Lainston House Hotel, Winchester (From This Is Wiltshire)

Lainston House Hotel, Winchester

3:00pm Tuesday 7th April 2009 in

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Lainston House Hotel Woodman Lane, Sparsholt, Winchester SO21 2LT Tel: 01962 776088 IN THESE tough economic times, dinner at £110 a head may seem astronomical . . . well, at any time really!

If I hadn’t have been a guest at Lainston House, just outside of Winchester, I’d probably never have tried its tasting menu. But, boy, am I glad I had the opportunity.

It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had and, as regular readers of this column know, I’ve had a fair few!

Perhaps it doesn’t sound quite so bad when you take into account there were nine courses - five with specially selected wines - and that the menu was also available at £65 without the drinks.

The country house hotel is rightly proud of its kitchen, run by executive chef Andy MacKenzie (twice winner of Hampshire Chef of the Year), and has recently won its third Rosette.

I’m a great fan of Rosette-rated cooking, which usually means standards are high without being too fussy.

That’s not to say the meal wasn’t without its foams, smears and purees, but they were well executed and flavours worked brilliantly together.

We started with an amuse bouche (an amusement for the mouth) - a cappuccino (meaning frothy, rather than coffee flavoured) mushroom soup.

Then it was on to Lainston-style ham hock and egg - which was a tiny version of a builder’s breakfast, served with a chenin blanc wine rather than a cuppa.

The ham hock came as a patty, with a quail’s egg on top, accompanied by an arrangement of four chips, little bigger than a matchstick each and a smear of spicy tomato sauce.

I could happily have polished off a full-size version but the joy of a tasting menu is that you get to try lots of different dishes, so portions are scaled down.

The next course was scallops with a cauliflower puree and beetroot syrup, accompanied by an Austrian white wine.

I’ve often observed how TV’s Masterchef judges put a little of everything on their forks, so I adopted the same technique. It really works, making the sum of a dish greater than its individual components - nudging 50, and I’ve finally learned how to eat properly!

After a tomato and mint refresher, it was on to my favourite course; tender saddle of venison with cabbage compote and parsnip puree washed down with a well-bodied Australian shiraz.

Then, in swift succession, came two stunning desserts served with Austrian and Californian sweet wines - hazelnut creme brulee followed by a warm chocolate truffle with chocolate sorbet. The hot and cold chocolate flavours combined beautifully, which should have been no surprise as head pastry chef Mark Tilling is the holder of the UK Chocolate Masters Award 2008 and the hotel has its own brand of chocolate.

Things were rounded off with blue cheese and fig chutney, coffee and handmade chocolates.

So it’s not cheap, I know, but how often do you get out of even the most mediocre of restaurants without spending at least £30 a head? I’d rather pass on a few of those, then blow the money on a fabulous meal like this.

The hotel offers special events throughout the year. On Easter Sunday (April 12) there will be a three course Sunday lunch including wines at £49.50 per person and afternoon tea at 5pm at £19.50 a head.

Afternoon tea is enjoying a revival at Lainston. You can choose a champagne one, a chocolate one, a tasting menu or just keep to a traditional one.

And if the weather’s good, you can also enjoy a stroll around the 63 acres of grounds which include a croquet lawn, ruined chapel, kitchen garden and almost a mile long avenue of lime trees.