Smoke at Hampton Manor: A Lockdown Treat

Our anniversary meals have varied over the years. From a picnic from Tesco on a hotel bedroom floor in London, to zapiekanki in Krakow; from mussels in a touristy restaurant in Bruges to a tiny candelit restaurant in Vienna. Our meals have ranged from cheap as chips (sometimes literally) to splashing the cash. In 2020, with the national lockdown coming to an end and Tier 3 restrictions looming, this year’s anniversary meal was always going to be a little closer to home.

There are so many fancy “At Home” deliveries available but all required a little work in the kitchen. We wanted to take the lazy option, crack open food and a bottle of fizz. And so we opted for a click and collect from Smoke at nearby Hampton Manor.

**Please note that this blog relates to the “click and collect” service offered during the COVID pandemic in November 2020. Smoke now offers a brand new experience, beautifully documented in this review by Brum blogger Emma Victoria Stokes **

Smoke is a nestled in a walled garden on the grounds of this country house hotel in Solihull. Hampton Manor is also home to the Michelin-starred Peels but it was the wood-fired delights of the Smoke menu which caught our eye. So we rocked up on a dark foggy night to the hotel grounds – reminiscent of guests arriving at our own wedding reception twelve years prior.

Disclaimer: I’m no food blogger, and certainly no food photographer. And I ended up slapping the food on plates with little regard to eye-pleasing presentation. So the photos are not the highlight of this review. But take my word for it, everything looked amazing in real life.

The food survives the 10 minute drive home, nestled in an insulated shopping bag and a hot water bottle. I’m a dab hand at this click and collect lark now. Mr Fletche pops a bottle of Prosecco open whilst I serve up our first course.

Smoke: The Food

The sourdough loaf is sublime with a slathering of cultured butter, and accompanied by beer picked beetroot and slivers of wagyu salami. We accidentally forget about the caraway fermented carrots but these make a colourful addition to our main course instead.

The 3-day slow cooked Wagyu brisket is the star of the show. Every mouthful is delicate and melts away. The hispi cabbage and beef fat onions are smothered in bone marrow gravy and accompanied by a silky smooth polenta.

We’re well down the bottle of fizz by now. But there’s definitely still room for dessert. Beautifully baked almond sponge, with vanilla cream and anise-poached pear. It’s the perfect light finish to what has been a spectacular meal.

Our meal comes to £66. Which is less than what we have paid in other establishments for a much less salubrious menu. And an absolute steal for the quality of the meal.

Smoke at Hampton Manor: The Details

Smoke have a small menu which changes weekly depending on what is harvested from the garden and the local produce available. But rest assured, whatever’s on the menu will be simple and flavourful.

You can find all the details at the Smoke, Hampton Manor website. .

Hampton Manor is at Shadowbrook Lane, Hampton-In-Arden B92 0EN