Grinling Gibbons at Stapleford Park

A lovely evening at Stapleford Park. We had pre dinner drinks in the Bar before going into the dining room. Excellent service and friendly staff hit just the right note of formality. My partner loved his squab to start and I had the vegetarian option of baby veg. Atristically presented it looked lovely, if there was a criticism it would be that the veg were not fashionably al dente but undercooked. The turnip shot off the plate as I couldn't cut it being so hard. The artichokes and the turnip were nice but a little acidic, perhaps taking on too much acidy flavour after being peeled and prepped. Overall, enjoyable though. My main was the filet of beef which was spectacularly good. Cooked rare as requested and melt in the mouth with lots of flavour. The jus/gravy absolutely divine and the truffley tasting potato squares absolutely delicious. I was staying at the Hotel so I had eaten also at the restaurant on the first night and had the main course lamb which was equally spectacular , really for the meat cookery and quality a ten out of ten. Portions on the Vegan main a little small but the bread rolls and delicious mushroom fluffy light butter made up for that. Highly recommended.

Dessert with caramelized banana. It is like a tiramisu de-construct with a sweet twist!

The food is good value but it could be more adventurous.

Excellent service and food.

A wonderful dining experience. We particularly enjoyed the beef fillet and the fish dishes which were cooked to perfection. Excellent attentive service.

We visited with our friends for the Sunday Christmas Lunch and had a wonderful time. Very welcoming and helpful, great service and food, all in a charming location and this beautiful hotel. Thank you to all who made our experience so special.

Fabulous service and food. We were celebrating my daughter's 21st birthday and after lunch it was lovely to walk in the gardens, play croquet and boules in the most perfect weather and setting.

Our first visit so a little apprehensive but very well looked after by all staff.
Lovely welcome in bar and service flowed beautifully.
Dining room looked amazing with beautiful music.
The food was delicious and we were given plenty of time between courses which made for a very relaxing meal.
Hope to return very soon.
Thank you.

Overall the experience was good, but I feel there is definitely room for improvement in food, service and dining environment.
The good: Friendly helpful service, attentive and quick. We both enjoyed the heritage tomato starter, the lamb and the salted cod. Presentation of food was excellent. Ambient dining experience (although a touch lacking in atmosphere), restaurant well laid out with decent space between tables. Deserts were excellent.

What to improve on: We booked at 7:30 both nights, we arrived early to have a drink at the bar, but on both nights were taken to our table very quickly after ordering , please check with guests if they want to eat at booking time or earlier. We felt the food was not living up to how it was presented, we both had fillet steak (and we noticed in other dishes both at the restaurant and bar) nothing was seasoned very well (and we eat low salt diets), the steak lacked general flavour and had not been left to rest (bled on the plate). Service was almost too quick... no time between bread on the table and starters arriving. The dining room is well decorated, but everything is purple, including the fine plasterwork. Finally it should be considered if very young children should be in the restaurant, I could see another couple finding it difficult to enjoy their meal with a 1 or 2 year old grissling beside them.

The food and service were excellent. Food was really well cooked and delicious, and really well presented. Service staff were attentive and friendly and they were happy to give you enough time to eat at your own pace without feeling rushed.