Swinton Park, Masham, HG4 4JH
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Don’t just dine… stay… walk the deer park before dinner, take a G&T on the lawn, dine… retire to the billiards room… go to the spa in the morning” – that say fans is how you get the most out of a trip to this “romantic” location. The dining room itself is “interesting and intimate" but it’s the “tasty cuisine that’s its point of difference”. Gone are the multi-course offerings of the past here: the menu now is in a luxe brasserie style, with mains such as Swinton Estate Venison, Line Caught Sea Bass or sharing options for two such as Côte de Boeuf or Lobster.
Summary
Struan Macintyre now presides over the stoves in the flagship dining room of this stately country retreat. It has seen a number of head chefs come and go in recent times, but still inspires good all-round feedback following its significant refurb concluding earlier in the year. The menu format nowadays is that of an upscale brasserie (including grilled steak, fish and lobster) rather than the more ‘haute’ tasting formats of yesteryear. Elsewhere in the property, its plush lounges also win the thumbs up as a place to “live the high life in the afternoon” – “served in the traditional way in the drawing room, there is no better place in the area for afternoon tea”.
Summary
“The formal dining room at Swinton Estate” – “a country house hotel in a beautiful setting that supplies much of its food from local sources” and its own 20,000 acres of grounds. Ruth Hansom has been in charge of the kitchens during 2023 – a year that saw solid all-round ratings for its ambitious cuisine – in advance of handing over to former Roux Scholar Nicole Benham-Corlette following a £500,000 refurb to complete in early 2024: part of the property’s ‘estate-to-plate’ philosophy which aims to reduce its carbon footprint to being neutral by 2030.
Summary
Occupying a small corner of a “fabulous old-school country pile” – itself set in 20,000 acres of ground – this “smart restaurant in a very smart hotel” makes use of game and fish from the estate, as well as produce from the very large kitchen garden, to provide “good cooking that’s well presented”. Afternoon tea in the splendid adjacent lounges is also a feature worth discovering.
For 35 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Samuel’s, Swinton Park Hotel & Spa?
Owner's description
With views across the deer park, the experience is intrinsically connected to its surroundings – where dishes reflect the land just beyond the window.
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £40.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
 Extras |
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|---|---|
| Bread | £6.50 |
| Service | 12.50% |
Restaurant details
The chef
Estate Executive Chef Steve Darou oversees the kitchens on the Swinton Estate.
Darou brings with him a deep respect for ingredient-led cooking, seasonality and the resourceful nose-to-tail philosophy that has made St. John one of the UK’s most influential culinary institutions. That experience will strengthen Swinton’s Estate to Plate ethos still further, and focus on the connection between land and kitchen, championing whole-animal butchery, and ensuring the estate’s produce is used with imagination, integrity and minimal waste. A key part of his role will be to develop the wider team of chefs so that they build a deeper understanding of how to handle and use ingredients from across the county, creating a more authentic expression of Swinton’s land, people and provenance.
Swinton Park, Masham, HG4 4JH
Opening hours
| Monday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Tuesday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Sunday | 7:30 am‑12 pm, 5:30 pm‑9 pm |
