The Vines at Carden Park – Elegant Excellence. #Review

Victoria Hayes
5th October 2021

Elegance and sophistication. These are the overwhelming impressions that I have of The Vines Restaurant at Carden Park Hotel.

From the moment you enter the room, you are overtaken by the relaxed but refined atmosphere. The soft lighting, the laid back music and the plush banquettes summon you in to a unhurried, tranquil world to enjoy some food, some wine and some peace.

The Welcoming smile of the restaurant manager is almost dazzling in this serene world, but moments after we were greeted and lead to our table, we were dazzled again by the gold embossed plates bearing the name of The Vines.

The vineyard at Carden Park is well known as Cheshire’s largest commercial vineyard. Its story dates back to 1988 when the majority of vines were planted. In 2008 the 4,000 vines were reinstated at the estate and much care was taken to grow them to their former glory. After lots of hard work and much nurturing, the three acre vineyard is able to produce up to 6,000 bottles of Carden Park Estate Reserve sparkling wine each year from the two grape varieties grown, Seyval Blanc and Pinot Noir.

In 2021, the new gourmet restaurant opened its doors, inheriting the name ‘The Vines’, inspired by the vineyard. 

Now, you never have to ask me twice to have a glass of fizz, but I loved the novelty of starting my evening at Carden with a glass of their very own Sparkling wine.

Crisp, appley with a lovely biscuity finish that we cannot recommend enough, we sipped the delicious bubbles as we scanned our menus and made our selections for our Gourmet Dining Experience.

The Gourmet experience is an impeccable array of dishes with locally sourced ingredients, which may vary by season and is priced at £55 per person for two courses or £65 per person for three.

I have probably mentioned in previous reviews, that Briony likes to check out a menu online before we go anywhere and often completely preselects what she is going to have. I on the other hand prefer a more last minute, in the moment decision. However we are both easily swayed by the advice of our servers and plans often go out the window if there are additions or specials on the menu. Our immaculately presented server was attentive and knowledgeable about the dishes, offering personal recommendations when asked and we were so glad we asked (particularly when it came to dessert, which I’ll get to a little later!). 

Warm fresh bread was offered at the table, along with a visually pleasing round of butter on a pebble and we were delighted by the arrival of an amuse bouche, specially created by the Chef.

Whipped goats cheese drizzled with honey with a little apple salsa and walnuts. Absolutely delicious and a wonderful way to set the tone for what was to come. Incidentally, it was also a wonderful pairing with the wine. The acidity cutting through the cheese and the apple notes combining beautifully with the apple salsa.

On to our starters.

For me, Confit Jerusalem artichoke with Verjus caramel, Ragstone goats cheese mousse and a malt soil. The goats cheese mousse was poured on top from a small saucepan by a lovely white gloved server, a lovely nod to classic dining. The dish itself was earthy and moreish, the malt soil an unexpected revelation. Nutty, earthy rich, a totally heavenly dish.

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Briony began with Pan fried breast of Norfolk quail with braised leg, gem lettuce, pistachio, shimeji mushrooms and black garlic puree.  One of the prettiest plates I’ve ever seen, such vivid colours, and the photos we have really don’t do it justice. The meat was perfectly cooked, moist and lovely to have both the breast and the leg to enjoy.  The black garlic puree was smooth and powerful with intense colour. The pistachio added a wonderful extra texture. A triumphant starter.

Next, the Mains.

For me, Roast dry aged beef fillet, perfectly pink, it cut like butter and melted in the mouth. Served with Wirral watercress, beef cheek beignet, boulangére potato, kohl rabi and a bordelaise sauce. I was clearly in the mood for rich, unctuous flavours this evening and this dish delivered. Meaty and lush with greens, plus the buttery potato takes this dish into sumptuousness. 

For Briony, Beautifully, Butter poached halibut with textures of cauliflower, oyster plant, creamed mussels and a pearl barley fish broth. The fish was perfectly cooked, it melted away and the textures of cauliflower was particularly impressive, roasted, pureed, and pickled flakes, all offering something different. A nice bite with the samphire which helped cut through the buttery dish.  The pearl barely fish broth was presented in a separate dish alongside, the pearl barley was perfectly cooked as you would expect and the fish broth was intense in flavour. The inclusion of the mussels making it something special. It wasn’t what she had imagined when she looked at the menu beforehand but all of these stunning details elevated it to the status of fine dining. A real joy of a fish dish.

We enjoyed these dishes alongside a wonderful bottle of Gavi di Gavi. The Vines has an extensive and refined wine list for you to enjoy alongside your meal as well as a wonderful selection of cocktails. Unlike many restaurants of this nature, they don’t offer wine pairings, rather allowing you to select what you prefer. They are happy to offer guidance and we thoroughly enjoyed discussing Italian Wine (and food) with the delightful restaurant manager. However, the choice is yours and the choice is considerable.

And so, desserts.

Confession. Briony and I…well, we’re not that fussed on dessert generally, we do love a cheese board (and if you do too, get your tickets for Love Cheese Live now!) but most of the time when it comes to dessert, we can take it or leave it.

On this occasion, we were totally wrong.

Take it, take it, take it.

At the end of what had already been a delicious and really, truly special meal, the desserts were a triumphant end. Next Time I go, I’m starting with dessert.

New to the menu, we had seen the caramel apple tart go past our table quite a few times. The staff recommended it and so I dived in to this seasonal dessert opportunity.

Glorious Caramel apple tart. Apple bavarois, crème patisserie, brandy snap crisp and an apple sorbet.

Sweet rich caramel, punctuated with pieces of apple, smoothed with crème patisserie, the joyous crunch of the brandy snap and finished with the apple rich acidity of the sorbet. I could eat this dessert a hundred times over. It was also immaculately presented, with lovely attention to detail, and I thoroughly relished smashing through the brandy snap and “ruining” all that hard work. Try this, I implore you, it’s wonderful.

Briony on the other hand, was seduced by showman ship, or in this case, “showwomanship”. She selected the eye popping Baked Alaska, flambéed at the table with limoncello and containing lemon ice cream and sorrel sorbet.

The trolley arrived at our table, and we enjoyed the show, I also noticed many admiring glances from our fellow diners, clearly making dessert plans of their own.

The Limoncello was lit, and poured over the dessert, capped by a clear glass dome and presented to Briony with the very necessary flourish. As a final touch, a sprinkle of pistachio dust finished the dessert. Delving inside, the flavours were out of this world. The lemon and the sweet and smooth meringue were cut through perfectly by the light, refreshing and herby sorrel sorbet. A fun dish that performed on all levels.

We were gifted this dining experience by the delightful team at Carden Park. We stand by our comments and the opinions in this article are all our own. If you don’t believe us, or even if you do, you should go and see for yourselves.

The Vines is open for dinner service on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as luncheon service on Sunday from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, The Vines is open to both guests staying at the hotel and local residents. (Please note, The Vines cannot accommodate groups larger than six.).

As stated, The Vines is Elegant Excellence so we recommend you dress to match. Enjoy. We know you will.