Our top 10 favourite member perks
Published 19 November 2024

‘A top restaurant experience in an incredible setting,’ commented one fan after visiting this impressively proportioned, Grade I-listed Elizabethan manor house. Aclèaf – oak leaf in Anglo Saxon – is the small, intimate premier dining room, an elegant space occupying a former minstrel’s gallery overlooking the majestic great hall. Here, well-spaced, linen-covered tables seem to mandate a sense of occasion, which is amply supplied by a brigade of ‘outstanding, knowledgeable and passionate staff’ and by chef Scott Paton’s ‘creative’ contemporary cooking.

His compact, seasonally driven dinner menus are inventive yet simple, cooked with assurance and technical know-how. From the moment the snacks and freshly baked breads arrive, it’s clear that concentrated thought has gone into every detail, with ‘lots of unique personal touches’ adding to the experience. The ‘inspirational’ four-course menu is perfect for taking in the whole experience, with tip-top supplies and bright, upstanding flavours evident in opening salvos ranging from goat’s cheese with brambles and pecans to a Middle Eastern-inspired combination of squab, dates and preserved lemon. Elsewhere, thoroughbred meats such as venison with prunes and beetroot or a whole-table speciality of Highland wagyu ‘au poivre’ with parsnip exemplify the style perfectly.

Savoury notes also appear in the final course (perhaps duck egg with exotic fruits and coconut), or you could round things off with a delicate confection of vanilla, bergamot and star anise. Wine matches offer pure class by the glass, and readers applaud the dedication that has gone into compiling an authoritative list with better-than-fair mark-ups.

A ‘very reliable’ Mayfair fixture since 1916, the self-titled ‘grand dame of Swallow Street’ is still shucking oysters with a vengeance under the stewardship of chef/patron Richard Corrigan. These days, regulars agree that its two great assets are the ground-floor Oyster Bar and the spacious gem of a terrace on Swallow Street itself (heated and covered for year-round bonhomie).

If you’re indoors, the best seats are indubitably at the marble-topped bar counter, where you can watch the chefs expertly flashing their thick-bladed oyster knives and doing the business on ‘natives’ and ‘rocks’ from places as far apart as Donegal, Oban and Jersey – although one fan reckons the Pembrokeshire specimens deserve a special mention. Otherwise, squeeze into one of the close-packed tables for a more formal and ‘extremely fresh’ piscine blowout – perhaps scallop ceviche dressed with jalapeño, mint and lime ahead of Dover sole meunière or pan-seared turbot with olive-oil mash and langoustine sauce.

Readers have praised the impeccable Cornish fish stew packed with myriad different species in a tomato and saffron broth, although you can also feast on classics such as fish and chips, fish pie and Bentley’s handsome shellfish platters. Pudding might be crème caramel with Armagnac-soaked prunes or a bitter chocolate mousse embellished with cherries, gold leaf and amaretto. The classy fish-friendly wine list is priced for Mayfair’s big spenders, although it does offer some excellent bargains by the glass.

* Desai is launching a 10-seater chef's table (aka Hrishi's Table), which will serve a 16-course taster utilising produce from Farlam Hall's kitchen garden alongside matching wines. *

Built of Lakeland stone and with architectural roots dating back to the 15th century, Farlam Hall’s fortunes were once closely entwined with the Cumbrian coal-mining industry. It's a country house on the human scale, with gardens to wander in and bright interiors that owe nothing to sickly chintz, while the Cedar Tree restaurant puts Farlam in the first rank of regional cooking in the UK. Hrishikesh Desai, formerly at The Gilpin, Windermere, is an accomplished and energetically inventive chef brimming with smart ideas. Appetisers include fragile tartlets of peanut and coriander tartare with cauliflower and coconut foam – a whole world of flavours in a mouthful. Desai’s gastronomic signature is the artful incorporation of Indian nuances and seasonings into contemporary western cooking: a serving of red and golden beetroot fresh from the garden, for example, comes with thick, chilled beetroot rasam (a South Indian soup) as well as apple and ginger chutney and coconut bavarois. Dishes often match great flavour impact with astonishing delicacy of technique: a piece of salmon is very slowly poached, and then supported by salmon rillettes and a gently herbed and spiced garden gazpacho, while cured hake in a subliminally light batter comes with roasted pineapple topped with lemon mayo and caviar for a wondrous combination. That sense of travelling around the plate, encountering new surprises at every turn, also illuminates a main course of salt-aged Creedy Carver duck breast with a sweet-sharp blackcurrant sauce, the braised leg, pressed duck and hazelnut terrine and, on the side, a samosa containing layered shaved celeriac, topped with a little Parmesan and truffle. It takes formidable ingenuity and poise to bring so many elements together without creating a culinary brawl, but Desai is a skilled conductor. A délice of strong Valrhona chocolate with spiced orange panna cotta and milk sorbet, or perhaps a golden raspberry soufflé with matching coulis and toasted pistachio ice cream, are the kinds of desserts that hit the sweet spot for most of us. Despite the monotonous pop muzak piped provokingly into the dining room, which views over garden and lake do their best to nullify, it's a gorgeous experience. A varietally arranged wine list with garrulous tasting descriptions suits the country-house mood. Glasses (from £7.50) are a trifle dull, almost as though they are tiptoeing round the food rather than squaring up to meet it head-on. Braver selections would round out the offer.

Back in the day, Darleys was a destination address for those looking for a ‘posh option’ when celebrating significant birthdays, anniversaries or graduations. But the current owners, who took over in 2019, have refurbished the old cotton mill overlooking a fast-flowing section of the Derwent and brought in a new team of chefs with strong local backgrounds to make the place more accessible to all. Although the fine-dining aspect has been retained (various tasting menus), you can now drop in for breakfast, work your way through the good-value bistro menu or the carte, and tuck into a traditional Sunday lunch. Expect a repertoire that pushes all the modern dining buttons, with a heavy reliance on seasonal produce and competitive pricing. Venison with Wye Valley asparagus, fermented plum and wild garlic has been justly applauded, likewise the smoked haddock risotto, and a Derbyshire rib of beef with braised beef cheek, lovage and onion. Breads also receive plenty of praise, alongside their accompanying pumpkin butter (‘the best thing I’ve tasted in a long time’), while desserts could include strawberry cannelloni with pistachio or a chocolate and mango délice with passion fruit and salted caramel. It’s all served by staff who ‘go above and beyond, and are obviously well trained’. Cocktails are worth exploring and there's a list of mainly European wines to match the food – although the bottles from Halfpenny Green Wine Estate in nearby Staffordshire are also worth a punt.

A power move across multiple courses, Mana is the home of the heavy culinary flex. It's not just about the money (although at around £175 for 13 courses, it is inevitably somewhat about the money). The double-height space, monolithic open kitchen and white-hung windows, drawing a veil between Mana and the rest of Ancoats, are robustly impressive; so, too, is the commitment to obscure grains and the fondness for conjuring palate cleansers with koji mould – if you like that sort of thing. A serving of turnip and lemon thyme broth provides a 'lovely welcome', ahead of a roll call of 'intricate, interesting, complex food'. Snacks are served at the bar and in the kitchen (including a delicate cep and Jerusalem artichoke tartlet, eaten at the pass), and these are succeeded by some real moments of triumph – from sensational laminated onion bread with ethical foie gras to loveable Scottish lobster, carved with surgical precision and served with preserved truffle and verbena in a kintsugi bowl. Hogget is barbecued 'perfectly pink' and paired to great effect with the richness of a young miso sabayon, although it makes an unwelcome return in a petit four of parsley root and hogget fat. There are also missteps in flavours that are 'occasionally, perhaps, too strong', such as the pool of (unripe) habanero chilli sauce surrounding prime, but sadly overwhelmed, pieces of tuna. Service can feel stiff and one-sided, especially when it comes to an otherwise 'very good' wine pairing – although when enthusiasm for what's being served peeks through, things can soften a notch.

Brixton has a reputation for exciting startups and on-trend eateries, so it’s curious to find a traditional Italian neighbourhood restaurant in this part of town. The venue itself is done out in minimalist style (think exposed concrete, mirrors and dark wood accentuating a couple of large-format artworks) and named after the Maremma, an unspoilt region in the south of Tuscany famed for its sparkling seasonal produce (and its luscious Super Tuscan wines).

The kitchen shows its mettle with a repertoire of classically prepared dishes that are ‘deeply Italian’ rather than ornamental. Pasta is a good call, and it's done to a high standard, from pumpkin pansotti with butter and sage or chestnut tagliatelle with cavolo nero, chilli and new season’s olive oil to pappardelle with a velvety wild boar ragù. Elsewhere, rare-breed meats feature on the specials board and there’s prime seafood in the guise of, say, seared rosemary-encrusted tuna with rocket and aged pecorino. Desserts also offer temptations galore, from Stockwell honeycomb gelato to an ‘epic tiramisu’, while cheeses are artisan Italian beauties served with chestnut honey.

You can see the chefs at work, and everything is served without pretension by a knowledgeable, welcoming team. Reasonably priced Italian cocktails are well worth sipping at the counter, and the all-Italian wine list offers some ‘fantastic selections at affordable prices’. The owners also run Il Maremmano, an ‘apericena’ bar just round the corner on Tulse Hill.

‘Brilliant cooking, kind owners, great team, seriously reasonable pricing,' commented a fan of this well-liked venture from Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez (formerly at the Goods Shed in Canterbury). The intimate, simply decorated restaurant in a small Victorian seaside town two miles east of Margate really is a breath of fresh air. Seasonality is at the heart of the compact menu – this is where local means local – and the two chefs prove their pedigree by following the calendar unerringly. They also have no truck with bizarre marriages of ingredients or avant-garde techniques. Game season, for example, has delivered a fabulous roast partridge breast and confit legs accompanied by nothing more than a dollop of bread sauce, watercress (fresh and puréed) and roasting juices. This dish came from the excellent-value set lunch (preceded by a delicate Crown Prince squash and Shropshire Blue tart), but the brief, regularly changing carte exudes an elegant simplicity in presentation and flavour, too. A starter of beautifully judged, meltingly tender ox cheek with cauliflower and mustard cream could be followed by a perfectly timed hake fillet with salsify and mussels in a pool of rich, pungent, aromatic saffron sauce. We also lapped up the showstopping finale – a cheese course of creamy, semi-soft Burwash Rose, turned into something extraordinary with the addition of a slice of carrot cake and a dash of sweet quince purée. This is triumphant cooking, displaying an instinctive feel for what is right and natural on the plate. The wine list is built on interest, appeal and value, with good choice by the glass and bottle (from £25.75).

The Angel has been a fixture in the Guide for many a decade, surviving various culinary eras and changes of look. Its present incarnation, under chef-patron Michael Wignall (ex-Gidleigh Park et al), offers a smartly attired suite of three dining rooms – ours featuring polished concrete floors, lacquered oak tables and seating in soft grey leather. The aura of relaxed informality remains undented, and the view over the Dales is appetising enough, even if you haven't been hiking the long day through. Presented via a mixture of tasting menus and a carte, the cooking has, once again, acquired the innovative edge it had in days gone by. A delightful starter of tomato textures – fresh, cooked, dried and consommé – is served with lovage ice and basil. Even more fragrant is a serving of Shetland crab in buttermilk dashi with oscietra caviar, green strawberries and herb oil. To follow, guinea fowl is poached and sautéed to crisp satisfaction, teamed with roasted hen of the woods mushrooms and puréed corn, while lamb (and its tongue) arrive with a garniture of salsa verde shoehorned into a roll of lettuce, topped with anchovy crumb. Only desserts fell a little flat at inspection, but the incidentals – particularly the ingenious canapés – are all up to the mark. Wines by the glass start at a reasonable £5 for a small measure of a light Macabeo-Verdejo from Spain.

Graham Garrett’s delightfully laid-back restaurant with rooms certainly has formidable staying power – it celebrated its 20th birthday in 2022. The 16th-century weaver’s cottage is fittingly discreet from the outside, warm, understated and beautifully timbered within, with affable service and a choice of fixed-price menus: diners can go ‘short’ at lunchtime (four courses) or ‘full' in the evening (five courses, plus cheese as an extra). Either way, the kitchen sets high standards with seasonally aware dishes demonstrating a solid understanding of classic techniques and enlivened by vibrant contemporary flavours.

Garrett’s fish supplies are spot-on for freshness and his timing is true – as in crisp-skinned wild sea bass offset by bittersweet caramelised endive and a ‘really savoury’ chicken sauce or skrei cod fillet with grilled baby gem and brown shrimp butter. As for meat, acorn-fed Ibérico pork ‘presa’ (a shoulder cut) is a favourite with the kitchen, perhaps served with celeriac purée and a slice of pickled quince. Following a palate cleanser, dessert proper might be baked rhubarb cheesecake with rhubarb sorbet and gingerbread crisp, although Garrett’s take on Bakewell tart is a ‘knockout’, with the thinnest, crispest pastry and a fig/almond filling.

The serious-minded wine list packs in a host of dependable producers, with plenty for the traditionalists while lifting the lid on a smattering of off-piste labels. Two dozen choices by the glass or carafe offer a tempting way in.