GETAWAYS • Lancashire
An unassuming country lane just outside Liverpool leads you to Moor Hall Restaurant & Rooms, a complex of tasteful buildings, both historic and modern. It’s set on an estate that has been around for centuries, and that lineage is felt in both the indoor and outdoor spaces, particularly the cosy bar, where an impressive fireplace seems to contain several eras of history.
I’m here to dine at the storied restaurant, helmed by chef Mark Birchall, but Moor Hall has transformed dinner into an overnight experience that encompasses several meals and immersion into their nature-filled land. After checking into my room, a contemporary cabin on the edge of a small lake, two servers appear with a box of afternoon tea.
The main event begins in the bar with drinks and a series of immaculate snacks, including a tin of aged caviar to be spread on homemade crackers. It continues in the kitchen, where the ingredients are introduced and a final snack is served. We then move to the dining room, a sleek space still catching the final rays of the day’s sunshine. The courses, inspired by British ingredients, including from the estate’s own garden, arrive at a perfectly paced, momentum-building clip. There’s a tableside element to many, including the crab, which is served with umami-led turnip broth mixed in a cocktail shaker by the server before it’s poured over the dish.
The meal concludes back in the lounge, with a final dessert (of three in total) presented on a trolley. We’re full, but not uncomfortable – a good thing since the stay also includes Birchall’s thoughtful breakfast hours later.
Guests can visit Moor Hall or its second restaurant, The Barn, for just a single meal. Both are open for lunch and dinner. But those who do will miss out on sleeping next to the lake, enjoying a soak in one of the small hot tubs before dinner, or simply waiting for the attentive staff to arrive with the next sensational serving. –Emily Zemler