The Great House

Lavenham in Suffolk is a particularly pretty village with half-timbered mediaeval cottages and a 15th century church, along with lots and lots of tourists. The Great House is near the centre of the village at one end of the main marketplace, and fortunately seems to have some of its own parking. The building that houses the restaurant was built during the 14^th and 15^th centuries by a wealthy family. Since 1985 it has been owned by Regis and Martine Crepy.  The head chef Regis is from Lille and had worked previously at The Mariners in Ipswich. He had the distinction of once (in 2002) being told after serving a lavish breakfast to the ever-tactful Prince Philip: “The French don’t know how to cook breakfast”. The dining room features a fine inglenook and had well spaced tables. The atmosphere is quite formal, with well-ironed white tablecloths. The menu is mostly classical in style, just one dessert venturing into herbal territory. There was a set menu at £36.50 as well as an a la carte selection.

The predominantly but far from exclusively French wine list ranged in price from £17.95 to £327, but with much of the list priced at under £30. Sample bottles were La Tunella Sauvignon Blanc Colli Orientali di Friuli 2014 at £28 for a bottle that will set you back £11 in the high street, Oliver Leflaive Cote de Beaune Villages Rouge 2011 at £40.80 for a bottle that retails at £17, and Chateau La Lagune Le Moulin de la Lagune 2011 at £72.90 for a wine that will set you back £35 in a shop. 

Bread was made from scratch in the kitchen, a choice today of Cheddar, lemon thyme or tomato and basil. I love it when restaurants make their own bread, and each tasted of its respective main flavour, but the texture was rather on the chewy side. Still, at least they are trying (13/20). A pair of nibbles began the meal: tuna rillette with basil espuma was pleasant, as was melon "soup" which actually had the consistency of mousse (13/20).

To start with, smoked salmon was nicely presented and had cubes of good quality salmon, resting on finely chopped avocado and quinoa chutney, sandwiched between two thin and crunchy radish strips, topped with salmon roe and coriander, the plate decorated with stripes of sweet soya sauce. (14/20). Cubes of tuna had been marinated in soy and served with a citrus dressing. The marinade caused the fish to go a shade of brown rather than its characteristic deep red, which looked rather odd, but it tasted fine, the acidity of the dressing cutting through the natural fat of the fish (13/20).

For the main course, Dover sole was filleted and accurately cooked and accompanied by saffron emulsion, though the overall effect was a touch salty. The fish came with properly podded broad beans that could have been more delicate, and lemon hummus (13/20). Guinea fowl with lobster sauce was an unusual idea, but the meat was carefully cooked and had good flavour, and the sauce had reasonable intensity (14/20). I enjoyed a side dish of gratin dauphinois, the texture good and retaining some texture to the potatoes rather than drowning them in cream as can sometimes happen. Beans were properly cooked and served with herbs and butter. Both main dishes came with an extra little saucepan of sauce on the side, which was a nice touch.

For dessert, almond and apricot had finely chopped apricot, slices of apricot, baby meringues, intensely flavoured amoretti ice cream, liquid globes filled with apricot and white chocolate discs. There was a garnish of crisp sugar tuiles, caramelised almonds, drops of apricot sauce and orange sorbet. The dish was decorated with entirely unnecessary micro leaves (14/20). Lime cheesecake was not quite so good, appearing a luminous shade of green and for me a bit light on the citrus (just about 13/20). Coffee was from Nespresso pods, which are at least consistent but produce pretty ordinary coffee. Petit fours comprised a banana and whisky liquid globe and a bite-sized chocolate brownie.

The service was good and the bill came to £105 a head with some good wine. If you shared a modest bottle then a more typical bill would be around £80 a head. Overall The Great House was a pleasant experience, with mostly capable classical cooking and nice staff. The main issue here would be whether you considered this good value for money.