Best restaurants for Mother’s Day Published 14 March 2023
What makes the perfect restaurant for Mother’s Day? Warm hospitality and wonderful food are a given, but add a strong female presence into the mix and you’ve got something extra special on your hands. Prepare to be wowed by Skye Gyngell’s celestial Spring at Somerset House, hand yourself over to the inspirational Tessa Bramley at The Old Vicarage, or tuck into Lorna McNee’s exceptional cooking at Cail Bruich.
The verdant decor and sylvan accents of the staff outfits subtly re-affirm that impeccable food and perfectly judged service are ever-green. Since 2020, Cail Bruich has been under the meticulous eye of chef Lorna McNee, prot&eacut… Read more
The verdant decor and sylvan accents of the staff outfits subtly re-affirm that impeccable food and perfectly judged service are ever-green. Since 2020, Cail Bruich has been under the meticulous eye of chef Lorna McNee, protégée of the late, much-lamented chef Andrew Fairlie. The team are certainly not resting on any laurels as they continue to grow an enviable reputation on sustainable values, local provenance, artfully designed dishes and technical precision. Don’t be fooled by the relatively understated environment, this is top-notch food delivered by engaged and committed professionals. Two set menus are available – the shorter one at lunchtimes only. Opening snacks are a statement of intent: a fragile langoustine tartelette spiked with lemon gel or a single boned chicken wing on a customised silver skewer – perfection. Scottish seafood shines as West Coast brown crab is paired with raw Orkney scallop on a subtle Jerusalem artichoke custard – all brought together by a delicate dashi and hazelnut puffed rice. A sense of playfulness remains part of the technical masterclass: ‘mushrooms on toast’ adds duxelles of oyster mushroom, chicken-stuffed morels and generously shaved black truffle to a golden brioche with a rich Madeira cream and balsamic notes. The kitchen is prepared to take bold liberties with flavour in a cod and pork creation where a gleaming pig's trotter broth provides the yin to the yang of a rich langoustine bisque and additional spoons are needed to ensure the final specks are cleansed from the bespoke crockery. However, simplicity is equally celebrated with rosy blackface lamb unadorned alongside fat-headed asparagus and wild leek. Finish, perhaps, with a Valrhona chocolate confection – a precious ingot of multiple layers and textures, cut with blood orange sorbet and an orange-infused olive oil. The wine and drinks lists offer individuality without the urge to be encyclopaedic or unaffordable. Bold twists to cocktail classics such as a briny caviar Martini (distinctively dirty) or a very grown-up black truffle amaretto sour push flavour to the fore. The approachable sommelier recognises customer preferences and budgets while proffering well-targeted suggestions. Front-of-house staff are not just knowledgeable but also bring passion, humour and personal interest. The overall atmosphere is calm and unhurried, while the contented buzz of generously spaced diners, punctuated by the rhythmic responses of the well-drilled brigade in the open kitchen creates a pleasing sense of harmony and purpose.
Brad Carter's popular spot in Moseley is an unpretentious-looking venue for exciting modern cooking of the first order. The bunker-like room, with its open kitchen at one end, creates an enclosed sense of community, reinforced by … Read more
Brad Carter's popular spot in Moseley is an unpretentious-looking venue for exciting modern cooking of the first order. The bunker-like room, with its open kitchen at one end, creates an enclosed sense of community, reinforced by stunningly creative presentations – the dishes regularly coaxed into pictorial shapes and colours that only tangentially resemble food. First up, might be a little tuile cup of dairy-cow bresaola garnished with shaved truffle, an intensely delicious introit to the tasting menu. The chicken thigh that comes with chunks of savoury jelly in a crisp batter dusted with vinegar powder, plus a condiment pot of aged soy to accompany, might look like a mould-covered mushroom, but is a concentrated essence of glorious umami. A generous slice of Gigha halibut, steamed very precisely, topped with little chunks of just-cooked hispi, arrives with a super-fine shred of sweet, red shishito chilli and trout roe in a golden, sharp beurre blanc. It might precede magically flavourful duck breast, aged for 30 days, with confit squash, pumpkin seeds and the fruity accoutrements of mirabelle jam and elderberry sauce. Of the trio of desserts, our pick was the cloud of woodruff ice cream dressed in plum-stone oil, texturally bizarre and full of unexpected tastes. Low-intervention wines and some seriously fascinating ciders and beers – try the sour porter infused with wild mushrooms – indicate that nothing in Birmingham's brave new culinary world is predictable.
Sublime culinary odyssey with Scandinavian overtones
* The owners have announced that Hjem will be closing on 31 December 2025, with attention focusing on the completion of a new purpose-built restaurant with rooms called Freya on the Close House Estate in nearby Wylam.*
To m… Read more
* The owners have announced that Hjem will be closing on 31 December 2025, with attention focusing on the completion of a new purpose-built restaurant with rooms called Freya on the Close House Estate in nearby Wylam.*
To misquote Judy Garland, 'there’s no place like Hjem'. Meaning ‘home or place of belonging’ in both Northumbrian and Swedish, this restaurant's cooking, ingredients and style are confidently rooted across these two complementary cultures. It’s the Scandi-Northumberland dreamchild of couple Alex Nietosvuori and Alexandra Thompson – reflecting his personality and technical pedigree in the kitchen, and hers in the comfort and warmth front of house. A simple and cosy bar leads through to an airy, light-filled dining space with an additional garden room beyond. Views over the potager underscore their commitment to localism. Clean lines, pale woods and neutral colours are punctuated by the unabashed joy of seasonal hedgerow flowers.
This understated environment offers a calm canvas for the visual and taste sensations emerging from the open kitchen: ‘arguably one of the best restaurants I have eaten at – well thought-through, interesting, delightful and, in some cases, truly sublime,’ enthused one reader.
The tasting menu sets the scene with around six opening mouthfuls, each a mini masterpiece delivered in turn by one of the chefs – perhaps a rich lobster claw beignet with compressed chicken skin or a sliver of smoked eel with sharp Doddington cheese and pearlescent local lardo. Larger plates follow; two fish courses, two meat and then a seeming deluge of desserts. Humble mackerel is anointed with a flavour-laden crystalline tomato water and wafers of salted radish, while a tender but sumo-sized scallop is served simply in a vin jaune sauce cut with walnut oil. The kitchen hums. Huge steamers come out for a delicate chawanmushi (savoury Japanese custard) served with emerald baby broad beans and confit lamb belly, while a firebox provides the open flames to dramatically finish prime cuts from the gleaming meat safe. This is not a place to pop in for a quick bite and you certainly won’t leave hungry.
Desserts stick with local ingredients: a striking horseradish sorbet brings freshness to a rich apple caramel and oat tuile, while a combo of soft rose ice cream, elderflower custard, strawberries and petalled meringue is like Eton mess in a cottage garden. Coffee and fika opens up a whole new seam of creativity. The sheer range of flavours and presentations could feel overwhelming but dishes and portion sizes are well-judged. The commitment to showcasing what lives and grows within reach of the picture-perfect village of Wall ensures a grounding in authenticity and resists the lure of unnecessary adornments.
To accompany this culinary odyssey, sommelier Anna Frost has curated an extensive wine list reflecting personal passions, oenophile oddities and atypical producers at reasonable prices for a restaurant of this calibre. An unusually creative and extensive non-alcoholic range, including a matched tasting flight, recognises diverse needs and preferences. So click your ruby slippers and even if you don’t find the 'yellow brick road', you can rest assured that Hadrian left a very large edifice nearby.
Shielded from the street by floor-to-ceiling curtains (press the doorbell to enter), James Sommerin’s latest venture is darkly dramatic with the deepest slate grey walls, seven linen-clad tables and retro wood panelling lend… Read more
Shielded from the street by floor-to-ceiling curtains (press the doorbell to enter), James Sommerin’s latest venture is darkly dramatic with the deepest slate grey walls, seven linen-clad tables and retro wood panelling lending ‘a bewitching 1960s recording studio vibe’. The centrepiece is the broad open kitchen, lit like a Hopper painting, and creating a hypnotic and beautiful piece of live theatre backed by a luscious dreampop soundtrack. James Sommerin and his daughter Georgia are essentially the whole kitchen team, and sometimes bring out dishes from their no-choice, eight-course surprise menu (the printed version is presented at the end of the meal), though there’s an excellent, warmly assured front-of-house presence, too. Sommerin has always impressed, but it’s clear that he has raised the bar considerably here. There’s magic in every detail, from the dazzling amuse- bouches – a gougère made with Parmesan ‘light, crisp, and intense’, and an eggshell filled with silken parsnip espuma topped with a golden, crispy shard of chicken skin – right down to the dense, crusty wholemeal and laverbread loaf made with local beer and served with cultured seaweed butter. Some highlights at inspection included Jersey Royals cooked in home-smoked butter to intensify their flavour, served with tarragon emulsion and a dressing of smoked butter-rendered pork, snappy pork crackling and Parmesan and sage crumb, and a signature dish of perfect liquid pea ravioli with crispy sage and serrano ham, finished with Parmesan emulsion – a creation that ‘totally deserves its star spot’. A main act of corn-fed chicken breast accompanied by potato and olive oil purée, Carmarthen ham, broad beans, globe artichoke and Madeira sauce was equally flawless, while desserts took a playful tack with treats including honey and chamomile custard with strawberry sorbet, tarragon and delectable warm doughnuts. But for sheer theatre, nothing could trump the passion fruit ice cream on a stick – dipped in liquid nitrogen, then dunked in chocolate at the table and finally sprinkled with granola and topped with thick, sticky toffee sauce. The wine list is lengthy, global and full of interest, with high-end selections by the glass as well as more accessible options.
‘Consistently good quality for over 10 years,’ is praise indeed for Nikki Billington and Paul Watson’s long-established restaurant, which has occupied a commanding spot overlooking the North Sea at Tankerton Slop… Read more
‘Consistently good quality for over 10 years,’ is praise indeed for Nikki Billington and Paul Watson’s long-established restaurant, which has occupied a commanding spot overlooking the North Sea at Tankerton Slopes since 2010. With its hard-working open kitchen, mishmash of large, unadorned wood tables, wood burning stove and sea views, the light, airy and remarkably comfortable dining room is a draw all year round.
It’s also the kind of place where loyal customers won’t allow favoured dishes to disappear from the repertoire without speaking up, which adds to JoJo’s distinctive community vibe – and two menus. One covers ever-present classics such as the famed beer-battered calamari, charcuterie boards, homemade gnocchi with Parmesan, and our excellent mutton and feta koftas. The rest of our January lunch was chosen from the second, seasonal menu, with its focus on local and regional produce. Highlights were an ingenious dish of pan-fried cabbage with white wine, cream, Parmesan and toasted walnuts, and a robust, rustic combo of perfectly cooked mackerel fillets on a bed of chorizo in a rich tomato sauce.
Superb slices of focaccia and a delicately dressed green salad with feta, red onion and pine nuts added to the pleasure, and we finished with a chocolate, orange and hazelnut tart, which came with an intense raspberry sorbet. Dishes are generously portioned and designed for sharing, service is relaxed, friendly and efficient, and there’s decent selection of European wines from £26 (£6.75 a glass).
The Sachdev family's neighbourhood restaurant can trace its roots in Ashton back to 1972, when an entirely vegetarian Indian restaurant must have seemed distinctly avant-garde to those only familiar with high-street curry houses. … Read more
The Sachdev family's neighbourhood restaurant can trace its roots in Ashton back to 1972, when an entirely vegetarian Indian restaurant must have seemed distinctly avant-garde to those only familiar with high-street curry houses. Since then, generations of cooks with roots in the regional cuisines of the Subcontinent have helped elevate Lily's to its current status, while a shop counter teeming with indigenous ingredients and sweetmeats is an indispensable part of the allure. The place is held in high esteem locally, and a confirmed regular applauds everything from the crisp vegetable samosas (with a good kick of chilli) and the masala dosa (with decent sambar and coconut chutney) to a substantial serving of delicious papdi chaat stirred through with sharp tamarind chutney. Among the main courses, the vegetable jaipuri (a Rajasthani dish) features a torrent of finely diced veg with cashews and grated paneer in a creamy tomato sauce. Top-notch accompaniments include various uttapam pancakes and Gujarati roti slippy with ghee. Rasgulla and gulab jamun feature on the dessert list, for the incorrigibly sweet of tooth; otherwise, tripti bhog is a mind-blowingly rich paneer-and-nut creation worth trying. There are enlivening spicy cocktails too.
Angela Hartnett's Murano fits its Mayfair environs to a nicety. It's a civilised, expansive, lushly carpeted room patrolled by attentive staff, the muted decorative tone risking no jolts to visual tranquillity. Even the pattern of… Read more
Angela Hartnett's Murano fits its Mayfair environs to a nicety. It's a civilised, expansive, lushly carpeted room patrolled by attentive staff, the muted decorative tone risking no jolts to visual tranquillity. Even the pattern of rolling waves on the walls has a lulling effect. The cooking, hitherto more studiedly Italian in origin than it is these days, opts for assurance and refinement rather than showy gastronomic effect, with soothing textures (silky purées make regular appearances), gently wrought counterpoints of flavour, and the unarguable quality of prime raw materials. The carte exists in a zone of indeterminacy between the standard three courses and a more taster-like six, according to keenness of appetite, and there is a fixed-price lunch offering too. A mosaic of cured salmon bound with dulse comes with shaved fennel in a bright elderflower dressing with sea herbs. The crumbing and frying of sweetbreads allows the main ingredient a rarely seen integrity here, its texture for once not reduced to something from the fried chicken shop, its accompaniments of carrot variations and toasted hazelnuts in a soy dressing completing a satisfying dish. We might wonder whether the rice-crusted breasts of partridge, together with a slender confit leg, could benefit from a little old-fashioned gaminess, but the accoutrements of cauliflower purée and pickled blackberries make sense, while Scottish venison comes with an array of beetroot, pickled walnuts and a ball of braised venison and pork. Dessert could be something as eye-popping as a broad-beamed mandarin soufflé, stuffed at the table first with orange and Grand Marnier compote, then with pancake ice cream; otherwise, you might gravitate towards the unadorned zesty heaven of the caramelised Amalfi lemon tart. Wines are assiduously well-chosen, with some excellent selections by the glass, though our hankering for a dry sherry revealed there isn't a drop in the building.
It came as a complete surprise when, post-lockdown, Frances Atkins, the former owner and chef of the Yorke Arms at Ramsgill in Nidderdale, moved from her sophisticated restaurant with rooms to a café in the grounds of a gar… Read more
It came as a complete surprise when, post-lockdown, Frances Atkins, the former owner and chef of the Yorke Arms at Ramsgill in Nidderdale, moved from her sophisticated restaurant with rooms to a café in the grounds of a garden centre near Harrogate. Atkins was (and remains) one of the country’s most celebrated chefs, who, over 23 years at the Yorke Arms, collected a heap of awards and accolades. Along with her long-time general manager John Tullett and head chef Roger Olive, they commissioned an Airstream caravan, parked it beside the glasshouses and set up a daytime café serving good fresh, nutritious food. They operated like this for 12 months until a purpose-built café was ready – a 60-cover, bright modern space, filled with pot plants and paintings, an open kitchen, a chef’s table and a small terrace with views across the lake. At breakfast, choose from full English, kedgeree or pancakes (with fruit compôte or bacon and maple syrup). At lunchtime, perhaps a warm cheese tart in light crisp pastry, or seared tuna with lightly pickled peppers, chorizo and little gem lettuce with Caesar dressing. You might also find lime- and ginger-seared scallops or belly pork with beans and mustard mash – the menu changes with the seasons but generally offers a dozen dishes, half of them plant-based. Dessert doubles as the afternoon tea menu with cakes, tarts and their own vanilla ice cream, mango sorbet, praline and chocolate sauce. Service from John Tullett is impeccable but it's all quite low key – Paradise might call itself a café, but the principles upheld at the garlanded Yorke Arms are just as relevant here even if dishes are less complex, less labour intensive. It has the same restrained elegance, with dishes that uphold Frances Atkins' mantra: simple, nutritious food and no messing about.
A bright white room in the newer wing of Somerset House, Spring feels like an intuitive setting for Skye Gyngell's restaurant. If her vegetable- and fruit-oriented cooking evokes the seasons in ways that are easy to overlook in th… Read more
A bright white room in the newer wing of Somerset House, Spring feels like an intuitive setting for Skye Gyngell's restaurant. If her vegetable- and fruit-oriented cooking evokes the seasons in ways that are easy to overlook in the metropolis, the origami wall decorations, cluster light fixtures and white pillars carry a distinct hint of the celestial. It all makes for an experience that is both restful and wholesome, without any sense of puritanical earnestness. At a time when the industry is struggling to recruit and retain, staff here are exemplary – alert, obliging, hospitable. Dishes are also burnished to a high shine, even for the simplest of ideas. Three tortellini of sunny yellow pasta are filled with potato and Taleggio, in a luminous butter sauce edged with salty speck and sage. Nor does confidence falter when the combinations light out for wilder shores: Cornish crab with persimmon, kohlrabi and lovage oil, garnished with a trio of radicchio varieties, is full of gently building aromatics. Vegetable accompaniments insist on their share of the limelight in main dishes, so caramelised Jerusalem artichoke, lightly cooked cime di rapa and smooth white bean purée have their say in supporting tenderly grilled lamb, while monkfish comes parcelled in cabbage leaves instead of the traditional bacon, teamed with puréed cauliflower and curry-leaf butter. A side of potatoes smothered in black garlic and sour cream is fully worth the additional outlay. Pick of the desserts is a silky quince, mascarpone and citrus cake, the three elements melding beautifully into something truly unforgettable. A judiciously chosen wine list offers many of the on-trend varietals of the moment, as well as low-intervention cuvées and some cellar treasures. Mark-ups are pretty vigorous, though: bottles start at £30.
During lockdown, the green acres surrounding this enchanting converted vicarage were given a serious makeover, with the chefs mucking in alongside the horticulturists and landscaping experts. A new herb garden was laid out, rare f… Read more
During lockdown, the green acres surrounding this enchanting converted vicarage were given a serious makeover, with the chefs mucking in alongside the horticulturists and landscaping experts. A new herb garden was laid out, rare fruit varieties were introduced into the orchard and a ‘wild meadow’ was created to increase biodiversity, with banks of herbs and decorative plants destined for the kitchen. And in case you needed reminding, this captivating prospect is just eight miles from Sheffield’s sprawling conurbations. Tessa Bramley has been the inspirational guiding spirit here for more than three decades; her cooking was properly grounded in nature long before it became the fashion, and her appetite for meticulously sourced seasonal produce has never waned. For its many fans, eating in the decorous surrounds of the Old Vicarage is ‘just about the perfect dining experience’, particularly if you opt for the ‘prestige’ tasting menu (a daily ‘short menu’ is also available, with dishes recited at the table). ‘Beautifully matched flavours and textures’ are a given, and there’s an instinctive feel for what is right and natural on the plate – be it a dish of English asparagus and wild garlic (from the garden) with caramelised pumpkin seeds, confit egg yolk and herb oil or a sturdy helping of dry-aged Derbyshire beef (from Ashover), roasted with bone marrow and accompanied by braised fennel, mint cream and caraway-scented spring cabbage. Herbal flourishes are everywhere: a tarragon emulsion with marinated salmon; notes of lavender in a dish of spring lamb and baby turnips; lemon-thyme ice cream served alongside bittersweet orange curd and orange gel; sweet cicely sorbet accompanying a confection of bitter chocolate and hazelnut shortbread. The whole experience is perfectly orchestrated and ably executed by ‘well-trained, knowledgeable staff’, who also know their way around the restaurant’s intelligently chosen wine list. Big-name European estates and boutique New World growers share the spoils, but there is value too – if you are prepared to delve (bottles start at £25).
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