558. The Warwick At Mallory Court.

 

  Stuart Deeley has been in charge of the kitchens at Mallory Court hotel, which was home to the first restaurant in the whole of the West Midlands region to be awarded a Michelin star back in the late 1970s, for just over a year now and so I was pleased to not only be staying again at the sumptuous and atmospheric hotel but also to be reexperiencing the dishes Deeley was serving in the hotel’s The Warwick restaurant. As an extra, the opportunity arose for me to compare Deeley’s food with that at The Cross At Kenilworth (sister restaurant to the late Simpsons of Edgbaston) where Adam Bennett has been serving Michelin-starred food for about 13 years and where I had an excellent lunch that very day.

 After attempting to observe the partial eclipse of the sun that evening (which of course I could not do as I was without any special ‘eclipse spectacles’ to protect my eyes; though I did get a minor thrill from experiencing the eerie silence which befell the earth along with the strange light which lingered for two or three minutes as the eclipse reached its maximum) I enjoyed a full bodied Singapore Sling in the hotel’s bar where life seemed to be a very a pleasant thing despite the various slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that sometimes come along, I enjoyed the two different  canapés and the amuse bouche of pecorino custard and celeriac along with a gorgeous brioche loaf and cultured butter. I had intended to order from the tasting menu but having had a very full lunch at The Cross I realised that I ran the risk of living up to what my dear old grannie used to describe quite graphically as “Your mouth’s as big as your belly” by which she meant I would ask for more to eat than I could manage though I see that the phrase is said to allude to a person who says he will do more than he can deliver (well I suppose it all boils down to the same thing in the end). As my belly and its ability to digest are indeed now probably smaller than the amount of good things I desire to eat I steered away from the tasting menu (£115) to the à la carte (3 courses plus all the extras for £95). I had no regrets.

  As my starter I opted for Devon crab with Isle of Wight tomatoes all spiced up with radish from the Mallory Court garden and soothed by a delicate and refreshing tomato.consommé. I thought that this was a very clever (and pretty) dish - there was a good quantity of crab and its flavour was not lost to the heat of the radish which caused a temporary tingling in the front and middle of my tongue.

  As my main I could not resist the dish of finely cooked Cornish plaice again beautifully presented with it sitting in a broth of Thai spices with pieces of courgette adding texture along with some tender, sweet mussels. The delicate plaice had a lovely texture and had been treated with the respect this fine fish deserved.

  Finally I was served my chosen dessert of sweet Somerset strawberries with a buttermilk parfait, little white chocolate matchsticks, the unusual ingredient of long pepper (rarely used in Europe though popular in India and used in England in medieval times - a good and novel idea, Chef) - pepper is always a good condiment for strawberries and Deeley added to it by also including marigold which also brings a mild pepperiness to the dish. This was a very enjoyable dessert.

 This was an excellent meal, well presented with a degree of originality to it and using very fine ingredients prepared very well. 

  Night fell at Mallory Court and Dog and I readied ourselves for bed in our rather splendid bedroom -

  And as night fell so did the sun rise as sure as Day follows Night and Dog and I set off for our walk around the Mallory Court gardens at 6AM before anyone else was up and about and therefore at risk from an overfriendly young Labrador’s attentions. The gardens were peaceful and beautiful even if three months of never ending sunshine and absence of rain had taken its toll on the gardens. Rabbits lounged in the warm early morning sun only to scatter when we appeared on the scene.

  And so to breakfast, which was as good as it looks in the photograph - the scrambled egg was perfect, a little baveuse just as I like it with the rest of the ingredients all of high quality, the black pudding cooked perfectly (so often it is overcooked elsewhere so that it is dry with the texture of blotting paper), and an extra sausage for Lucy The Labrador. I had a little romance with the toast rack which was very much in the art deco style with the letters spelling ‘toast’ sticking out at different angles from the rack and the letter ‘A’ larger in size to fulfill the role of the handle with which to carry the toast tack.

  And so, after a happy day, for a second evening of dinner in the Warwick restaurant but not before another spot on Singapore Sling in the bar.

  I had intended to try the full tasting menu but having had three dishes from it the day before and the temperature being so very hot (though pleasantly comfortable in the hotel itself) I opted to eat from the à la carte menu again and was pleased to have done so. The two canapés were the same as the previous evening and Black Bomber cheese, a super-mature Cheddar made in North Wales, gave a good punch to the cheesy canopé which was something lacking in the one I had been served in the Castle in Kenilworth the day before. The little croustade containing tartare was also very pleasant with the meat having a pleasing texture. Cheese returned to the front of stage with the delicious little bowl of pecorino custard and celeriac purée overlaid by a lattice. Again I was also served a beautiful brioche, sweet and buttery, accompanied by lashings of butter to help it on its way.

    The first course proper was a smooth and luxurious chicken liver parfait, its richness balanced by leaves of chicory and orange and some texture inserted by pecans. This was very tasty and my only hesitation about it was that it was served alongside a whopping piece of nearly burnt toast which looked very inelegant for what was otherwise a prettily presented dish.

  I think the main course was excellent. It was memorable for its deliciousness and presentation and also because the protein was served on the same plate as the oft ignored (in these recent years) vegetables. Slicing away at a piece of meat with a wisp of tenderstem broccoli and a tiny swirl of a purée, as one experiences in some tasting menus, rapidly becomes very boring long before one has approached finishing off the protein, even when the portion of meat could hardly be described as generous, Stuart Deeley seems to have recognised this and, certainly in the à la carte menu, is serving the protein on the same plate as a fine display of carbohydrates. My main course was Iberico presa which was cooked perfectly pink and utterly tender along with tasty, unctuous slow cooked pork - cheek I assume - and a glorious sticky flavour-bomb sauce. The presentation was lovely with the meat delightfully displayed at the centre of a round, snow white plate - no mildly depressing, dark modern ceramics used here -  and in the four corners an adequately substantial dome of pomme purèe, meaty maitake mushroom, another dome of mustard - such a good classic match for the pork - and again perfectly cooked cabbage contained in a strip of cabbage leaf with sweetcorn sitting on top, another yellow landmark on the plate positioned directly opposite the mustard. I would have liked the corn cooked for a little longer and for it to have been a little sweeter but this was a wonderful dish, beautifully, even excitingly, presented to the extent that it could be said to have that wow! factor which it is so nice to experience when presented with a dish.

    For dessert a happy ‘cherry bakewell’ baked alaska. This was a pretty dome of soft Italian meringue covering an almond ice cream and studded with small pieces of cherry. There were not enough pieces of cherry to counter the sweetness of the meringue but the dessert was otherwise enjoyable and certainly conjured up the taste of Bakewell tart.

  Stuart Deeley’s reign at The Warwick is proving to be a great success and there is a good chance, based on my experience on this trip to Mallory Court, that he will restore the hotel’s dining reputation back to that successful era of the late 1970s.

12 and 13 August 2026

Rating:- 🌝🌝.

556. Mallory Court And Oscar’s French Steakhouse And Bistro, Leamington Spa.

  The dog and I were very happy to return to Mallory Park, near Leamington Spa, where we had previously passed a truly delightful couple of days a year ago. It had been so good, that this time we had bookings to stay for 3 nights including two evenings - one à la carte and the other for the full tasting menu - in the hotel’s Warwick restaurant still under the guidance of Stuart Deeley. This was a prospect I was looking forward to and the sheer pleasure of staying in the beautiful art deco rooms which look out immediately on to the gardens with the views of Warwickshire was a thing to be savoured. 

  Dog and I deubered at Mallory Court which dates back to 1916 having been built at the orders of James Thomas Holt who then sold it to Sir James Black, founder of the Standard motor company (my father’s first car was a Standard and he named it Clara) and we were greeted as old friends even though Lucy the Labrador was close to a frenzy with excitement at finding herself in this gorgeous hotel. It was gloriously sunny day, the sort of day when the weather is now described as being a ‘heatwave’ whereas when I was young and my father still had his Standard motor car it would simply have been described as a “lovely summer’s day”.

 Our room was as lovely as I expected after last year’s experience and the dog was well provided for and we were both happy to be able to slip out on to our shady little terrace through our window door and make our way through to the gardens which have badly suffered the ravages of the hot, dry summer. The room was stylish, comfortable, light and shot through with art deco glamour.

  After a lunch of charcuterie in the hotel bar, a delicious dish in itself and an afternoon roaming the hotel grounds for as long as was possible given the baking heat, I downed an admirable Singapore Sling in the Mallory Court bar, feeling I must admit, very comfortable and shockingly pleased with myself until it was time to enuber and head for the town itself for the the one rosette AA Guide recommended Oscar’s French Steakhouse and Bistro where Tuesday night is Auberge Night when a three course menu is served for £28.

  The local people clearly love the place and were out there in their numbers taking advantage of the price I suppose and looking very pleased with themselves as I had earlier. Oscar’s makes an effort to be rustic and Gallic in an unchallenging way. 

  Oscar’s French Steakhouse and Bistro has been long established, opening in 2001 under the present patron and manager, Pascal Caulle. The restaurant belongs to the Aubrey Allen meat business with Russell Allen being the stated owner. The Michelin Guide included what was first known as Oscar’s and afterwards as Oscar’s at 39 from 2007 to 2018 with a Bib Gourmand in 2008 in which edition it was described as, “Bustling, informal and unpretentious, set in three rooms on two floors … Good value, accomplished French bistro cooking, notable steak specialities”. There are indeed two small dining rooms downstairs and a larger one on the first floor and the front of house staff busy themselves impressively rushing out the food and clearing away the empty plates in, I should think, close to record time. I arrived twenty minutes early, was seated, served complementary baton and butter (both of which were very good), olives, my starter of Gruyère cheese croquette and was well into my main course - pork rib eye with cauliflower purée, fondant potato and cider cream sauce - by the time I should have been actually arriving. The speed of service was dizzying but polite and quietly friendly. The dining room was red and pink and felt very cosy. The evening’s menu was presented on a card the reverse of which depicted a charming cartoon of the restaurant’s unassuming exterior which was a nice touch. I wish other restaurants would provide their diners with nice little souvenir menus such as this but it has to be said that Oscar’s goes far and beyond what most other restaurants, including expensive establishments, cheer up their diners with such as the complimentary olives and baton and a generous portion of butter. And also, of course, Oscar’s has a notable 25 year-long history which makes it rather special and a necessary location for any food lover in this West Midlands region to visit at least once. And it was thrilling to be waited on by Pascal himself, a local legend and someone who has seen many ups and downs in the restaurant industry over the past quarter of a century.

Pascal Caulle

Oscar’s French Bistro as it was in 2015

  But what about the food? Sadly this was not such a triumph. The Gruyère croquette was large and had a nice crispy coat to it but the contents had little in the way of flavour and it was decidedly uncheesy. My pork rib eye was again generous in portion but overcooked and some of it was unpalatably dry. The fondant potato however was close to being spot on and the cider cream sauce at least added some moisture to the meat and I ate the largest part of the dish and bagged up a little of the meat for Lucy The Labrador to enjoy on my return to Mallory Court.

   The dessert for this week’s Auberge evening was an excellent crème brûlée with a good crisp top to it and a pleasing custard of just the right sweetness. This was the highlight of the meal and my happiness level was greatly raised by it. Coffee was served with a pleasing bespoke chocolate - another happy little touch from this charming bistro.

   There were problems. The meal was rushed though the frenzy of serving calmed down after the main course. The croquette needed more cheese and the cooking of the meat could have been better. It may be that the food improves on nights when a less pared down menu is presented. It was a short evening but not unpleasant and I returned to Mallory Court to take the dog for a further walk around the gardens there as the evening grew cooler and the late summer night brought darkness and peacefulness to the fine hotel.

So it was goodnight from mid-Warwickshire.

11 August 2026

Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛