Burlington Restaurant, Bolton Abbey

Since this review Adam Smith has left the Devonshire to be replaced by Paul Leonard. We weill report back when we have visited.

Ah, Bolton Abbey, the estate village of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, in magnificent Wharfedale and at its heart the glossy Devonshire Arms Country House Hotel with its high rolling Burlington Restaurant, perhaps the hautest of haute cuisine in all Yorkshire.

Chef Adam Smith arrived in 2013 to take over from the other Smith, Steve Smith who has departed with his Michelin star to Jersey.  Adam comes fresh faced from the Ritz Hotel, via a prestigious Roux Scholarship where the prize included a stage at Paris’s three star Le Meurice and he’s still only 25.

Expect refined, exquisitely prepared dishes such as venison fillet that cuts like butter paired with chestnut, celeriac, black truffle and a pear turned to a perfect miniature. As you might also expect from an ex Ritz chef, he has plans to upgrade the afternoon tea offer at the Devonshire, so watch this space. None of this comes cheap. The a la carte is £65, the tasting menu at £75 with a wine selection of £50 per head which might turn out to be a bargain once you have visited the Devonshire’s wine list. The Devonshire’s cellars are legendary: 2,500 different bins, 30,000 bottles with the cheapest at £25 and the priciest an 1870 magnum of Chateau Lafitte at £12,000. The list, as thick as a cathedral bible, thankfully offers plenty by the glass.