It was only after Restaurant Interlude was awarded a Michelin star in autumn 2019 that I became aware of it.  I liked what I saw on their website, particularly their focus on locally grown and foraged seasonal produce.  Interlude does not have bedrooms yet (plans are afoot), but it’s just 1km from South Lodge Hotel, a place I’d been meaning to try out.  So early in the year I emailed Interlude to check availability before I booked the hotel, but unfortunately they weren’t motivated to proffer any dates. And then the 1st pandemic ‘lockdown’ happened and everywhere shut down and no-one knew when or how restaurants and hotels would reopen again. So when the hospitality industry was allowed to get going again in July I contacted Interlude once more, got a selection of available tables, matched those with the hotel (and its restaurant) availability, and made my reservations.

Interlude is located in the mansion house at the centre of a rolling estate, which is now known as Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens, a renowned pay to enter nature attraction.  We made the 500m walk from South Lodge hotel to the sign shown in the title image, and pressed an intercom button, so the heavy gates opened for us.  As we walked the final 500m we passed a paddock containing the estate’s collection of wallabies!  I never imagined I’d take the photo above in West Sussex!

In front of the mansion house is an impressive metal sculpture of a tree, with water cascading down it. Leonardslee has an amazing collection of many trees, even California Redwoods, but this sculpture was magnificent enough to grab your attention away from its natural originals.

At Interlude there’s a set dining time (7pm) for everyone, and when we arrived at 6.35 I think most diners were enjoying aperitifs in the bar. We were seated in a small and cosy, but bright and colourful, lounge just off the bar area. Service was immediately warm and welcoming, making us feel like we had gone round to friends’ for dinner.

While we studied the drinks menu, featuring cocktails of artisan spirits and herbal infusions, some “bar snacks” were brought to us, in the form of big crispy crackers looking like autumn leaves on a small tree branch. They came with a buttermilk dip, a burnt onion “cushion” and a cheese mousseline in filo.  I found these snacks to be a wonderful prelude to our dinner; they showed a creative connection to nature, and they tasted great! 10/10

At the time of our visit Interlude offered a selection of set tasting menus; Mr A and I chose the 19 course “Estate Experience” at £130 each. They didn’t do a ‘wine flight’ (19 different wines is a bit hardcore!) so we chose a nice bottle of white and a terrific bottle of cabernet sauvignon to see us through dinner, with the support of the odd wine by the glass. Both of these wines, and most on the wine list, were from South Africa, reflecting the birthplace of the owners and a lot of the key kitchen and front of house staff.

We were shown to our table right in the middle of the richly furnished dining room; there were 16 diners appropriately distanced on 8 tables and there was light soft rock & pop music playing in the background – just loud enough to give an atmosphere, without disturbing conversations.

Interlude’s menu changes depending on what’s available in their vegetable gardens, the wider estate, and the local farmers they work with.  Every dish came with a card which told us what the dish was, and a map pinpointed exactly where on the estate the main ingredient came from!  With so many dishes to review, I’ll be as concise as possible, with a photo, brief description and score…

Our first appetiser course was a meringue with oyster, Exmoor caviar and sorrel. It was suggested we have a glass of “joie de vivre” (a South African sparkling wine) at £12 each. For me, the oyster overpowered the caviar, but the sorrel tasted so fresh and lemony. Presented in a 30g caviar tin, this was a great start to the meal, demonstrating the kitchen’s skills and imagination. 10/10

Next came a tartare of 150 days aged Trenchmore beef, served in a taco. 9/10

Appetisers continued, with crispy and flavoursome chickens’ feet, served at the same time as bric pastry amasi (a yoghurt-like South African fermented milk) cigar with celeriac and truffle, in a primitive clay bowl containing cooled ‘forest ashes’. Delicious, imaginative, and visually stunning 10/10

Bread was served as a ‘course’ so we could pay attention to and appreciate the skills and imagination of the patisserie section.  The bread was almost a brioche, complemented superbly with a choice of rich, orgasmic beef fat (10/10), zingy chervil and goat butter (8/10 maybe too green for me), and a nutty ‘seeds spread’ (9/10).

 

Our dishes then turned a little more ‘serious’ as they transitioned from appetisers to heavier savoury small plates, as we moved towards the meal’s feature dishes.  First was  a ceramic egg-shaped bowl, which, when opened by the waiter gave out a smoke (sorry, I couldn’t identify it, but “bullrush” was mentioned on the menu) and revealed a sphere of duck liver mousse on top of a mixture of granola, apple and cabbage.

I thought this dish was lovely, but others might have found it a little too sweet. 9/10

Next up was one of Interlude’s signature dishes, called “rabbit eats carrot”, which I score 10/10. In a moss and grass adorned bowl was a succulent confit rabbit and carrot donut and on a branch of birch tree was a rabbit terrine slice in a fine pastry tartlet plus some dried carrot ‘billtong’. At the side was a carrot spread/dip.  Everything was well prepared, delicious and a visual treat.

At this stage we were presented with cool and moist paper towels, doused in Lemongrass. The simple, minimalist presentation reminded me of Japan. Very smart.

Our next course also had a theatrical presentation. An opened eggshell containing cured egg and a rooibos tea foam, sat majestically on a hay nest, on top of an egg-shaped ceramic presentation ‘thing’. Beside this, in its own wood and hay presentation box were two brioche ‘fingers’ dusted with egg yolk and hogweed.  It was very good, although its taste was a little ‘earthy’. 7.5/10

Another earthy dish followed: parsley root poached in chicken stock, with sea buckthorn and Wiltshire truffle gratings.  I really loved the layers of autumnal flavours. 10/10

Our next dish was the first of two fish courses. We were served a small ceramic bowl stuffed with greenery and topped by a scallop shell, held together with string. When the string was released and the upper shell removed we saw slices of scallop mixed with parsnip porridge, buckwheat crumb and sea truffle, luxuriating in a hazelnut beurre noisette. I thought this was a very unusual and very delicious scallop dish. 10/10

The second fish course was a plaice “rose” with a wonderful knotweed vinegar and butter sauce, poured at the table. My plaice was translucent, though, for me, a little over-salted. 9.5/10

The first meat ‘main course’ showed some high-end technical skills as well as some basic errors. It was a quail wing stuffed inside a chicken wing, with a preserved mushroom glaze, pickled lardo and a large dollop of mustard mayo. The fowl had a distinct barbecue flavour, which highlighted the comforting deliciousness of this dish, but I found a couple of little bones in it. 9/10

Next came sika deer billtong with 5 sprouted grains, artichoke puree and a sika billtong broth. For me there wasn’t enough venison flavour, the broth was weak, so the artichoke flavour dominated things. 7.5/10

The final savoury course was a 28 day aged middle white pork chop with wild garlic. Upon presentation the aroma was magical, but upon eating I felt there was too much garlic. The pork was well cooked, so that it retained its juices and tenderness, and the cracking was superb. 9.5/10

By this stage I was feeling very full (and somewhat tipsy), so I asked if it would be possible to take away the four scheduled dessert courses.  It wasn’t possible because of the nature of the dishes, but the maitre d’ suggested we could end our meal there and then, and they would only charge me the 15 course (“garden menu”) menu price (£95), which I thought was a kind and considerate offer.

As I prepared to pay my bill of £518.63 I was honoured that chef Jean Delport came out to have a little chat with us. He’s only 32, married to restaurant manager Anya, and very enthusiastic about running a kitchen in the UK using very local produce, classical techniques, plus a few South African twists.

I wish Jean, Anya and the team continued success at Interlude. We thoroughly enjoyed everything about our dinner: the charming location, the top quality produce, the skills of the kitchen brigade, and the friendly interactions we had with the front of house staff.  Interlude offers its diners really ‘on trend’ ingredients and cooking techniques, and I look forward to returning to try more ‘new discoveries’.  I’m very tempted to give an overall score of 10, but in an effort to leave them room to get even better I’ll settle on 9.5/10