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Review: The Slaughters Country Inn
food magazine - March 01, 2013
Copse Hill Road in Lower Slaughter was voted the "most romantic street in Britain" in a recent Google poll. Next to that road is The Slaughters Country Inn, a hotel and restaurant whose Cotswold stone, pristine gardens and grand 17th century appeal fit right in with the street's accolade. But whether it's romance you seek, or simply a fantastic, relaxed meal, the Inn is an idyllic retreat whose style and comfort artfully marries the old and new.
Visitors to the Inn can dine in the restaurant or the bar, the latter of which is an ideal place to start with a pre-dinner pint while you relax by the much-coveted fireplace. In fact, everything about the place is relaxed: the staff, the furniture and especially the food, unpretentious but exquisite as reflected in simple starters like mussels with cider and bacon, chicken liver parfait and grilled field mushrooms with caper butter. Main dishes feature the best of what’s local and in season and always include a weekly-changing pie. The braised ox cheek is a chef's favourite, served with a luxurious and punchy horseradish mash. Poached salmon is served pink alongside a delicate herb coquillage. For dessert, you could go with a classic sticky toffee pudding, but it's worth having fun with one of their more adventurous sweet creations: the apple trifle in particular is a delightful fusion of crisp apples, creamy custard, cold cider granite and marvelous little cinnamon doughnuts.
Even if you're not staying the night, the restaurant alone is a great way to delight in the Inn's fairytale-like ambiance. It basically provides the two things that everyone wants when dining out in the Cotswolds: beautiful food served in astoundingly beautiful surroundings.
The Slaughters Country Inn, Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire, GL54 2HS 01451 822143. theslaughtersinn.co.uk