Much like a refresh at home, the team at The Manor House Hotel in Dronfield were keen to show off the results of their hard refurbishment work, and invited The Man and I to sample their Sunday Roast and have a shufty around.
Onsite, there isn’t a large amount of parking to be had (and I didn’t spot any disabled allocation?), but there are oodles of extra spots at Dronfield Civic Centre. We grabbed a space with no bother at all at the Civic Centre, and it is literally a one-minute stroll back to The Manor Hotel.
The entrance takes you straight into the traditional feeling bar area, and if you follow the flow of the layout, you reach the restaurant. When we arrived at 2.30pm the venue was full with folks dining already – clearly, The Manor House Hotel is known locally for doing a good job of this much-loved British weekend meal. As well as humans, pooches can also partake of a delicious din-din; priced at £4.95 for a champion chow-down! If you have your furry friend on a bit of a *whisper* d.i.e.t, opt for a Puppuccino instead for a mere quid; they will still thank you for the treat…and so will their vet. I should just point out that dogs are permitted throughout The Manor Hotel, not just in the bar.
Anyhow, having been comfortably seated, our lovely server got us sorted with drinks: glass of Shiraz for me, pint of Moretti for His Nibs, and a short while later she returned to take our food order. Many venues have stopped serving Lamb for their Sunday roasts at the moment (due to its cost), but I do like a nice bit of ‘Larry’ it made my day when I spotted it on The Manor Hotel’s menu, so that was what I ordered (£20.95).The Man Bird fancied himself a bit of Angus Topside (£19.95) which I was expecting, as the third choice was Roast Chicken (£17.95). Those amongst you who have a more restrained appetite, you’ll be pleased to hear that this team do small portions of the roasts, priced at £12.95. All the roasts at The Manor House Hotel are served with house-made Yorkshire Pudding, Roasties, Cauliflower Cheese, Stuffing, and Seasonal Vegetables. Huge jugs of house-made Gravy come with your meal, too, and we were asked if we’d like any sauces to accompany our meats: I asked for Mint, His Nibs requested Horseradish.
As is my usual habit, whilst we eagerly awaited our meals, I took a good gleg around at the re-vamped interior. Lots of colourful faux foliage drapes over the window-seat banquettes, perfectly matching the vibrant hues of the tropical-themed, wipeable fabric that furnishes them. This gorgeous upholstery also covers the backs of the bar stools and the free-standing chairs in the restaurant. Large circular pendant lights are the central feature, aided nicely by natural-toned wall lights; more subtle illumination is provided by the individual lamps on each table. I really liked the exposed stone pillars and the pale, simple drapes at the logo-etched windows.
Media-savvy, bright-young-things will fall over themselves to get a ‘gram-worthy selfie in the foliage wall-clad space that is tucked away as you go to the ‘facilities’.
The Manor House Hotel in Dronfield presents its Sunday Roasts exquisitely, in my opinion; the meats, stuffing slices and Yorkshire puds came on a wooden board, whilst the vegetables and other elements all came on a black, two-tiered [afternoon tea] stand. We both remarked on the deliciousness of our meats, and were appreciative that each had that tantalising rose-pink hint at their centre. Portion-wise, you couldn’t grumble at the meats either: I got a trio of slices, and The Man had a duo, and Chef had ensured that they were tender, juicy morsels.
Unlike some venues, the Yorkies here were a more manageable size! From the very first bite, this treat had me captivated with its egg-enriched batter; silky in the mouth, its added richness lingered on my tongue beautifully. The deep-golden roast potatoes were excellent as well, though not as crispy on the outer as some we’ve had. Saying that, the taste of their fluffy inners was delightful with its sweet nuttiness, and no trace of oil or grease detracted from this on the palate. Ever the glutton, I grabbed the crisp edge slice of the stuffing and chomped happily, revelling in the audible crunch it made as I did so. Mindful of having hastily pilfered the choice bit of stuffing, I deliberately avoided the judgy eye of The Man Bird; though why, I don’t know – he’d have done the same thing if he’d been quicker off the mark!
It was really nice to have Dauphinoise Potato rather than mash, and Chef clearly thought that his main character energy-worthy spuds deserved the extra effort of being perched on the serving stand. Each thin slice of Potato was cooked to perfection, nestling snuggly under the golden top, and our mouths appreciated the added luxury of the cream that just ‘wetted’ the dish. Also gorgeously creamy was the Cauliflower Cheese; the plentiful veg retained a hint of its bite, enhancing the velvet feel over the tongue of the sauce. There was a super amount of Cheese in this dish, so you got a fabulous blast of it, and Chef had seasoned it nicely, too – one of my pet peeves is bland, un-seasoned Cauli Cheese.
Maybe I’ve got rather picky over the years with my Sunday roast as I’ve sampled a wide variety of them, but I do have to say that I wasn’t bowled over by the Carrots and Broccoli here. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with either of them, and maybe they will suit some of you down-to-the-ground, but the Broccoli was a tad too soft for my personal taste. I also would’ve liked the Carrots to have a bit more pizazz and finesse about them; they were sliced straight through, rather than on the angle which is a bit more ‘polished’, and they were boiled as opposed to roasted, which I prefer (extra points for herbs and/or honey). Drizzled (ok, poured!) over the whole had been the brilliantly meaty-tasting gravy; piping hot and plentiful, this wouldn’t have been out of place with slabs of crusty bread being dunked in it…and the team offer as much of it as your heart desires.
For pudding, I opted for a splendid Apple Cobbler, and The Man had his favourite: Sticky Toffee Pudding, both £7.95. Wanting to block out the chill of the frankly awful grey day, we chose to have cockle-warming, creamy Custard with our sweets. You certainly can’t accuse The Manor House Hotel kitchen team of being stingy with their portions – a pair of fully laden bowls were placed before us; carefully, so as not to spill any contents!
There’s something evocative about a Cobbler that’s done well; the mid-texture scone/cake has that marvellous crispy crunch to its bite, whilst the underside has absorbed the cooked fruit and becomes softer and more comforting. I have to say, the offering here was totally spot-on and I grinned happily with every crumb of it that passed my lips. The apple hadn’t been overly sweetened, a relief seeing as there was sugar already in the cobbler itself, and the result was a beautifully balanced pud.
Just as wonderful was His Nibs’ choice: its deep colour belied the texture, which was surprisingly light. Some Sticky Toffee puds have a’ grittiness’ in the mouth, but this one was like marble in its smoothness! You got a clear whoosh of Toffee in the sponge and it had a thick, sticky layer of toffee on its surface that was complemented by a slicker version that was swirled around the bowl; yinning to the yang of the custard. The serving team hadn’t been shy when it came to the custard or the toffee sauce, a fact that didn’t go un-noticed or unappreciated by His Nibs.
The Manor House Hotel serves Cafeology bean so, whilst I finished up my scrummy Shiraz, The Man Bird savoured a satisfyingly smooth black coffee. Throughout our visit, the team had looked after us impeccably. Nothing had been too much trouble and check-backs were done at every opportunity.
With the evenings slowly getting longer, the plans to makeover the outside seating area edge closer and closer, and I think it will look stunning when completed. Who knows, maybe we’ll return to sample either the Traditional or the Gentleman’s Afternoon Tea (£20pp and £22pp respectively) or (my preference) one of the trio of Cheese Boards (£12.95pp).
