Nailcote Hall, Berkswell

Sunday lunch is the meal I’d rather have at home. Despite the mess and the hassle, home sweet home every time. So, when the lovely people at Nailcote Hall invited us to sample their Sunday lunch, three of us trotted off excitedly and one followed behind muttering, ‘but I’d rather cook at home’. Bah humbug.

Having said that, if you’re going to go out for Sunday lunch we recommend making it as different from home as you can and the historic Nailcote Hall is that – think low beams, big open fireplaces, cosy features and dark wood plus some seriously friendly staff. To give it some context, the last time we ate at Nailcote Hall was pre-Covid, yet Glynn, the restaurant manager remembered us – I don’t know if that’s because Glynn is incredibly good at his job or we behaved so badly we left our mark. We’re going with the former.

The dining room is slightly old-fashioned in a charming way that suits Sunday lunch. There’s a trolley with a silver cloche hiding perfectly cooked beef and turkey that’s wheeled around the dining room and carved at the table. There’s a rack of pork carved in the kitchen as the rack makes it slightly tricky to do on the trolley and if you ask nicely, you can have more than one type of meat. The gravy and roasties are spot on and there are enough side dishes to feed an army, including Yorkies as big as your face, cauliflower cheese, red cabbage, mashed sweet potato, carrots, green beans, savoy cabbage, broccoli and more.

We’d already snaffled starters of smoked salmon and pate before the main event, so we were in button-popping territory, however we still managed a pud. Apple crumble and custard was just like Nan used to make, while white chocolate cheesecake with raspberry sorbet was delicious.

It’s not fine dining – it’s traditional and homely in the way Sunday lunch should be. Team that with tables full of families, some of three or four generations hunkered down catching up over lunch and you’ve a winning feel-good Sunday in our book. I might just be converted! Two courses costs £36 and £40 for three.

NAILCOTE HALL, Nailcote Lane, Berkswell, CV7 7DE. Tel: 02476 466174 nailcotehall.co.uk