A British restaurant that's worth a detour

Who says British food has to be staid and stodgy?

With innovative chefs like Nathan Outlaw and Eric Snaith on the scene, the British menu now features fabulous fresh seafood with innovative twists.

Titchwell Manor, a boutique hotel that overlooks the North Norfolk coast, has become a magnet for gourmets thanks to chef Snaith’s creative cuisine in the Conservatory restaurant (pictured below) using largely local produce like Brancaster oysters and mussels and Cromer crabs.

With a menu featuring dishes like partridge breast and leg with fruit and nut bulgar wheat and red cabbage, or maybe halibut with cauliflower, white chocolate, caviar, couscous and hazelnut, Snaith pushes the boundaries and challenges the palate.

Dishes like a self-saucing fishcake with caviar, lemon and dill or fillet of wild sea bass with mussels, bacon, fingerling potatoes and wild mushrooms are more mainstream, but Snaith’s food is modern English cooking at its best. All main courses cost less than £21 and there is an excellent wine list along with several local ales.

Titchwell Manor also offers seven-course tasting menus in the Conservatory for £45 while more casual food is served in the Eating House.

The main building here, a former Victorian Farmhouse, dates back to 1896 and is home to a super little hotel cum pub with just 27 really cosy and individually decorated rooms (I stayed in the Potting Shed, above) - making it a great spot to spend a gourmet weekend away from London, which is a two-and-a-half hour drive away. 

Titchwell Manor. Phone +44 1485 210221. www.titchwellmanor.com