounds, including a Victorian kitchen garden, glasshouses, and polytunnels, which provide many of the ingredients for the restaurant's dishes. The dining experience begins with a warm welcome, offering drinks either on the lawn or in a grand panelled room. The dining room itself is described as smart and contemporary, with a wall of glass overlooking blooming borders.

Food and Service

The menu showcases seasonal dishes, with options for vegetarians and vegans. The review emphasizes the artful presentation and delicious flavors of the dishes, citing examples such as a cheese and truffle gougère, duck liver parfait, cured chalk stream trout, and a 'duck and orange' dish. The bread basket, though plentiful, is noted as possibly over-the-top with its five flavored butters.

The wine list showcases English Southern Counties wines, along with selections from around the world, with a focus on French classics.

Overall Impression

The review concludes with a positive impression of Gravetye Manor, praising the service, ambiance, and the quality of the food. The use of fresh, seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients, along with modern culinary techniques, creates a memorable dining experience.

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* Martin Carabott (ex-Luca and Hide) has been appointed executive head chef, following George Bloggs' departure at the end of 2024. Watch for a new review coming soon.* The house was bought in 1884 by William Robinson, renowned horticulturist, journalist and champion of 'natural gardening', and over the years its grounds have been lovingly nurtured by Gravetye's successive occupants. It's a glorious spot and well worth a wander if time and weather allow; check out the magnificent Victorian kitchen garden if you want to see where many of the ingredients on your plate come from. There are glasshouses and polytunnels on the land as well. It's the kind of place where you're greeted outside by smiling staff and offered drinks out on the lawn or in a grand panelled room with an ornate moulded ceiling; once you're seated in your well-upholstered chair in the smart, contemporary dining room with its wall of glass overlooking blooming borders, everything is hunky-dory – and th...

* Martin Carabott (ex-Luca and Hide) has been appointed executive head chef, following George Bloggs' departure at the end of 2024. Watch for a new review coming soon.*

The house was bought in 1884 by William Robinson, renowned horticulturist, journalist and champion of 'natural gardening', and over the years its grounds have been lovingly nurtured by Gravetye's successive occupants. It's a glorious spot and well worth a wander if time and weather allow; check out the magnificent Victorian kitchen garden if you want to see where many of the ingredients on your plate come from. There are glasshouses and polytunnels on the land as well.

It's the kind of place where you're greeted outside by smiling staff and offered drinks out on the lawn or in a grand panelled room with an ornate moulded ceiling; once you're seated in your well-upholstered chair in the smart, contemporary dining room with its wall of glass overlooking blooming borders, everything is hunky-dory – and the feel-good mood continues as the food arrives.

A cheese and truffle gougère disappears in one satisfyingly bite, and its companion amuse-bouche – duck liver parfait with blackberry gel – reveals the kitchen's penchant for prettiness. Seasonal lunch and dinner menus include supplementary intermediate courses and cheese if you're going all in, and there are thoughtfully put together vegetarian and vegan opportunities too. The bread basket overflows with the likes of buttermilk brioche and seeded malt bread, although the arrival of five flavoured butters maybe suggests that the kitchen is a little too keen to impress. To follow, cured chalk stream trout gets a sweet smokiness from the clever use of lapsang souchong tea (plus a citrus zing from finger limes), while the Gravetye garden salad with confit egg yolk is a 'beautifully colourful' beatification of the garden's bounty.

Modern ideas are underpinned by classical good sense, so 'duck and orange' matches tender meat (its skin deliciously crisp) with a sweet hit of marmalade plus earthy forms of beetroot and red chicory (from caramelised to pickled). Saucing is on the money throughout (Chardonnay with fillet of turbot, for example) and flavours ring true – not least the 'fabulous' mint ice cream, which tastes fresh from the plant and is ceremonially placed into a perfectly risen blackcurrant soufflé. The wine list has the the English southern counties covered, including top-drawer fizz, but it deals in excellence from around the world – although its first love is the French classics.

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