Coworth Park, Blacknest Rd, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE

Coworth Park, Blacknest Rd, Ascot, Berkshire SL5 7SE
www.dorchestercollection.com/en/ascot/coworth-park

04/07/2014

She said: He whisked me away for a birthday weekend at this heavenly Dorchester Collection country house. After a day of pampering we were seated in the elegant restaurant at which point he asked if we could move to a table by the window overlooking the grounds (rather than he face a wall), to which they obliged. The atmosphere was clearly one of ‘get-away-from-it-all’ indulgence and the menu offered a wide choice of British fare. I kicked off with a delicious cocktail. The service was friendly and attentive and the food was what I would call reliable: nicely presented, tasty but not wow. I think we would have left with a pleasant, happy stomach if it wasn’t for the endless wait for pudding. It must have been at least 30 minutes and we knew something was remiss when instead of dessert a little scoop of granita masquerading as a chef’s compliments was brought to us which neither of us ate while he chased up puddings. We were offered more alcohol by way of an apology which was a nice enough gesture but which neither of us wanted but were brought anyway. The highlight, despite not having room, was the petit fours which included a heavenly lavender chocolate. I would like to have been presented the selection to enjoy rather than asked to select from a tray without any idea of whether I could have two or ten but nevertheless these were damn good chocolates.

He said: I guess that unless you lived out near there you wouldn’t necessarily go out to Coworth Park for a meal. But you should. Number one it’s set in really nice grounds, number two it’s right next door to national treasure Windsor Great Park, number three it’s a Dorchester gig, so you know that corners will not be cut to deliver the very best. This place ain’t cheap, and there is no one that complains more than a rich person, and no business wants to listen to people complain all day, so the heavy artillery will come out to blow the punters away. We actually ate in two places there: in the restaurant, which was serving an all British menu in a quietly opulent setting. I liked everything, especially the camp French maitre d’; it’s a shame that they stumbled at the last hurdle with a lost desert ticket, but they made up for it, and it gave us more time to chat and enjoy the view over the lawn. We also had a lunch at The Barn, the more informal restaurant that’s rustic in a Belgravia kind of way. I had a caponata there, washed down with a glass of Pimms, out on the terrace overlooking the fields, with the sun beating down from a clear blue sky. There’s no way that meal was going to suck! I’ll definitely be back, hopefully after a nice long hike or ride around Windsor Great Park.