Rhinefield House Hotel, Hampshire, England

Sheila Davies samples the pleasures of an English country house Sunday lunch

Apart from the public rooms, and a beautiful bridal suite, the main house has been sympathetically converted into a number of timeshare apartments. The hotel bedrooms are in a new wing that was built relatively recently and blends unobtrusively with the mansion.

A unique atmosphere

There are some very impressive public rooms, each of which has certain distinctive and original decorative features that contribute to the Hotel's unique charm. Most exotic is the Alhambra room, a facsimile of a chamber in the Alhambra Palace in Granada, faithfully recreated by the original owner as a Christmas present for her husband. The grotto like interior - every surface inlaid with brass, intaglio or mosaic - is lit by a magnificent copper and bronze lantern. During the day, rich colours filter through panes of Venetian glass. This room is used as an adjunct to the cocktail bar; its proximity to the dining room means that it can be used most effectively for intimate private dinner parties.

The dining room is called the Armada Room because of its exuberently carved bas relief of galleons locked in battle. The walls are richly pannelled and the pilasters and brass chandeliers create an atmosphere like that of a rather grand gentlemens' club.

Sunday Lunch

From the Lunch Menu we chose a Warm salad of king prawns tossed with spring onions, wild leaves and saffron, and the Smooth chicken liver parfait accompanied by brioche and a redcurrant dressing. The prawns were succulent and their saffron dressing was tasty without overwhelming. The parfait was possibly not as as smooth as parfait ought to be, but it was genuine and unconfected, which I appreciated. I enjoyed the slightly sweet brioche and redcurrant. Sweet things go well with paté provided there's a sharp edge, which in this case was provided by the redcurrants.

The Gourmet Menu offered a choice of six starters, ranging from a rather ordinary sounding Crown of Melon filled with Kiwi waterice Stg 4.95, or for the same price the Freshly made Asparagus Soup Glazed with Lemon Sabayon, to Goat's Cheese Terrine with Bagette Leeks Stg 6.50, or a warm seafood salad for Stg 7.50. We tried the Tenderloin of pork smoked over oak Stg 6.25. This was pretty substantial for a starter, on its bed of salad with balsamic vinegar dressing. The meat had a distinctly home smoked flavour, without that dried texture that can sometimes spoil the effect.

With our starters we enjoyed the white house wine, a Cotes de Blaye 1994 with a nice aromatic honey nose and a crisp yeasty palate. Good value at Stg 11.00.

From the lunch menu we had Oven baked loin of pork with crispy crackling, braised shallots and caramelised apples. This was not quite as succulent as its owner would have liked, though she particularly commended the rich flavours of the shallots and apples - a very successful touch, she thought. The Slithers (sic!) of grilled fresh salmon and smoked haddock were served with a basil cream fondue. It was a dish that worked extremely well, all the flavours were balanced and harmonious. I decided that perhaps I'm rather hard on vegetarians, so I sacrificed Scottish beef to a Deep fried filo parcel of goats' cheese and avocado. This arrived looking very much the master creation, set in the middle of one of those large plain white plates I like so much, surrounded by finely diced black olive and sundried tomato in the finest olive oil dressing. Chef Keith Marsh is certainly very accomplished at presentation. Goats' cheese and avocado is a good if slightly bland combination, and for once I rose from the lunch table satisfied but without a brick in my tummy!

My friend decided on the Fillet of lamb sliced around a symphony of young vegetables coated in Madeira sauce, Stg 16.50 from the Gourmet Menu, in spite of having been sorely tempted by a Sauté of wood pigeon cooked with garlic and thyme Stg 15.95. I thought the ratio of pink to cooked meat looked about right, but he would have preferred it rarer, and tenderer, which prompted him to recall that he hadn't been offered any choice in the matter. Vegetables were good except for the roast potatoes. Why is it that so few restaurants can do them well?

With our main courses, we had a bottle of claret, Chateau Saint-Florin 1993, which was drinking very nicely indeed. The wine list is good, with all the standards represented at fairly typical prices.

Desserts on the Gourmet Menu cost between Stg 6.50 and Stg 7.95 for a Medley of Chocolate desserts set on a Tia Maria scented sauce, so we went for the puddings on the Lunch Menu. There were Brandy Snap baskets that contained nice but not home-made ice cream. Fresh strawberries were set between tuille biscuits in fruit coulis, really yummy! I asked for a half portion each of the bread and butter pudding and the apple crumble, and the chef very obligingly combined them so that it looked like one dish, whilst keeping all the bits separate! In spite of a rather anaemic looking rum sauce which however tasted fine, both puddings were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the un-stodgy crumble, which had a sort of toasted muesli topping.

The verdict

The food was a touch variable, but we judged rather harshly perhaps because the prices invite comparison with the better London establishments. The Gourmet Menu averages out at Stg 30.00 for three courses before you start on the drinks and extras. I thought nearly eight pounds for a pudding was a bit steep. The dishes were well cooked and finely presented, but we had doubts about the sourcing of some of the raw materials. I'm a little wary of too many exotica, or unseasonal items. The pork and lamb should have been perfection, they so nearly were. It just needs a little more attention to detail. Perhaps this is a problem of being part of a chain, maybe such details are beyond local control.

Recommendations

If you are contemplating a stay in the New Forest area this would make a marvellous base from which to explore. With both indoor and outdoor swimming pools and formal and informal gardens which look brilliant even in winter, it is a delectable place to stay at any time of the year. We thought the set lunch menu offered well prepared and presented dishes at a reasonable price. Leafing through the visitors' book while settling the bill, I noticed the very positive comments from many clearly satisfied guests, including this: "by far the best service we've had in the UK, beats the Dorchester..."

Set Lunch: Stg 50 for two including a bottle of house wine, coffee, mineral water and service. A la Carte: Stg 85.00 for two with a reasonable wine, coffee, water and service.