We feel very favourably towards the (very) private members club Maison Estelle in Mayfair and its less private outpost in the Oxfordshire countryside, Estelle Manor, not least because both use JR x RB wine glasses.
We’d already been impressed by a dinner at the club. So, when the opportunity arose to spend a night at Estelle Manor en route to the Cotswolds, we were keen.
We took care to arrive, via a train to Hanborough, in time for lunch, having heard good things about the food here. ‘Correct’ and ‘surprising’ were the two adjectives I would use to describe our lunch in the Brasserie, into which sunshine poured through the large bay windows. An Oxford Cheddar soufflé with a sweet onion soubise and salad made for an excellent savoury main course, while an English muffin topped with brown crab and grapefruit, a starter enjoyed as a main course, provided the surprise.
But best of all was the dessert, described as a chestnut-and-nougat parfait with a blueberry compote. I adore chestnuts but appreciate that, other than in a stuffing or as an accompaniment, they do require imagination. (I love marrons glacés but was struck on a recent visit to Paris by quite how expensive these have now become, a pack of six for €35.) I also adore parfait, more versatile than just ice cream. But this parfait was exceptional, full of luscious chestnuts, but not too sweet and its richness was offset by the blueberry compote, served thoughtfully warm.
All the while our conversation was interspersed with a range of comments from and with Josh Webber, Estelle Manor’s assistant head sommelier, who has worked in the wine bars of Oxford and, like me, shares a love of sherry. (Although perhaps this was also because our table was the only one that did not order either a burger or French fries during this lunch.) Webber did mention that wine sales in the evening are far more exciting than at lunch, and that only last week a guest had ordered two bottles of Ch Cheval Blanc and one of Ch Haut-Brion.
The wine list, under the care of the irrepressible wine director of the whole group, Master Sommelier Matteo Montone, is extremely impressive, as are the cellars underneath the main reception. At 6.30 pm Montone and his colleague Matteo Bertinato, group head sommelier at Estelle Manor and Maison Estelle (his name and title providing many opportunities for confusion) led us down there. Firstly to the cellar, which displayed rather beautifully the enormous range of individual bottles and then on to a second cellar behind, full to bursting with cases of wine. All full. As Montone went on to comment, ‘Prices at the top end have definitely flattened out as every single customer with an iPhone knows the cost of every bottle, so our pricing has to be mindful of this.’ Below, JR and Bertinato in the immaculate first cellar.
The range of wines on offer is exceptional. As is the collective enthusiasm of the staff for wine, perhaps best exemplified by Daniel Stojcic, Estelle Manor’s Austrian head sommelier, whom we met in The Armoury, their Japanese restaurant. (The Billiards Room, unexpectedly in the middle of the Oxfordshire countryside a traditional Chinese restaurant, was closed that night for a private party.)
The name ‘Armoury’ does not do the space justice. The room is heavily panelled with well-polished wood and the low tables and chairs are quite tightly packed. Unlike many Japanese restaurants, no chefs are in evidence. All food preparation takes place behind a swing door.
We were seated, waited on by an enthusiastic, long-haired waiter fit enough to get down on his haunches at each low table. He handed us a menu broken down into six categories: small, tempura, modern sashimi, maki, temaki, and robata. We ordered a warm aubergine katsu salad, rock shrimp tempura, sesame-crusted bluefin tuna, soft-shell crab with avocado, king crab temaki, and tiger prawn and squid from the final robata section. All were good, of which the tuna and the king crab were the highlights.
It took a little while for Stojcic to get to know us and vice versa but, once JR asked him which variety he would recommend for our predominantly seafood choices and his response was Riesling, we were off. He recommended an Austrian wine and on further probing a Prager, Wachstum Bodenstein Riesling Smaragd 2021 (£150) that we relished with every single course – and finished – so we were a happy table and he was a happy, and proud, sommelier.
But the most memorable meal for me was breakfast the morning after. It helped that at 8 am the sun was shining on the imposing main building and the frosty lawns of Estelle Manor. Mist was pouring off their outdoor heated swimming pool (see here) and a walk around the extensive grounds, including some pungent woodland, beckoned. On the way back I was definitely thinking about my breakfast.
Breakfast is served in their Brasserie and The Glasshouse, a conservatory whose sideboard was laden with croissants, yoghurts and excellent rhubarb jam. This was supplemented by a breakfast menu which included variations on everybody’s favourite breakfast dishes, plus one that I had never seen before. A dish described as Omelette Mexicana stood out as unusual, fresh and appetising. What arrived was exemplary. A thin disc of eggs, mixed with sliced tomato and onions, topped with avocado and Manchego cheese was enlivened with just the right amount of spicy jalapeño pepper salsa on the omelette.
It was delicious and I have pleasure in publishing the recipe.
OMELETTE MEXICANA
For the omelette:
- 3 x-large free-range eggs (whisked)
- 5 g diced red pepper
- 5 g chopped onion
- 5 g diced tomato (no seeds)
- Pinch of chopped fresh coriander
Smashed avocado:
- Quarter of an avocado, smashed with the back of a fork
- 1 tsp chopped red onion
- 1 tsp chopped coriander
- Juice of half a lime
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Jalapeño salsa:
- 1 tsp diced red pepper
- 1 tsp diced red onion
- 1 tsp diced pickled jalapeño
- 1 tsp chopped fresh coriander
Garnish:
- Manchego cheese
To assemble:
- Sauté the omelette ingredients (red pepper, onion and tomato) for two minutes to soften.
- As these are cooking, make your smashed avocado by simply combining all the ingredients; do the same for the jalapeño salsa.
- Add the whisked eggs to the pan.
- Stir the omelette as you would for scrambled eggs. Once the egg begins to cook, take off the heat and finish under the grill to your liking.
- Top with the smashed avocado and the salsa, and garnish with a light grating of Manchego.
After breakfast we took our suitcases, paid our bill and got in a taxi. As I did so, I was reminded of an encounter with David Pitchford, the chef who, with his wife Rona, ran the excellent Read’s restaurant in Faversham, Kent, for many years but which has now sadly closed.
After enjoying an excellent breakfast there, I wanted to say goodbye to him and I was told that I would find him in the kitchen. When I did so, I found him cooking another guest’s ‘full English’. He noticed the expression of surprise on my face and added, ‘I cook the breakfasts every morning’, he explained. ‘It’s the last meal before the guests leave and so it’s the last impression they take away with them. It has to be right.’
The creation of Estelle Manor has been the result of numerous brave decisions, the first one of which took place several years ago when the owners spotted the potential of the then Eynsham Hall – latterly a training centre for the Thames Valley Police – and spent five years and many million pounds converting it into a hotel with 108 bedrooms. Their choices of Chinese and Japanese restaurants in the heart of the English countryside, overseen by general manager Ronald Wang, who was a chef at two-star A Wong in London, are also brave. But fortune seems to have favoured the brave in this case.
Estelle Manor Eynsham Park, Oxfordshire OX29 6PN; tel +44 (0)1993 685800
Every Sunday, Nick writes about restaurants. To stay abreast of his reviews, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
