The Samling
Windermere, Cumbria
The Samling sits in splendid, immaculate isolation above Windermere. It is a sumptuous place that nods in contemporary style to Lakeland surroundings that you can enjoy without getting wet and muddy; invigorating views of mere and mountain spread beyond the glass-walled dining room, and the seriously cushioned lounge is warmed with a weather-defying real fire. Service is flawless, if at times a little whispered, and the cooking of executive chef Robby Jenks and his team is deliciously refined. The four-course lunch is good value (you pay more than double for seven courses at dinner), though the quietness one autumn Saturday lunchtime suggests that memo has not been received. Sourdough comes tucked up warm in white linen in a silver bowl; its accompanying butter sits on a stone, fashionably. A fragile tartlet is a few bites of walloping umami savouriness from mushrooms – ketchup, duxelles, hen of the woods, tiny little shimeji, a tuile – and the aniseedy nudge of tarragon emulsion brightens the ‘shroomy forest. Saffron is the dominant flavour in a dish of skate wing, spiralled round a gentle shellfish mousse in a sauce split with dill oil. Topped with a lacy saffron tuile that's dotted with Jerusalem artichoke and ditsy nasturtium leaves, it is a thing of golden beauty and earthy flavour. Middle White pork is treated with such tenderness that a piece of pancetta-wrapped loin becomes meltingly soft, so too a square of belly slow-cooked in beer vinegar; both get on well with the sweet-sharp seasonality of pear, parsnip and red cabbage. Finish with a classy apple dessert that uses fruit from the Samling’s orchard. A meringue cup contains minuscule dices of apple as well as almond biscuit, the whole surrounded by a featherlight mousse coated in white chocolate. Tonka-bean ice cream alongside is sublime in its nutty, vanilla-suggesting flavour. Wine-lovers take note: temptation ahead. The renowned list, vast in scope, is fat with bottles from the world’s great vineyards, and prices reflect this. There are slightly more ordinary sips – called ‘The Forty’ after their price tag – but it somehow comes as no surprise that three bottles have five-figure tickets, a bottle of La Romanée Grand Cru Monopole 2002 topping the lot at a mind-boggling £16,000.
Dining Information:
Accommodation, Private dining room, Separate bar, Wheelchair access, Parking, Electric car charging, Credit card required
Ambleside Road, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1LR
015394 31922
