The Samling

High quality cooking

The Samling sits in splendid, immaculate isolation above Windermere. It is a sumptuous place that nods in contemporary style to Lakeland surroundings that you can enjoy without getting wet and muddy; invigorating views of mere and mountain spread beyond the glass-walled dining room, and the seriously cushioned lounge is warmed with a weather-defying real fire. Service is flawless, if at times a little whispered, and the cooking of executive chef Robby Jenks and his team is deliciously refined. The four-course lunch is good value (you pay more than double for seven courses at dinner), though the quietness one autumn Saturday lunchtime suggests that memo has not been received. Sourdough comes tucked up warm in white linen in a silver bowl; its accompanying butter sits on a stone, fashionably. A fragile tartlet is a few bites of walloping umami savouriness from mushrooms – ketchup, duxelles, hen of the woods, tiny little shimeji, a tuile – and the aniseedy nudge of tarragon emulsion brightens the ‘shroomy forest. Saffron is the dominant flavour in a dish of skate wing, spiralled round a gentle shellfish mousse in a sauce split with dill oil. Topped with a lacy saffron tuile that's dotted with Jerusalem artichoke and ditsy nasturtium leaves, it is a thing of golden beauty and earthy flavour. Middle White pork is treated with such tenderness that a piece of pancetta-wrapped loin becomes meltingly soft, so too a square of belly slow-cooked in beer vinegar; both get on well with the sweet-sharp seasonality of pear, parsnip and red cabbage. Finish with a classy apple dessert that uses fruit from the Samling’s orchard. A meringue cup contains minuscule dices of apple as well as almond biscuit, the whole surrounded by a featherlight mousse coated in white chocolate. Tonka-bean ice cream alongside is sublime in its nutty, vanilla-suggesting flavour. Wine-lovers take note: temptation ahead. The renowned list, vast in scope, is fat with bottles from the world’s great vineyards, and prices reflect this. There are slightly more ordinary sips – called ‘The Forty’ after their price tag – but it somehow comes as no surprise that three bottles have five-figure tickets, a bottle of La Romanée Grand Cru Monopole 2002 topping the lot at a mind-boggling £16,000.

High on a hill outside Ambleside, the Samling hotel boasts some of the finest views of Windermere, allowing an extensive, panoramic perusal of the lake and fells. The Gathering, a relatively new dining room in a converted outbuilding down a lane, has the same beautiful vistas but in far more simple surrounds of whitewashed walls and wooden beams; diners facing away from Windermere get a pretty Lakeland scene of sheep and Shetland ponies, while the terrace is perfect when it's warm enough to sit outside. The carte offers a sophisticated menu of cleverly chosen combinations, from which you can order one, two or three courses. To begin, a trio of perfectly timed scallops come crisscrossed with celeriac batons in a pancetta-studded sauce for an elegant spin on the classic seafood and bacon combo. A pretty salad of crisp chicory leaves blobbed with goat's cheese and freshened up with quartered plums makes a lighter start, ahead of generously portioned mains. A velvety beef fillet arrives adorned with a chunky pair of oxtail spring rolls and carrots plus a liberal pour of red wine sauce. Monkfish layered with chorizo, to imbue a cassoulet base with the required smokiness, is no less hearty. Given that duck-egg baked mushrooms with Gruyère was the vegetarian main course at inspection, we wondered whether a couple of lighter options might be welcome for diners who would like to make it as far as a steamed sticky toffee pudding with salted-caramel ice cream – especially if the sunflower and tomato bread has been enthusiastically sampled. That said, complaining about generous portions seems churlish, not least as this is a room in which to linger; friendly staff are happy for diners to take a meal at their own pace, while a wine list with some heavy-hitting producers is there to be explored over what is likely to be a most enjoyable experience.

4 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence