Santos Higham Farm Hotel
Pubs and Bars with Restaurants
0.5 miles
Main Road , Higham, DE55 6EH
Tucked away in the historic Derbyshire village of Higham, Santo's Higham Farm Hotel is built around a 15th-Century farmhouse. Walking through the reception area, you can't help but admire the eye-catching Italian granite table tops, beautifully worn stone floors and an ancient sunken well.
We visited on a Friday night and this award-winning hotel was full, with the happy burble of contented patrons all around. The four dining rooms vary in formality, but, wherever you dine, the staff and their manager, Santo, are attentive and eager to please. The menu is a refreshingly simple two-page affair that changes seasonally. As we took our seats, we met with a choice of warm, freshly baked roles (wholemeal or cheese and paprika) - a promising start to a fantastic meal from which the chef's fine-dining pedigree is obvious. Each plate was considered, balanced and carefully constructed.
The first dish we devoured was the mini arancini - elegant crispy Parmesan risotto balls resting on a bed of creamy celeriac and truffle purée, served with cubes of salt-baked kohlrabi, and crisp baby endive. In Sicily, arancini are robust and rustic, but here, they are elevated to an elegant starter. The gentle heat of the kohlrabi and subtle bitterness of baby endive worked superbly with the creamy, cheesy crunch of the risotto balls. The confit duck leg rilette is equally sophisticated; the rilette has a rich and complex flavour, with a hint of star anise, balanced beautifully with a treacly spiced pear purée, a velvety celeriac remoulade and the stunning duck breast, delicately smoked in-house.
For the main course, we tried the light and visually striking pan-fried fillet of cod. Served with golden saffron-and -garlic-turned potatoes, buttered kale, fresh samphire, tiny scooped out vegetables and a heady seafood sauce, the cod was exquisite. The slow-braised shoulder of lamb had been slow-cooked for 12 hours, and was suitably packed with flavour. Teamed with sweet, sharp and spicy red cabbage, comforting mash and the crunchiest of green beans, this locally sourced dish is a real treat.
We finished with an opulent cheesecake, made with a generous vanilla filling and crunchy biscuit. Paired perfectly with a soft-set, full-bodied blackberry sorbet and luxurious white chocolate crisp, it proved a wonderful end to a delightful dining experience
We visited on a Friday night and this award-winning hotel was full, with the happy burble of contented patrons all around. The four dining rooms vary in formality, but, wherever you dine, the staff and their manager, Santo, are attentive and eager to please. The menu is a refreshingly simple two-page affair that changes seasonally. As we took our seats, we met with a choice of warm, freshly baked roles (wholemeal or cheese and paprika) - a promising start to a fantastic meal from which the chef's fine-dining pedigree is obvious. Each plate was considered, balanced and carefully constructed.
The first dish we devoured was the mini arancini - elegant crispy Parmesan risotto balls resting on a bed of creamy celeriac and truffle purée, served with cubes of salt-baked kohlrabi, and crisp baby endive. In Sicily, arancini are robust and rustic, but here, they are elevated to an elegant starter. The gentle heat of the kohlrabi and subtle bitterness of baby endive worked superbly with the creamy, cheesy crunch of the risotto balls. The confit duck leg rilette is equally sophisticated; the rilette has a rich and complex flavour, with a hint of star anise, balanced beautifully with a treacly spiced pear purée, a velvety celeriac remoulade and the stunning duck breast, delicately smoked in-house.
For the main course, we tried the light and visually striking pan-fried fillet of cod. Served with golden saffron-and -garlic-turned potatoes, buttered kale, fresh samphire, tiny scooped out vegetables and a heady seafood sauce, the cod was exquisite. The slow-braised shoulder of lamb had been slow-cooked for 12 hours, and was suitably packed with flavour. Teamed with sweet, sharp and spicy red cabbage, comforting mash and the crunchiest of green beans, this locally sourced dish is a real treat.
We finished with an opulent cheesecake, made with a generous vanilla filling and crunchy biscuit. Paired perfectly with a soft-set, full-bodied blackberry sorbet and luxurious white chocolate crisp, it proved a wonderful end to a delightful dining experience
Opening Hours:
Mon: | 7am-11pm |
Tues: | 7am-11pm |
Weds: | 7am-11pm |
Thurs: | 7am-11pm |
Fri: | 7am-11pm |
Sat: | 7am-11pm |
Sun: | 7am-11pm |
Food Served Times:
Mon: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Tues: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Weds: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Thurs: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Fri: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Sat: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |
Sun: | 7am-9.30pm, noon-3pm, 6pm-10pm |