The Grosvenor Restaurant at Hales Hall, Cheadle

The Grosvenor Restaurant in the Staffordshire Moorlands offers a winning combination of popular favourites plus imaginative dishes in a modern British fine dining style. Located in Hales Hall, a restored Grade II listed country house, rather unusually it sits in the grounds of a caravan and camping park.

But with reasonably priced, tasty menus featuring quality ingredients like local beef, I think more us need to know about it.

HALES HALL & THE GROSVENOR RESTAURANT

As I spend a fair bit of time recommending places to eat out, it always pleases me when the favour is returned. And especially when the suggestion turns out to be such a good one. And that was the case when I was tipped off about The Grosvenor Restaurant near Cheadle.

Perhaps I should have known about The Grosvenor already though. I regularly walk at Oakamoor, and the drive from home takes me right past. However, in my defence, although the restaurant is in the grounds of Hales Hall Caravan & Camping Park (and even I couldn’t fail to notice its fifteen or so acres), it isn’t actually visible from the road.

If you’re a bit sniffy about dining on a campsite, don’t be. The Grosvenor restaurant sits in the beautiful, Grade II listed Hales Hall. It was built in 1712 for the granddaughter of Sir Matthew Hale, Lord Chief Justice of England. After restoration by its current owners, former Hanley firefighter Jeff and his daughter Natalie, the site was opened up for caravanners and campers. Happily, the restaurant and bar also welcome non-residents.

Along with partner ID, I turned up on a sunny, early June evening and the place was looking lovely. The picnic tables on the lawn in front of Hales Hall were just starting to fill, including with families and children enjoying the fine weather.

From here, there are outstanding views of the Staffordshire Moorlands countryside, including the nearby market town of Cheadle and the spire of St Giles’ church or Pugin’s Gem.

THE GROSVENOR RESTAURANT

The interior of the former country house is just as impressive as the outside. Making your way across a black and white chessboard floor, you’ll see wooden panelling hung with portraits. As with an old car out front, there’s a few quirks among the period knickknacks, including (quite fitting for a venue only ten minutes’ drive from Alton Towers) a merry-go-round pony.

The period décor continues in the attractive restaurant, this time with a wooden floor and dark red painted walls. It isn’t a large space, although I did spot another dining room just off the corridor. Update: I’ve since learned this is the dog friendly Library Room.

A quick note for anyone with a hearing impairment though. Probably due to the high ceilings and those wooden floors, the restaurant can seem noisy and echo-y. It didn’t bother me, but I know people with hearing difficulties, with and without hearing aids, who might struggle a little here.

THE MENUS

I ate at the Grosvenor restaurant on a Saturday night, so chose from the main evening menu. At other times there are different ones, all viewable on their website. These include a lunch menu (with a £12.95 2-course deal for the over-60s Mon-Thu), breakfast and Sunday menus, as well as special nights like burger, steak, and pie nights. There are also takeaway menus for breakfast and Sunday lunch.

On the evening menu, I thought there was a good balance between popular favourites (e.g. soup, steaks, burgers, fish and chips, roast beef with all the trimmings) and dishes in a modern British fine dining style. If they could successfully do both, then this seemed to me a potentially winning combination.

STARTERS

On my visit, there were six choices of starter with the majority either £8 or £9. These included calamari, goats cheese mousse, and a duck dish. The cheapest option was soup of the day with warm bread and butter (£7), the most expensive a beef dish (£10).

BEEF

When I see Dunwood Farm on a menu, I know that the kitchen takes its ingredients seriously. Based here in the Moorlands, Dunwood Farm Butchery specialises in high welfare, rare and native breed meat. Their beef is outstanding, so I was immediately drawn to that £10 dish of Slow Braised Dunwood Beef. As I associate braised beef with warming, winter eating, I had no idea what form it would take on a summer menu. The accompaniments sounded interesting but didn’t give much of a clue either.

When it arrived, it looked as though The Grosvenor could indeed pull off fine dining as well as the hearty roasts and burgers people around me were eating. It was a beautiful-looking dish and great care had obviously gone into devising and plating it.

The beef came in what was a generous-sized piece for a starter. Covering it was a sauce that did look like the sort you’d have with a hot braised beef dish. However, this was served at room temperature. Once I’d got over that, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The beef didn’t exactly fall apart at the touch of the fork, which was perhaps to be predicted as it firms as it cools. But the meat was perfectly tender and flavoursome to eat. The sauce, described on the menu as red wine jus, was thicker than you might expect for a jus, but was tasty and well-seasoned.

I thought the other elements did a great job of making the dish a fresh, very suitable one for late spring/early summer. The tangy swirls of buttermilk (I’d thought they were yogurt) were a great contrast to the rich beef and sauce. I’m a big fan of gherkins, so loved the pickled flavour, acidity and crunch of the little dice. I was particularly enamoured with the gherkin gel which was completely new to me.  A few bites of popcorn brought a bit of crispness and fun.

HAM HOCK TERRINE

For his starter, my partner ID chose Ham Hock Terrine (£8). If, in addition to the lure of Dunwood beef, I hadn’t recently eaten an excellent pork terrine at The Hammersley Restaurant at Stoke-on-Trent College, I probably would have ordered this dish.

Although in my photo one is hidden under the greenery, there were two fair-sized chunks of terrine. I had a taste and agreed with ID that it was good. Nicely seasoned and with a layer of flavoursome jelly.

ID felt the terrine was a little cold. As this can blunt flavours, it’s much better to allow it to come up to room temperature. Ironically, in my review of The Hammersley, I’d noted that the chefs-in-training had served their terrine at the perfect temperature.

But the experience overall was a very positive one. The dish felt just right for the season with several pea elements. At the base was a smooth pea puree, plus whole peas. On top was a tangle of pea shoots. A chive oil brought everything together and there were crunchy slivers of pickled shallot for acidity. The scattering of tiny pieces of sweet and crisp honeycomb were possibly unnecessary in what was a good dish. But they weren’t intrusive so didn’t spoil it either.

MAIN COURSES & SIDES

The menu listed a total of twenty main courses, many featuring Dunwood Farm meat.

Choices included seven dishes from the grill: five steaks (£19 – £28), plain or harissa chicken (£17), and an enormous mixed grill for £25. There were four choices of burger served with fries and salad, all at £17.

The remaining nine were a mix of traditional dishes like fish and chips, steak and ale pie, roast beef, some modern British cuisine, one seafood dish, plus two suitable for vegetarians or vegans. Most were £17, there were two at £18, plus Duo of Dunwood Beef for £28.

All side dishes bar one (truffle fries at £6) were £4 each. They included chips and fries, a potato gratin, vegetables, salad, onion rings, and sauces.

PAN ROASTED CHICKEN

For my main course I chose pan roasted chicken breast (£18). This turned out to be an interesting fusion between a chicken dinner and curry flavours.

When it arrived, I was pleased that the chicken was the cut sometimes known as a supreme. This is a boneless breast with the first joint of the wing still attached. It’s a cut I don’t see often enough as I love the little extra nibble the wing provides.

The chicken appeared to have been quite plainly cooked with just a few herbs on top. If you wanted to quibble, you could say it might have been a bit moister. But I liked it, especially dipped into the wet accompaniments.

First was a chicken jus with plenty more in a pot alongside. Personally, I’d call this gravy as it appeared to have been thickened whereas jus generally isn’t. The important thing though was that it was rich and tasty. Then there was a mild curried cauliflower puree. To my surprise, morsels of chicken dipped into both were delicious.

Also on the plate were some perfectly cooked cauliflower florets. Tender but still with bite, they’d been given a good charring.

I was a little disappointed with the bhaji. Although I liked the flavour and crispy outside, it was a bit dense and claggy inside. I’ve made a fair few in my time and think they’re much better with less flour. I also do the trick of frying once, tearing open slightly, then frying again.

The menu referred to preserved lemon, which sounded like a good addition. However, I think the little triangles of lemon on my plate tasted like they hadn’t been preserved for very long. I’d also prefer to be served just the skin as the pith is too bitter.

These few points aside, it was a really pleasing main course. I ate every scrap, even scrounging some very good chips from ID to finish the sauce and puree. Once upon a time, if I saw someone eating chicken and chips with both gravy and curry sauce, I’d think they were out of their mind. But no more!

DUNWOOD FARM STEAK

For his main course, ID chose one of the cheapest Dunwood Farm steaks: the 8oz hanger steak (£19). All the steaks are served with chips, roasted vine tomatoes, baked mushroom, and pea shoots.

The hanger steak is the only one which the menu recommends you have medium rare. This is quite sensible as it’s a cut that will be tough if cooked more than this. Done medium rare though, it should be wonderfully tender.

When it arrived, even before cutting into it, we could see it had been cooked then rested perfectly.

Besides just the right level of charring on the outside, you could tell that the meat would be tender. This was due to a sort of ‘loose’ look and the fact that it was bouncy when lightly pressed. With no sign of bloody juices oozing onto the plate, the steak must have been well rested before being served. All these outer indications were confirmed when ID begin eating and I had a precious mouthful too. Pink, tender, juicy, and full of flavour, the kitchen had treated a great piece of meat with all the respect it deserved.

The accompaniments couldn’t be faulted either, with ID being particularly impressed with the tasty mushroom. As mentioned, I snaffled some of the excellent chips to eat with the sauces on my main dish. I returned the favour by letting ID have some of the chicken gravy/jus to dip the last of his chips into.

DESSERTS

I’m afraid I forgot to take a photo of the desserts chalkboard and there isn’t one to look at online. So, you’ll just have to see what’s available when you go along.

What I can tell you though is that it was a shortish list of fairly simple options (I vaguely recall a brownie) and we thoroughly enjoyed what we chose. Ours were both £7.95 each.

BAKEWELL TART

I had the Bakewell tart. This had plenty of the expected almond flavour, although none of the traditional flaked nuts on top.

Besides the classic raspberry flavour appearing as jam as well as fresh berries, there was possibly a nod to the modern variation of cherry Bakewell. This was in the form of thick gel which I think was cherry flavoured. Alongside was a very good vanilla ice cream which, judging by the signboard outside, may have been from the excellent Dalton’s Dairy.

TRIFLE

Not long after we’d been seated, a retro-looking trifle in a long-stemmed glass had been served to the adjacent table. I’ll bet that’s what influenced ID’s choice of dessert, because it was the reason I nearly ordered it too! Made properly, there’s not a lot to dislike with a good old sherry trifle and this was just right. Simple, fun, and tasty.

THE GROSVENOR RESTAURANT AT HALES HALL: RECOMMENDED

As a food obsessive, it’s rare when I can’t find something I think could be improved when dining out. But the few niggles I’ve mentioned at the Grosvenor restaurant were really just minor ones. Taken as a whole, there was good attention to detail, especially with the steak main course, and the flavours in all the dishes were excellent.

There’s the usual range of soft and alcoholic drinks plus a cocktail menu. From a shortish wine list, we chose the house red which wasn’t bad at all considering it was just £18.

The service was friendly and polite, although it did take more than twenty minutes before we got a jug of water and the wine. We didn’t get starters until forty minutes after arrival, but after that things moved along nicely. Given the quality of what I ate, I’m more than happy to forgive the initial wait and am looking forward to going back.

At this standard of cooking, I thought the pricing was very reasonable indeed. Obviously, I could see what each dish cost on the menu. But I was still pleasantly surprised when the food bill, for three generous courses apiece, worked out at just £35.45 a head. In a time of still-rising prices, I think that’s quite impressive. And especially when you consider that quality local ingredients, quite rightly, are not the cheapest.

If you don’t yet know this enjoyable restaurant tucked away in the impressive Staffordshire Moorlands countryside, I recommend you give The Grosvenor Restaurant a try whether you’re looking for some familiar favourites or modern British fine dining.

PRICES AND MENUS CORRECT AT TIME OF WRITING

UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, ALL PHOTOS © MOORLANDS EATER & NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION

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