Eating out: Flavours of the Dales at the Devonshire Arms Hotel

But on my recent visit to the Dales beauty spot I was thoroughly spoiled with a Champagne afternoon tea, filled with delicious seasonal flavours. Welcome to the Garden Room - a new dining experience at the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa.

Occupying the conservatory of the hotel’s previous restaurant, Burlington, the dining space has had a stylish makeover, with a fresh culinary ethos. It’s less formal, while retaining the hotel’s country house elegance.

Looking out to the Italian style courtyard, there’s an ‘outside in’ ambience. The seasonal afternoon tea served daily offers diners the option of sitting outside in the courtyard garden. Inside, there’s a striking botanical vibe in the Garden Room, with funky teal and floral upholstered chairs, glossy plants and natural light pouring through the glass.

The restaurant has had a stylish makeover (Image: Anna Batchelor)

It feels fresh and modern; a chic alternative to the hotel’s cosy lounges, with their open fires, armchairs and traditional charm, but offering the same relaxed atmosphere and friendly welcome.

One of the cosy lounges at the Dales hotel (Image: Devonshire Hotels)

The stylish restaurant is popular with hotel guests and non-resident diners, for both dinner and afternoon tea. The Garden Room’s evening dining currently offers a seafood tasting menu and à la carte menu. Says Executive Chef Adam Harper: “Following success of the new Garden Room at our sister hotel, The Cavendish in Baslow, we discovered that our guests were particularly complimentary of simpler dining choices, and a more relaxed ambience. This success inspired us to adopt a similar approach here at The Dev.

The Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa has introduced a new culinary experience (Image: Devonshire Hotels)

“Central to each seasonal menu will be a themed tasting menu; this summer’s showcases the very best British seafood and fish, including Orkney scallops, native lobster and wild sea bass. Tasty à la carte options include starters such as Salt Aged Yorkshire Duck breast, Exmoor Caviar and BBQ’d Garden Salad. Mains include Eshton Herdwich Estate Lamb, Yorkshire Beef Wellington and Halibut. The carefully thought-out menu invites diners to tailor their own dining experience. Each plate is simply presented, with the taste of the ‘hero’ ingredient, optimised by interesting flavour combinations.”

I arrived at the Garden Room on a sunny Sunday for afternoon tea. The menu makes the most of local produce from nearby farms, including the Bolton Abbey estate and artisan producers, as well as Yorkshire and Scottish fish merchants. The hotel’s Victorian walled kitchen garden, which has been lovingly restored in recent years, provides vegetables, salads, herbs and home-picked fruits for the menus.

Sweet treats on the afternoon tea menu (Image: Anna Batchelor)

Invited to try the Sparkling Afternoon Tea, my friend Surji and I probably weren’t the easiest diners to cater for, as I don’t eat meat and she doesn’t eat cheese or pork. But this wasn’t an issue to faze the Garden Room team - we were served a wonderful array of veggie finger sandwiches, buttermilk scones and gorgeous cakes made by award-winning pastry chefs. Our sparkling afternoon got underway with a glass of Laurent-Perrier, one of the finest names in Champagne. Cheers! After a delightful mini cream cheese tart - Surji’s had a green pea filling - in a melt-in-the-mouth pastry crust with edible flowers, we enjoyed a delicious leek and potato soup. It was divine; fresh flavours leapt from the bowl and it was nourishing but light enough for the sandwiches to follow. Tasty fillings included egg mayonnaise, cheese, cucumber and avocado.

The thing about afternoon tea is it all looks so lovely and dainty, but once you start tucking in it can quickly be filling. With a glass of bubbly to accompany the contents of the tiered cake-stand, we paced ourselves and soaked up the relaxed vibe. Afternoon tea at the Garden Room is clearly popular - the conservatory space soon filled up with guests, including couples and family groups. A table of six was celebrating a big birthday.

We were served plain and fruit scones, delicious with clotted cream and home-made preserve, and an assortment of cakes - strawberry tarts, macarons, mini Battenbergs and rich chocolate cake - that all looked too pretty to eat. Almost.

Emma's afternoon tea at the Garden Room (Image: Newsquest)

We each had a pot each of freshly-brewed tea (there are speciality infusions and handcrafted coffee) and as we couldn’t manage all the cakes the friendly waitress boxed up the left-overs for us to take away.

After a delightful afternoon of indulgence in the Garden Room we walked to nearby Bolton Abbey, where, as a child, I spent many a Sunday afternoon. Happy times riverside picnics, crossing the stepping stones and exploring the priory ruins. A short drive away is Strid Wood, home to roe deer, and the mysterious point of the River Wharfe known as the Strid. For walkers, the Valley of Desolation, linking the river to Barden Fell, offers a stunning waterfall and spectacular Dales views from Simon’s Seat.

An early 17th century coaching inn, the Devonshire Arms is part of the Duke of Devonshire’s hospitality businesses located on the Bolton Abbey Estate and the Chatsworth Estate in Derbyshire. The hotel has hosted Wordsworth and Turner, inspired by the Dales landscapes, and members of the Royal family. Today it has 40 bedrooms and two suites and a bijou spa in an ancient barn, with a pool, sauna, steam room and Rasul chamber.

* Summer Afternoon Tea at the Devonshire Arms Hotel and Spa is served daily, 1-3pm. Signature Afternoon Tea £39.50 per person. Laurent Perrier ‘Sparkling’ Afternoon Tea £49.50.

The Garden Room is also open Wednesday-Saturday, 6-8.30pm. Visit devonshirehotels.co.uk or call 01756 718111.