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Conventionally speaking, hotel restaurants are reached through a swanky lobby – but one of the world’s top new hotel dining experiences is boarded via a train station platform. Better yet, it’s currently trundling through the British countryside.
The Belmond Britannic Explorer, a luxury sleeper train that travels through Wales, Cornwall and the Lake District, has been named one of the best new hotel restaurants and bars in the world by Travel + Leisure. Travel + Leisure looked at 120 new dining experiences across 17 countries before selecting its 25 winners. The list covers hotel restaurants and bars, but also dining rooms aboard trains and cruise ships.
The Britannic Explorer is a far more glamorous proposition than your average onboard meal. Three-night sleeper journeys pass through Britain’s most scenic landscapes, while passengers eat in the train’s green and brown dining cars. The menus have been developed with British chef Simon Rogan and are designed to showcase British produce. The food is prepared by a team of just three people in a galley kitchen.
So what are you actually eating on The Belmond Britannic Explorer? Think stuff like Port Isaac lobster with kohlrabi, fermented gooseberry, horseradish and dill, followed by stuffed chicken from Sladesdown Farm in Devon. Breakfast had a full English alongside cold-smoked ChalkStream trout with cultured cream and soft herbs, while coffee came via cafetière. A Sunday lunch featured a roast with dry-aged Cumbrian Fells beef.
But the Britannic Explorer’s gastronomic experience isn’t just confined to its dining cars. Passengers can visit Rogan’s Our Farm in Cumbria, where he sources produce for his restaurants. There, guests can wander around the grounds and taste herbs and flowers straight from the earth before sitting down to a family-style meal of sourdough focaccia and Herdwick lamb shoulder.
All of which sounds lovely, although it does, as you might expect, come with a sizeable price tag. Three-night itineraries on the Britannic Explorer start from £5,800 per person, with meals included. Find out more on the Belmond website.
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