Chartwell At Best Western Donnington Manor

Having been invited to a Ruby Wedding party in the Chartwell Room I took a look at Donnington Manor Hotel's website and was very impressed by photos of stylish gardens, a sumptuous and historic dining-room, and delicious-looking food. The guests (38 of us) had been asked to choose three courses from a menu provided in advance, and I chose home-made chicken liver pate with red onion jam and sourdough bread; roasted sirloin of beef served with roast potato, seasonal vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and red wine jus, and for pudding apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice-cream. I'm sorry to say that the food was a considerable disappointment: The pate had no discernible flavour so the blob of red onion jam was most welcome, but aside from (delicious-looking) bread rolls served in a basket I don't recall having any sourdough bread. The beef was overcooked and so tough I couldn't cut it, and managed only the softest bits of the two slices (in fairness, my brother, who was seated at another table, enjoyed his beef). Two halves of a small roast potato were hidden under the beef as were some small pieces of boiled carrot and French bean. The red wine jus had all the hallmarks of instant gravy from a jar (glutinous, and with unidentifiable dots in it), and had been poured over everything on the plate. The Yorkshire puddings looked marvellous, but I gave mine to a fellow guest so can't comment on that. The apple tarte tatin was *delicious*!! Sadly it was only about four spoonsful, and the modest scoop of vanilla ice-cream, equally delicious, was almost completely melted by the time I received it. I think there were only three waiters; it's not a surprise that there were long delays in service. The reason I didn't comment on these shortcomings in the food was that I was sitting next to the host, my cousin, and he and his wife chose Donnington Manor because that's where they held their wedding reception, forty years previously.

I stayed at Donnington Park a few years ago on a business trip and remembered how nice the Chartwell Restaurant was. I decided to stay again on a weekend break with my wife for our wedding anniversary and we were not disappointed. Our meal was lovely and the staff very welcoming as I remembered.

Just popped in for our first visit to have lunch, we had a pleasant surprise to meet a lovely lady Evelyn who served us our drinks and food and had time to make us feel welcome, the food and drinks were great, we were shown around the restaurant which was lovely, we will be back, good luck Evelyn on your trip and thanks,

We went here whilst our Tesla was charging and popped in for some lunch. As a vegan it’s really difficult to eat at places other than a burger or pizza with fake cheese. I had some tomato soup with basil infused oil which was delicious and the lady who Irish serves behind the bar (forgive me I didn’t take her name) was so helpful in helping me choose what I was able to eat. She came out with a small plate that the chef had made and asked us to taste test it. It was incredible! All grown from his own garden. Honestly I can’t tell you how tasty it was. I will definitely be back here even when my car doesn’t need charging!!! Great food and friendly staff.

Charming old Tudor building holds the Charter Restaurant. We were a large tour group that was hungry and parched after a hot morning touring Chartwell House. We were served promptly with a delicious bistro style meal of roast chicken with a potato veggie patty with brown sauce and a side of mixed vegetables. Followed by a light mixed fruit dessert. The restrooms were clean and tidy.