Rob Rees ventures into the depths of Hampshire to discover country house luxury and dining at the hands of a Masterchef champion at its very best…
There is something rather reassuring about the best English country-house hotels: they don’t broadcast themselves, they don’t posture, and they certainly don’t chase trends. All that would be terribly vulgar. Lainston House, just outside Winchester, understands this instinctively. It is confident enough to let its very bones do the talking — a handsome 17th-century Queen Anne red-brick pile, wrapped in 63 acres of gently bossy Hampshire parkland — while getting on with the serious business of hospitality. With the relaunch of The Avenue restaurant under Tom Hamblet, it now has a dining proposition that matches the setting.
An overnight stay here begins, as it should, with that slow decompression city life rarely allows. The drive from Winchester is barely ten minutes, yet the effect is total: gravel crunches, trees close in, and the house reveals itself with just the right amount of theatrical restraint.
This is an Exclusive Collection hotel — a group that trades on polish rather than panache — and under the calm, assured leadership of general manager Steve Lewis, it runs with a sense of purpose that is instantly felt. Nothing jars, nothing feels left to chance. The welcome is warm, efficient and notably unforced. No rehearsed bonhomie, no script — just capable, motivated people who seem genuinely pleased you’ve arrived.
The rooms follow suit. Ours, in the main house, was generous without being indulgent, classically furnished with proper proportions, good light and the sort of soft colour palette that suggests someone has actually thought about how guests want to feel at the end of the day. Bathrooms are extraordinary — millionaire living, modern and immaculate — and there’s a four-poster bed that’s supremely comfortable. There’s no gimmickry here, or faddish over-modernisation or hackneyed Farrow & Ball makeover, just sheer quality — which, in the current luxury hotel ‘arms race’, feels almost radical.
But let’s be honest: you come to Lainston now just as much for the dinner experience as the overnight luxury. The Avenue, the hotel’s flagship restaurant, has been thoughtfully redesigned by Russell Sage Studio — the team behind the Goring and 67 Pall Mall — and the effect is elegance personified. Soft textures, considered lighting and a layout that understands dining is both theatre and intimacy.
At the helm is Tom Hamblet, MasterChef: The Professionals 2023 champion, whose appointment feels smart and sincere. Hamblet isn’t here to plaster his television credentials across the menu; instead, he’s cooking with a confidence that suggests he knows exactly where he is — and what he wants to say. The Avenue’s eight-course tasting menu is ambitious, but it’s also deeply pleasurable. There’s precision here, yes, but also warmth and humour.
You start with three diverse ‘snacks’ — amuse-bouche, in other words. Think sun-dried tomato and basil arancini, crispy trout skin with trout rillette and oyster mayo and horseradish, and a poppy seed croustade with chicken liver parfait, fermented plum and puffed wild rice. The trout snack in particular is a masterclass in coastal textures: a shard of salty, crackling trout skin topped with a rich, velvety rillette, delicately flaked and seasoned, all accented with a luxurious dollop of oyster mayo.
A buckwheat and za’atar baguette with garden herb butter arrives early too, feather-light and bronzed, the butter green, fresh and alive. A scallop dish pairs sweet shellfish with anchovy, seaweed pickle and ajo blanco — the kind of combination that sounds clever on paper but is actually grounded in balance and restraint.
An intermediate course of herb gnocchi with butternut squash, pumpkin seed and duck egg keeps things moving before the main event: succulent pink venison with beetroot, Roscoff onion, blackcurrant and duck liver. Hamblet’s cooking is rooted in clarity of flavour rather than ego — dishes are beautifully judged, technically assured and quietly confident, the mark of a chef who understands that luxury dining doesn’t need to flex.
The sweet course builds to a suitable crescendo. A pre-dessert of mango with kaffir lime, rapeseed jam and lemon verbena leads into a coffee and chocolate mousse with cocoa nibs, Pedro Ximénez and banana — indulgent and uplifting in equal measure.
The meal finishes with “Squeeze them ins,” playful, nostalgic petits fours that send you back to your room smiling rather than stupefied. And gluten-free diners are exceptionally well catered for. My tasting menu did not miss a beat and not for one millisecond did I ever feel I’d eaten a detuned course or a compromised dish. Tom has serious, adaptable talent.
What elevates the experience further is the front of house. Belle, Louis and Gerry run the show with an ease that only comes from experience and confidence: attentive without hovering, knowledgeable without lecturing, and instinctively aware of when to step in and when to step back. It’s hospitality of the old school, but without stiffness — service that enhances the evening rather than competing with it. Long-serving Portuguese sommelier Alberto Almeida is a true treasure, perfectly pairing all the dishes with unusual, characterful wines.
It all reminds me of the great country house hotels of the late great 80s, when proper heartfelt British service and charming luxury first burst onto the scene.
Morning brings another reminder of why Lainston works so well. Breakfast is civilised, unhurried and properly cooked, best enjoyed after a walk through the grounds — past the walled garden, along the River Itchen, or simply across lawns that seem designed for thinking clearly. There’s space here, literal and psychological, and that’s part of the appeal.
There’s a cookery school on site run by another Tom and an event and wedding space that oozes history and character. Add in the Pecorelli family’s long-standing influence via Exclusive Collection — custodians of a particular brand of British luxury that prizes consistency over hype — and you have a hotel operating at the top of its game. There’s a sense of stewardship rather than reinvention, which suits Lainston perfectly.
In short, Lainston House is not trying to be fashionable; it’s trying to be excellent. With Tom Hamblet’s cooking anchoring the experience, Steve Lewis quietly steering the ship, and a polished ‘front-of-house’ team that understands the art of looking after people, it has surely become one of the most compelling dine-and-stay destinations in the south of England.
Come for the food, stay for the infinite calm, and leave wondering why you don’t do this sort of thing more often — any time of the year.
Lainston House, Woodman Lane, Sparsholt, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2LT. Lainston House is part of Exclusive Collection. For more information, including details of other properties in the portfolio, please visit www.exclusive.co.uk.
