The Armada Restaurant

Historic country hotels make me yearn for glimpses of properties in their heyday, when guests enjoyed lavish weekend house parties, with exquisite food and wine at the heart of every gathering. Many restaurants in such evocative surroundings continue the tradition of fine dining, but few succeed in matching it with an atmosphere which makes everyone feel very much at home. At The Armada, knowledgeable staff are swift to establish a genial rapport with diners, resulting in an ambience that befits the restaurant's oak-panelled splendour yet puts paid to stuffiness.

The enticing menu features locally sourced ingredients and resists any temptation to gild the lily. Confident cooking makes for confident dining, and we chose roulade of Parma ham and garden-fresh carrot and cumin soup to start, followed by perfect main courses of braised daube of beef with truffle mash and fillet of halibut on a lobster and soft herb risotto. As for the desserts, 'sublime' is the only word to describe the hot chocolate fondant and Rhinefield trio of miniature indulgences. We left our wine selection to the restaurant manager, who has a private collection to draw on in addition to an extensive list with prices from under £20. We agreed that, no matter how good the parties of days gone by, being a 21st-Century visitor to Rhinefield House has a magic all of its own