SHORE TO IMPRESS

bangers and mash I think I’ve eaten, the well-balanced flavours offering a welcome twist to the traditional comfort food.

I couldn’t resist the cheese board to finish – this does cost an additional £2.50 on top of the set price, but was well worth indulging in.

Our waiter brought over the local cheeses and artisan crackers and proceeded to explain where each of the dairy delights had come from, which was a nice touch.

Breakfast was served in the restaurant each morning – and there was a wonderfully wide range of options on offer.

It’s a breakfast buffet with everything from pastries, continental-style meats and cheeses, fruits cereals and, of course, the cooked choices.

A fresh cafetière of coffee is included with the meal.

On our last night, we dined in the restaurant. Seated at our window table, looking directly out over the lake, there was a definite sense of anticipation that this fivecourse dinner would be special.

To start, an amuse bouche of creamed cauliflower arrived in an espresso cup, swiftly followed by the starters.

I chose the scallops and curried cauliflower. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the subtle flavours on the cauliflower complemented them surprisingly well.

A pallet-cleansing raspberry sorbet was brought out before the main course, and what followed was a perfect, medium rare fillet steak that had a real melt-in-themouth texture. This main course of superb steak with its red wine jus was among the highlights of the whole trip – a real stand-out dish.

For dessert I opted for the vanilla panna cotta in a strawberry and basil soup. The strawberries and basil were a wonderful pairing and the fruity, sweet liquid complimented the panna cotta beautifully.

All in all, this hotel is a foodie’s dream – and your meal-with-aview is nice bonus too.