Review on Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons
Head towards Oxford and Great Milton to discover the Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons, a sleek, well-oiled machine and its pleasures are numerous, from holistic breakfast feasts to walks around the two-acre kitchen garden with its 90 types of organically grown vegetables and 70 varieties of herbs. Food is at the heart of things, and the kitchen's devotion to impeccable ingredients, precision and perfectly balanced cooking has earned Le Manoir just about every accolade going – including two Michelin stars and five AA rosettes.
'To me, cooking is a pure expression of art. It is momentary and short lived, but the memories are everlasting', Raymond Blanc once wrote. Visitors can taste the results in a series of different menus, including the grand 'menu découverte' (a 'voyage of discovery' costing upwards of £154 per person).
Blanc's trademarks show in countless dishes: consider a salad of Cornish crab with curry and mango, natural yoghurt and caviar or pan-fried fillet of sea bream with a fricassée of squid, salt cod brandade and bouillabaisse jus. There's earthiness, too, in dishes like slow-roast suckling pig with paysanne vegetables, while desserts are simply ravishing. Be amazed by the out-of-this-world pastry work and visual wizardry (an outrageous artist's palette of ice creams and sorbets comes complete with an edible pastry 'brush'). The majestic wine list may seriously dent the bank balance, but few would deny that it's money well spent.
Belmond Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons is also featured in: Michelin Guide, Good Food Guide, Hardens, AA Guide
Rate this RestaurantCuisine
Modern French
Chef
Raymond Blanc & Gary Jones
Restaurant Opening Times
Breakfast: 7.30am - 10.00am
Lunch: 11.45am - 2.15pm Tue-Sun
Dinner: 6.30 - 9.30pm
Accepted credit cards
Visa, Master Card, American Express
