Review, Gourmet Getaway At Northcote Manor

Having recently returned from a glorious Gourmet Getaway At Northcote Manor, Lancashire, I thought it would be a great idea to share a review and our opinion of the experience. I found when I booked our stay which included the five course spring gourmet menu in Northcote’s Michelin star restaurant I didn’t know what to expect, thus this will give you a bit of an idea. Although it’s always better to experience these things right?

With Lisa Goodwin-Allen at the helm, the 5 course taster experience will take you on a journey through five exquisite courses that encapsulate the flavours of the season. The break also includes an overnight stay and breakfast. However you can choose to book the tasting menu and skip the overnight stay, yet this to me made more of an event of the whole experience.

I will make this abundantly clear I am not a food critic, so am not qualified to review a Michelin star chefs food or performance. However what I can do is tell you what we loved about our stay, the food and the atmosphere at Northcote Manor.

Review, Gourmet Getaway At Northcote Manor, Lancashire.

I booked this getaway as a gift for Chris’s 50th birthday, he loves great food and wine and I knew that he would appreciate the whole experience. He is the person that loved a cooking programme in our house! And if i’m honest the more consistent cook too, so I knew the whole experience would be something he would enjoy.

To book a room at Northcote Manor with the 5 course Spring Gourmet Menu, with breakfast at the time we booked costs from £380 for 1 night, however you could pay more to upgrade your room.

The Rooms At Northcote Manor

We stayed in the main building and the room was traditional but stylish, however I am conscious as I say that you will the the impression it was old fashioned, it wasn’t! More stylishly classic, with a modern bathroom. I am super fussy about rooms and it was stylish, spotlessly clean and super comfortable.

The room had a glorious walk out terrace which had a patio area with table and chairs and comfy cushions.

Amenities included a hairdryer that actually dried hair, tea and coffee facilities, a fridge stocked with fresh milk, bottled water and lager at an extra cost. There was also wine glasses available, should you choose to order or take a bottle of wine to enjoy on your terrace. Although I do also recommended having afternoon drinks on the hotel terrace as the view is breathtaking, its a very chilled out environment and the service was exceptional.

There were extras such as a selection of magazines, amenity kit, toiletries and a safety kit with a mini hand gel, masks, and hand wipes to pop in your bag.

The Five Course Tasting Menu At Northcote Manor

We attended the spring gourmet menu and there no other words, it was glorious, we’ve all eaten great food right? However the difference between a great restaurant and eating food cooked in a Michelin star restaurant is huge. Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s menus was stunning.  

Dinner was 6.30 to 7 for pre dinner drinks, we arrived an 6.50 and were ushered to our table for drinks. Given water immediately and then sat for 20 mins whilst the team organised the restaurant with water and no opportunity to order drinks.

This was the only disappointment of the evening, as we would have liked the opportunity to have a pre dinner drink. My advice is get there early and if be clear if you are ushered to your table that you want to order a drink. However am putting this down to difficult conditions we are under and it certainly wouldn’t put me off rebooking. Once I managed to raise the issue the wine came pretty quickly.

Dinner was divine, each course was like an explosion of flavours and textures that I never thought possible. We have eaten in some great restaurants, however, how each dish was put together at Northcote can only be explained a genius. The dessert was not to my taste, but I don’t like lemon curd!! Chris was swooning at the sight of his!

I have included a copy of the menu and photos of each course in order, and a question everybody has asked is was I hungry afterwards? No I wasn’t hungry at all. Chris had the cheese board as an extra but I felt comfortably full and just didn’t want to ruin that.

The Spring Gourmet Menu At Northcote In Order

Yorkshire Asparagus With Sheep’s Curd, Sourdough, Sorrel.

Orkney Scallop Isle of Wight Tomato, Basil.

Wild Turbot, Clam, Cucumber, Sea Lettuce, Dill.

Norfolk Poussin, Hen of the Woods, Garlic, Alliums.

Amalfi Lemon Limoncello, Meringue, Thyme

The Wine Menu

The wine menu is extensive, I have this snapshot of the current menu to give you an idea of the vast choice of wine to suit all tastes and you can spend what you are comfortable with on wine. Or indeed go for the wine flight recommendations, the suggestions for this are on the food menu above.

Breakfast At Northcote

I feel this is a good point to mention the breakfast, a chilled out affair with lots of choice and excellent service, and unlimited coffee. The eggs Benedict (Sorry no photo I got giddy) was perfect, cooked to perfection. I always feel a bit robbed if the egg isn’t perfect.

Was The Gourmet Stay Worth the Money?

I feel if it’s something you know you are going to enjoy then it is worth the price tag. However we all have different priorities and opinions on what is worth it or not! To us Northcote Manor was worth the price tag. Yes it was a treat, but it’s a treat we will book again as I want to try all the seasons.

For more U.K Travel check out my travel page.