THE MANOR HOUSE A RESTAURANT WITH ROOMS

In the leafy village of Lindley, next to the parish church is one of the area’s hidden gems.
The Manor House, a Georgian Grade 2 listed building, originally known as Fieldhead was the former home of mill owner and philanthropist James Sykes until 1942 when it became a children’s home. In the years that followed, the closure of the home it had many uses and eventually fell into an appalling state of disrepair.
But four years ago, whilst out running, entrepreneur Sara Presley spotted the long forgotten wreck and has restored this home to its former glory creating one of the most stylish and elegant boutique hotels in the county.
Set in the main street you could be forgiven for passing the entrance but once you enter the driveway your indulgent experience will begin.
Adjacent to the church the calmness of this place is amazing. The front of the hotel has an ornamental fountain that adds to its Georgian spendour, whilst at the side is an outdoor seating area a patio flanked by palms and English country garden flowers.
Enter through the main door and you will be blown away by the eclectic mix of the décor. Grandeur meets contemporary with marbled floors and stunning sparkling, gold and black adornments and décor. But nothing looks out of place in this listed building no wonder it was awarded Best Hotel Interior at the Northern Design Awards.
The Clock House Bar is a sophisticated area with high stools, marbled topped tables and upholstery in a mix of fabrics and textures but these don’t look out of place alongside the chandeliers and oil paintings.
Our room on the first floor was spacious and comfortable with a four poster bed and so many little touches to make our stay enjoyable including a hand-written welcome note from the manager, which I always love, some yummy homemade rocky road lurking under a glass domed cake stand and all the usual home comforts and modern technology.
I particularly loved with fluffy bath robes and slippers and the underfloor heating on the marbled bathroom floor.
We decided to give using the gym facilities, a miss which include classes in Yoga, high intensity fitness, preferring to savour the last of the afternoon sunshine outside in the peaceful surrounding of the patio.
In the evening we found out why the Lantern Room is fast gaining the reputation of being one of the county’s best restaurants.
Head Chef John Brewster is passionate about food and using local products and reinventing traditional recipes with a modern twist and lots of tender loving care culinary care. His presentation of dishes is like no other everything comes out of the kitchen like a work of art.
There’s a sense of fun and adventure in his menus. The three courses are interspersed with mini courses of snacks, amuse and pre-dessert.
We started our meal with the snack course which we shared. The Black Pudding and Apple Pillow was a work of art. The black pudding had been made into a pillow shape with skin forming the outside and the pudding caramelised on the inside with the apple.
Not a lover of marmite I gingerly tried the Cheesy Doughnut, Fermented Garlic and Marmite. It was amazing. It had a strong taste of cheese in a thin doughnut case and there was only a slight taste of marmite that complimented the cheese.
Our Amuse course was a Sourdough Crumpet, with Cured Ham and an egg yolk cooked in the bottom of the dish. It came with hot bread which included ale from a local brewery in |Shelly and Brown Butter – otherwise known to a Yorkshire lass like me as pork dripping.
It was hard to believe we were only now being served our starter. I chose the Oak Smoked Ricotta Pea, Mustard, Summer Truffle and Artichoke Crips. The combination was amazing and garnished with tiny onions and mushrooms. Quite a motley selection but the contrasting tastes were very palatable.
My partner indulged himself with Sticky Pork Cheek, Courgettes and a Poached Oyster. The meat he said melted in his mouth and the lemon dressing gave the dish a tang.
There was only one choice for me for main. I just love Halibut and Braised Gigha Halibut was on the menu with Asparagus and Lemon Sorrel. The dish normally comes with Smoke Eel but I asked for my meal not to have that on it as I hate the strong taste so John created a succulent champagne sauce to accompany my fish. I am not a sauce lover but this came on the side and I really loved the smoothness of it and the flavour
The fish was succulent and cooked to perfection and not overly dry.
My partners Yorkshire Hoggett was tender and cooked as requested with an amazing lamb gravy and tasty cooked root vegetables.
After a rest, we indulged ourselves in the pre-dessert. Yoghurt, Verjus, Beetroot, Hibiscus. Beetroot is the in thing for desserts at the moment. It can be a taste disaster but John’s sweet was a triumph.
Then came the time for me to choose my outrageously indulgent heaven on a plate. Being a bit of a chocoholic there was only one choice for me – the Tonka Bean Ganache, Morello Cherry – 70 per cent chocolate. This came with a solid chocolate top with a wedge of pure chocolate Ganache underneath served with fresh Morello cherries – these added a sweet and sour touch to the most heavenly dessert I have tasted for a long long time.
My partner chose the Strawberry and Custard Arctic Roll with Verbena and a Sorbet and fresh strawberries to evoke memories of his childhood meals. But this was no ordinary Arctic Roll. It was wrapped in a home-made sponge with the fresh strawberries peeping out from the roll.
The Manor House is an ideal place to dine and stay on special occasions or just to recharge the batteries. The staff are both friendly and very knowledgeable and nothing is too much trouble for them – they really know how to make you feel special.
The Manor House, l Lidget Street, Lindley, Huddersfield HD3 3JB
Tel: 01484 504 000. www.manorhouselindley.co.uk.
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