The Back Garden Restaurant. Outstanding Fare In The Stunning Cotswolds

Andy Mossack eats at The Back Garden Restaurant at Dormy House in the village of Broadway in the beautiful Cotswolds.

Discreetly tucked away high above the village of Broadway in the beautiful Cotswolds, Dormy House is somewhat reminiscent of a showcase Cotswold village, manicured to within an inch of its life. A 17th century converted Cotswold stone farmhouse with 39 rooms might be described as boutique, but it is far from that.

With guestroom options of main farmhouse, courtyard or lodge, each one individually designed, everything in here is tasteful, stylish and screams interior design of the highest order. It is Cotswold chic.

Therefore it comes as no surprise that its signature restaurant, The Back Garden, should be anything other than fabulous.

Helmed by talented Chef Mathieu Blanchard, his new summer menu had been launched after “months of creativity and care in the kitchen” so obviously as I happened to be staying nearby in the Cotswolds, I was more than interested to try it out.

Celebrated as “the best of British” Back Garden’s menu is unashamedly aimed at sourcing ingredients grown and raised locally and frankly with the quality of Cotswolds farms picking the best ingredients should be a cinch. There was even a food map of the Cotswolds on the back of the menu to explain where each variety of ingredient was sourced.

The Back Garden is a large contemporary space with lovely views of the hotel’s garden (hence the name) and we were luckily given a window perch to be able to do just that. It was doing very good business for a Monday night, a sure sign of approval from locals and guests alike.

First up was an appetite pleaser; an amuse-bouche cup of onion soup with croutons and we just had to add a small onion bread loaf with local butter to share. I mean, who can possibly resist freshly baked onion bread?

On to the starters now and Mrs. M had no doubts about her choice, crispy prawn filo with wild garlic chimichurri and a shellfish & finger lime dip (£16). A Back Garden take on tempura perhaps? The prawns were deliciously fresh and the filo crunchingly crispy.

My Welsh Beechwood smoked cheddar soufflé (£12) was a total triumph, richly smoky, and decadently creamy. The Hawkstone cider pickled onions added a bit of tasty zest.

This was all going to plan then, with plenty of our fellow diners seemingly enjoying their appetizers, everything from Paddock Farm pork pâté en croute to cured smoked Chalkstream trout.

We had some debate about our mains. Loch Duart salmon wellington, garden vegetables, seaweed mash, Vermouth sauce to share (£64) or go our own way? In the end we parted company. I decided on the Outdoor Pig Company steak & ale pie and kidneys, with buttery mash potato, red wine & shallot sauce (£24). The mash came in its own small copper pan and the sauce in a little pot so I could pour wherever I wanted.

Mrs M went for a Home Farm rump of lamb, pea purée, miso glazed asparagus, anchovy potato gratin (£34) which was (in her words) “bloody marvellous”.

By now the evening rush was over and things were calming down. Another debate ensued on whether we were too full for dessert. Needless to say two desserts were ordered. I cannot resist custard and rhubarb in any form so an egg custard tart with Wye Valley rhubarb (£10) was a no brainer. Mrs M’s penchant for baked Alaska knows no bounds and so the baked Alaska with raspberries, peach and a lemon verbena (£10) was the obvious order.

The rhubarb was tart, the custard creamy, and although the Alaska wasn’t hot (her preference) it was a worthy choice.

The Back Garden Restaurant reflects the rest of Dormy House. Laid back luxury with stylish overtones. Not quite fine dining, but that’s not needed here. It’s just good food delivered in a confident relaxed setting that says leave it to us, we know what we’re doing.

Food images (C) Andy Mossack