On the Brocket Hall Estate – all 543 acres of it – you’ll find the reopened (as of April 2023) lakeside restaurant, Auberge du Lac, housed in the estate’s historic former hunting lodge.

While you may well be familiar with the name, thanks to the reputation it’s garnered as a foodie destination over the years, the current Head honcho – Head Chef John Barber (previously at Mandarin Oriental, Bar Boulud and D+D group)  joined in 2022 and is the latest in a glittering line up of talented chefs to make his mark on the place. Yes, this is a fine dining restaurant, but Barber’s vision is to make it more accessible without comprimising on quality or flavour. In fact there’s a whole new team who are helping to channel the new ‘relaxed yet refined’ vibe, through excellent service, a friendly atmosphere, and of course, incredible food.

There’s a soil-to-plate ethos at Auberge, helped in no small way by the estate’s kitchen gardener Lucy Hawkins, who has developed a one-acre, responsible (no-dig) plot which supplies fresh, seasonal produce to the restaurant – food miles = nil! And everything is made on site wherever possible, literally down to the bread and butter.

You’ll find à la carte and set lunch menus (on Thursdays and Fridays for a very reasonable £39 including a glass of Prosecco) as well as a seven-course tasting menu (£85pp + £50pp for wine flight), Sunday lunch and weekly specials, all featuring Barber’s Modern British dishes. Think fallow deer with poached pear and game jus, cod with hazelnut gremolata, cauliflower, caper and raisin puree, and ginger and blood orange parfait.

Auberge is also available for private bookings including social and corporate events.