Dining in Cambridge Restaurants are Part of a Perfect Romantic Get Away
If you really want to sweep someone off their feet, take a drive out to Six
Mile Bottom and treat
them to a Cambridge based restaurant with a fine dining experience to remember at
Swynford Paddocks. This 17th century country house hotel is a
very special location which boasts acres of beautiful enclosed lawns, where
you can dine al fresco on the terrace, cosy up in the conservatory of “Silks” Brasserie
or soak up the rich and luxurious ambience of the lavishly decorated Byron restaurant
on the Cambridge and Suffolk border.
For that extra special occasion, you can even reserve an exquisite outdoor
wrought iron pergola, hidden away beneath the branches of ancient trees and
offering views of the surrounding stud paddocks. With your own personal waiting
staff you can enjoy an enchanting meal at your romantically decorated, secluded
table. As light music sets the scene, you can whisper sweet nothings to your
heart’s content, and you may even be tempted by the lure of a four poster
in one of Swynford Paddocks’ individually styled Cambridge
hotel rooms.
Brigadier’s Brew
Swynford Paddocks has also recently introduced their very own bottled real
ale, courtesy of the City of Cambridge Brewery Company. The 4.35% Brigadier’s
Brew is named after the famous Classic-winning racehorse Brigadier Gerard who
is buried on the hotel grounds, and this amber thirst-quencher is described,
appropriately enough, as “Smooth as Silks.”
Taste
Brigadier’s Brew, a legendary ale, at the Swynford Paddocks Silks
Brasserie restaurant just outside Cambridge.
Silks
Swynford Paddocks offers the elegant and colonial styled conservatory as
a relaxed brasserie seating area for those seeking a posh and refreshing alternative
venue to dine and entertain friends or family. Enter through the door and collect
a drink from Brigadiers Bar, then take a seat in the dining area
and relax. The view stretches away so you are overlooking the adjacent paddocks
where future thoroughbreds graze.
As the seasons change, so does our menu since we always use the freshest
and most current, up-to-date ingredients sourced from local suppliers. With
the style of food being fresh and wholesome fare, the menu encompasses something
for everyone, from salads to steaks and fresh fish. “Silks” is
the perfect spot for lunch, a snack, afternoon tea, or a full evening meal
and a bottle of wine complete with candlelight.
Dine
in our lovely and ideally located Cambridgeshire Silks Brasserie restaurant. Contact us for more information.
New Wine List
Our wine list has been comprehensively updated and now offers more New World
Wines, comes with comprehensive tasting notes and has some unexpected twists.
The list also contains
a more extensive “wines of interest” section, full of bottles for
special occasions (or if you’ve just had a win at the races).
Toast
to every occasion. Find the right wine for your palette by contacting us
for more Cambridge Restaurant information.
Paul Buckley
The head chef at Swynford Paddocks Hotel near Newmarket has learned his
trade alongside some of the most famous names in the restaurant world. He
spoke to Explorer magazine about the philosophy behind his cooking, and the
best meal he ever had.
How did you become a chef?
“I trained to be an architect, but I was always working as a chef part-time
and I preferred doing chef’s work and just developed a passion for it.
I went to work at some dodgy places, as we all do, then I went to work at this
Italian restaurant where everything was fresh – fresh stocks, fresh
fish and everything was home-made. That opened my eyes to the possibilities.”
You then went on to work for some famous chefs ...
“I went to work for Raymond Blanc. He taught me how to really taste
food; you have to keep tasting it all the time. He also taught me to keep it
simple. I also went to work for a week at Chez Nico’s when it had three
Michelin stars, and I did two weeks at Gordon Ramsay’s as well. It’s
a completely different world – the hours they put in are ridiculous!”
And how did you come to be head chef at Swynford Paddocks?
“I worked with Patrick Collins here for two years, and then I stepped
into his role last November. We have the Byron Restaurant, Silks Brasserie
and the function marquee, so it gets busy when they’re all full. It’s
nice that now I can actually put my ideas on a plate. Our new menu is all seasonal
produce – wild woodland mushrooms, plums, cinnamons, prune and Armagnac
tarts, and figs. In the main restaurant we’ve got things like langoustine
beignets deep-fried in a white wine yeast batter served with split peas and
a hollandaise sauce. In other words it’s posh fish and chips!”
Where do you get your ingredients?
“My vegetable supplier always rings to let me know what’s good
at the moment – a lot of it comes from Bury St. Edmunds – artichokes,
parsnips and salad leaves. We get our eggs from a free range farm in Saffron
Walden, our smoked salmon and smoked fish from River Farm Smokery in Bottisham,
and our specialty breads from Barker’s Bakery in Cambridge. I’ve
got venison on at the moment – that and all our meat is from Burton’s
Butchers.”
How do you go about putting together a new menu?
“You have to think about what’s feasible for a start. I have to
keep it quite simple, but at the same time very tasty and presented well. It’s
a case of getting an ingredient in my head, like the venison, and wondering
what will go with it – for example we make a potato cooked in stock called
Boulanger potato, and I’ve put a few slices of pear layered in, which
goes well with venison.”
How would you describe your philosophy towards food?
“It would probably be Nico Ladenis’s saying: ‘Simplicity,
precision and restraint.’ That basically means keep things simple, but
execute them well and don’t think you have to put hundreds of things
on the plate. Let the individual ingredients speak for themselves.”
Finally, what’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
“I’d have to say my Nan’s Lancashire Hotpot with Branston
pickle. Something simple like that.”
Enjoy
the fine gourmet taste of Chef Paul Buckley. Make your meal reservations
today.
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