Shropshire Magazine

The sumptuous interior at Overton Grange Hotel.

By Andy Richardson. Pictures: Mike Hayward

Dining at Overton Grange put me in mind of Lewis Hamilton’s rookie Formula One season. We arrived more in hope than in expectation, but were instantly impressed; by the midway point, we were daring to believe that we’d stumbled across one of the finest performers of all; but, in the final stages, problems developed and we were left with a curious mix of happiness and mild disappointment.

Make no mistake, Overton Grange is a class act that can count itself among Shropshire’s elite hotels-cum-restaurants. It is deserving of its three AA rosettes, but you can’t help feeling it has untapped potential.

Ten years ago, the salubrious venue on the outskirts of Ludlow was enjoying its glory days. A bright new French chef, Claude Bosi, had arrived and was on course to win the restaurant its first Michelin star. When he left, the talented Wayne Vickerage proved a suitable replacement and standards remained exceptionally high, though the Michelin rating lapsed.

More recently, Olivier Bossut proved a safe pair of hands and, when he left to run The Roebuck, at Brimfield, his sous chef Christophe Blanc took charge of the kitchens.

Head chef Christophe Dechaux-Blanc.

During the course of our dinner, the new chef showed some hugely skilful touches but perhaps let himself down in one or two areas.

Overton Grange is one of Shropshire’s most sumptuous venues. Owned by accomplished restaurateurs/hoteliers Franck and Louise Choblet, it is in a divine location.

It is a temple to luxurious relaxation: its lounge has a roaring log fire, beautiful paintings, comfortable sofas, sophisticated jazz music and books on restaurants such as The French Laundry, on wildlife, speedboats and other subjects.

When we arrived for a Saturday evening dinner, the attentive staff took our coats, brought a glass of champagne and allowed us time to peruse the menu. My wife and I were in our element.

We received a solid silver platter of appetisers, including a foie gras mille feuille, a delightful parmesan blini, perfunctory olives and salmon on bread. The introductory amuse bouche course is a chance for a chef to impress and Blanc had managed it.

There were three starters and three main courses to choose from, all featuring seasonal produce, with snails, scallops, venison and duck among the choices. We opted for the degustation menu which, at £60 a head, featured a chef’s selection of taster portions.

We were shown into the dining room and enjoyed the dark tones of the walls and delightful furniture. The Choblets have refurbished Overton Grange to a high standard and left plenty of space between tables.

Pan-fried langoustines, buttered spinach, green beans, piquillo pepper coulis, salad leaves.

The waitresses bought a red pepper velouté, which was well seasoned and had distinctive fruity flavours of pepper and a rich, creamy depth. It was presented with a basket of various flavoured breads, including slices of red beetroot baguette. The velouté was excellent, the bread less so.

The first course was an exceptional foie gras terrine with an artichoke cream, tiny side salad, raspberry reduction and slice of apple. It was served with slices of toasted brioche and was an out-and-out winner.

Next came scallops with a tiny side salad, red-onion vinaigrette, and basket made from caramel, sesame seeds and poppy seeds and other garnishes. Again, it was a treat – we thought it food of Michelin-starred quality. An exquisite ravioli of beef’s cheek followed and we started to imagine Overton returning to its days among the UK’s best.

But that proved to be a high watermark. A thin sliver of turbot, such a delightful fish, was served next with a too-powerful saffron sauce. And then came the real dud. My wife had been looking forward most of all to the meat course, which was duck served in a peppery Cantonese-style sauce. It arrived but was stone cold. A lady at a nearby table sent it back. We thought about doing likewise, but had been so resolutely disappointed with it that we didn’t want to try again. The rug had been pulled from under us.

Beef fillet, creamy wild mushrooms in feuillete, smoked paprika mousseline and glazed baby onions, Sichuan pepper sauce.

A pre-dessert of tonka bean crème brulée was reasonable, though in my opinion it was too eggy and not creamy enough. And it seemed unnecessarily fussy to use tonka beans when vanilla gives more flavour. The final course, a hot chocolate fondant with vanilla ice-cream, was fine but no better. The cake had been left for too long in the oven, I think, giving it a muffin-like texture, when it should have oozed and melted.

We repaired to the lounge for coffee and petits fours. The petits fours summed up the evening: they looked great but tasted only so-so, thereby flattering only to deceive.

Overton Grange, under the ownership of the much-respected Choblets, now offers visitors a more relaxing experience than it did 10 years ago under its former proprietor Igi Gonzalez.

Their waitresses were good but perhaps lacked the confidence and conviction of those in Michelin-rated venues. The kitchen, too, needs to up its game a tad to reach the next level. While the cold duck was undoubtedly a blip, the lack of creativity in some of our courses – the red-onion vinaigrette was great, but it appeared in three different dishes – and occasionally poor execution left us slightly disappointed.

Were Overton Grange a less salubrious venue, such faults would more easily be tolerated. But it’s aiming high and standards need to be as high as those at such nearby venues as Ludlow’s Mr Underhill’s.

Like Lewis Hamilton, it has a bright future and there’s no reason to doubt that, with a little fine tuning, it should become one of this area’s finest restaurants of all.

• Overton Grange Hotel, Old Hereford Road, Ludlow SY8 4AD. Telephone 01584 873500. www.overtongrangehotel.co.uk [although we can’t get the site to work]

Strawberry parfait, homemade lemon sorbet in a fresh thyme tuile.