L'Enclume

I had crazy high hopes for this meal at L'Enclume and it more than lived up to my hype.  Both the service and the food were perfect.  It may be a 5 hour drive away, but it's certainly worth the travel time.  I'll let the photos tell the story, we for £120 for the tasting menu and £60 for matching wines and it felt like a real special occasion meal and we had an amazing time.  Simon Rogan is providing the UK with some really exciting food.

 Oyster pebbles

 Radish and blackberry

 From left: Ragstone, malt and tarragon, Smoked eel and ham fat croquette

Artichoke crisp with white truffle

 Raw scallop with caviar

 Pigeon with offal ragout

Shrimp, brown bread and lettuce

 Cod 'yolk' (saffron jelly) with watercress, salt and vinegar

Bread rolls, with whipped butter and lard

 Dish of the meal beetroot broth with westcombe dumplings and shoots

 Valley venison, charcoal oil, mustard and fennel

Langoustine, parsnip, black pudding, hazelnut and cured yolk

 Potatoes in onion ashes, lovage and wood sorrel

Butter poached dover sole with cockles, leeks and nasturnium butter

Another favourite, dexter beef, marrow, cabbage, mushrooms, salsify, dittander

 Cartmel grapes, cobnuts, lemon verbena

 Milk skin, chesnut, truffle and burnt pear with beetroot

 Buttermilk custard with caramelized quince, rosehip, muscovado, honey oats

 Possibly the best dessert I've ever had: Meadowsweet, granny smith, sorrel and walnuts

 Celeriac, sweet cheese and woodruff ice creams

Douglas fir and apple juice to finish.

As I said, the best meal of the year so far.  We stayed in one of the rooms too, which was so grand, we breakfasted at Rogan & Co, boiled eggs and porridge for me, and yoghurt and scrambled eggs for Art.  The wines were all fantastic and included a Greek and German wine, no French wines which was an interesting change.  Rogan is the perfect person to take over at Claridges and I'm excited to see what's going to be on offer there next year.

L'Enclume

Cartmel

Cumbria

10/10