rosemary restaurant
Stanton House Hotel
The Avenue
Stanton Fitzwarren
Swindon
SN6 7SD
0870 084 1388
www.stantonhouse.co.uk
Quick-stop Japanese restaurants are springing up in city centres all around the UK,
but the peaceful, rural setting of Stanton House Hotel’s Rosemary Restaurant feels a
world away. Jennie Clark steps out from Bristol’s bustle to appreciate the art of sushi.
It’s an unusual prospect, anticipating specialist Japanese cuisine on the approach to a Wiltshire country manor. Situated next to acres of ancient woodland in Stanton Park nature reserve, Stanton House Hotel appears every bit a part of its classic Cotswold setting.
Originally created for workers and their families based at the nearby Honda plant, the food at the hotel’s two restaurants has developed a reputation that’s outgrown its initial purpose. Diners can choose between the intimate and authentic Mt Fuji restaurant, where shoes are removed at the door, and the Rosemary a la carte restaurant overlooking the leafy grounds.
We began our meal at Rosemary with warm sake. Although it’s referred to as a rice wine, it carries the punch of a brandy or liqueur. When it’s warm it quickly loses its fleeting heat, but it also has a sense of occasion that drinking it cold can’t match.
A menu made up of so many little dishes always breeds indecisiveness, but thankfully the sushi and sashimi is available as a chef’s selection to share. The sashimi moriawase is available with four or seven fish varieties (£13.50/£19.50), and the nigiri sushi moriawase includes a selection of 12 pieces of sushi (£18).
For one of our starters we chose the chikuwa isobe – a stack of thin, crispy fishcake pieces in light and crispy seaweed batter (£3.40). As well as classic teriyaki and deep-fried squid, the starters include more adventurous specialities like octopus and sautéed ox tongue.
For the main course we had shogayaki, stirfried pork loin with ginger sauce and fresh salad (£13.60) – thin slices of local meat drenched in fragrant oriental broth. We also had nabe yaki udon (£12.50) – noodles in a hot, clear soya soup with tempura prawns and vegetables, a lightly poached egg and tofu. This was a vast, homely bowl of fat noodles soaking up the light soup, the giant prawns on top and the poached egg leaking out rich liquid yolk.
For dessert you can choose from Japanese fruit salad and different ice creams, but we went for a sweet adzuki bean-filled pancake.
The chef at Rosemary trained in Japan, and many of the specialist foods used in the restaurant are also available for sale in the Japanese food shop next to the restaurant – you can even order sushi grade fish to make your own at home.
Every Sunday, there’s a Japanese buffet (£11.95 pp) with a full selection of sushi, sashimi, soup, tempura and other hot dishes – the perfect way to take the time to sample some of the cuisine’s special delights. And surrounded by acres of space in the nearby nature reserve, it’s got all the ingredients for a perfect afternoon.
It’s an unusual prospect, anticipating specialist Japanese cuisine on the approach to a Wiltshire country manor. Situated next to acres of ancient woodland in Stanton Park nature reserve, Stanton House Hotel appears every bit a part of its classic Cotswold setting.
Originally created for workers and their families based at the nearby Honda plant, the food at the hotel’s two restaurants has developed a reputation that’s outgrown its initial purpose. Diners can choose between the intimate and authentic Mt Fuji restaurant, where shoes are removed at the door, and the Rosemary a la carte restaurant overlooking the leafy grounds.
We began our meal at Rosemary with warm sake. Although it’s referred to as a rice wine, it carries the punch of a brandy or liqueur. When it’s warm it quickly loses its fleeting heat, but it also has a sense of occasion that drinking it cold can’t match.
A menu made up of so many little dishes always breeds indecisiveness, but thankfully the sushi and sashimi is available as a chef’s selection to share. The sashimi moriawase is available with four or seven fish varieties (£13.50/£19.50), and the nigiri sushi moriawase includes a selection of 12 pieces of sushi (£18).
For one of our starters we chose the chikuwa isobe – a stack of thin, crispy fishcake pieces in light and crispy seaweed batter (£3.40). As well as classic teriyaki and deep-fried squid, the starters include more adventurous specialities like octopus and sautéed ox tongue.
For the main course we had shogayaki, stirfried pork loin with ginger sauce and fresh salad (£13.60) – thin slices of local meat drenched in fragrant oriental broth. We also had nabe yaki udon (£12.50) – noodles in a hot, clear soya soup with tempura prawns and vegetables, a lightly poached egg and tofu. This was a vast, homely bowl of fat noodles soaking up the light soup, the giant prawns on top and the poached egg leaking out rich liquid yolk.
For dessert you can choose from Japanese fruit salad and different ice creams, but we went for a sweet adzuki bean-filled pancake.
The chef at Rosemary trained in Japan, and many of the specialist foods used in the restaurant are also available for sale in the Japanese food shop next to the restaurant – you can even order sushi grade fish to make your own at home.
Every Sunday, there’s a Japanese buffet (£11.95 pp) with a full selection of sushi, sashimi, soup, tempura and other hot dishes – the perfect way to take the time to sample some of the cuisine’s special delights. And surrounded by acres of space in the nearby nature reserve, it’s got all the ingredients for a perfect afternoon.