This heritage-listed homestead, set within Lilianfels Resort & Spa, presents diners with a scene that could almost be straight from a Jane Austen novel. Built in the late 19th century, the beautifully preserved property, now home to Darley’s Restaurant, is filled with twinkling chandeliers and opulent furnishings, making guests feel as though they are taking supper at Netherfield Hall.

Ornate fireplaces keep diners cosy in winter, while in summer, everyone heads out to the wraparound sunroom, which offers views over immaculate hedgerows to the colour-changing cliffs of Echo Point and beyond.  For such a stately place, you might expect to find conservative offerings on the table – lo and behold, the creations of executive chef Roy McVeigh are anything but.

The menu, which can be taken as either a five or seven-course degustation, is made up of highly creative plates, many of which would haved shocked your great, great grandmother. Whipped foie gras is skirted with sweet malt loaf and peanut crumbs to create a rich liver mousse from straight out of this century. Tortellini is filled with a coarse mince of quail and rabbit, like country terrine wrapped in tidy pasta parcels.

To finish, a monocle-popping black olive sorbet is suitably restrained, the salty, briny smear balanced by sweet freeze-dried strawberries and salted caramel.

Once you’ve surrendered your linen napkin, retire to the lounge for a fine cognac nightcap. 

Must Eat Dish: Foie gras