Oak Room & Orangery

Beetle in the bread basket some years back I can just about forgive, but not the lack-lustre food that used to be served. The Orangery now under the superb hand of Adam Simmonds demanded investigation. Danesfield is in the league of venues where you expect the experience to be trimmed and decorated with style and substance, so how did lunch in the Orangery live up to this?

Adequate diversity of choice for all courses should please most. From five main courses, I chose turbot with aubergine caviar, whilst across the table roast beef was chosen. Aubergine features for flavour not appearance so naturally it sat beneath the fish – surrounding this was a vibrant circle of diced red and yellow peppers in a bright yellow sauce – saffron fragrance pleasingly wafted towards me as my plate was set down. The fish had been treated with great respect resulting in perfect texture, but flavours were smothered by saffron. As the waitress appeared to check satisfaction level, I was saved from the third forkful saying that the dish was dominated by the saffron, and could taste little else. Without hesitation, she offered an alternative. As I watched expensive ingredients destined for their sad fate, the guilt which had swept over me faded as I tucked into a fine example of an elegant, flavourful Sunday lunch style lamb with decent jus. By this time the (big) beef had just about disappeared but not without a little help from me. Although we had the latest booking, I didn’t dine completely alone as others arrived for afternoon tea – which looked an enticing treat and seemed very popular.

The setting is prized, the wines are good, as is service. Once the Orangery get all the dishes right Mr S will have achieved optimum influence in both kitchens. Incidentally, the Oak Room (listed on this website separately) is now called Adam Simmonds at Danesfield House, proving his culinary profile is one to be noted.

We ate here last Friday having booked last minute into the hotel. First impressions are excellent. We decided to go to the bar first for a drink and the staff took excellent care of us, even transferring our aperitif to the table. The Orangery is like a century old conservatory with an elegant feel which overlooks the hotel grounds and river. The service was excellent throughout, topping up wine and water glasses without intruding too much on your meal. So after setting such a lovely scene, the food was quite disappointing. My boyfriend had the celeriac soup which was lovely and the highlight of the whole meal. My fois gras and quail terrine however, was decidedly lacking in flavour. For mains my braised beef and my boyfriend's chicken and mushroom pie really weren't anything special. It seems a great deal of time and care is taken over the presentation – every piece of meat or veg is placed just so – but this appears to be at the detriment to good old fashioned taste. We bypassed dessert and coffee and our 2 course meal with a bottle of wine came in at over £120! This seems quite extortionate for such average food.