The Greenhouse
St Keverne, Cornwall
Tucked away in tranquil St Keverne, not far from Helston, the Greenhouse fits neatly in among its neighbouring cottages. It's the kind of place that readers characterise as a 'gem', appreciating the intimate feel of the dining room and a host, Neil Woodward, who enjoys talking about food. Out back, Leonie Woodward conjures a larder of seasonal organic ingredients into dishes that draw inspiration from various global cuisines, with stunning results. Seafood is an obvious strong point: there may be Japanese-influenced treacle-cured trout with nori and tomato ponzu to start, but regional traditionalists will covet Falmouth Bay scallops roasted on the half-shell with lemon, garlic and seaweed butter. For main course, it might be butter-roasted monkfish in crab velouté with cockles and leeks, while the Asian theme resounds again for miso-roasted pork belly and anise-scented tenderloin with roasted beetroot and raisins. Finish with a baba, doused not in rum but carob liqueur, paired with a poached pear, and given the regional imprimatur of a clod of clotted cream. Organic and biodynamic wines, as well as local Cornish ales, are the stock-in-trade of the brief drinks list.
