The story
Whatley Manor, a grown-up getaway set in twelve acres of Cotswold gardens, offers two distinct dining experiences. Grey’s is the relaxed, convivial counterpart to the hotel’s Michelin-starred Dining Room. Here, Executive Chef Ricki Weston has introduced a new menu concept centred on sharing-style plates, designed to encourage a sense of adventure at the table.
The menu is structured around four clear categories: Earth, Land, Sea, and Little Delights. Earth celebrates the garden’s bounty, with dishes such as an Asian-inspired grilled hen-of-the-wood mushroom steamed bun and a hearty butternut squash with harissa and yoghurt dressing. Land focuses on top-quality British meat, including crispy beef with a raw vegetable salad and chicken liver parfait with green bean and granola. From Sea, highlights include spider crab croquettes with garlic aioli and blue fin tuna tataki with ginger and garlic. To finish, Little Delights offer chocolate cremeux with cocoa tuilles and a spiced rum trifle with honeycomb.
The connection between the kitchen and the kitchen garden is central to the ethos at Grey’s. Chefs and gardeners plan together, deciding what to grow based on what the kitchen needs. In high summer, heirloom tomatoes, courgette flowers, French beans, and fresh herbs like basil, bronze fennel, and nasturtiums are harvested just before service. This field-to-fork approach reduces the carbon footprint and ensures every ingredient is at its peak. The menu evolves seasonally, shaped by what the garden offers.
Since taking the helm in 2022, Chef Ricki Weston has brought an experimental style and a rigorous focus on sustainability, scrutinising every ingredient’s locality. His approach has helped the hotel work towards ambitious net-zero goals. Grey’s, which holds a Michelin Recommended award, offers a casual yet refined experience. As Weston says, the new concept is exciting not just for Whatley Manor, but for Malmesbury and this corner of Wiltshire. The contemporary, international flavours invite guests to linger, sharing dishes that complement each other throughout the evening.
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It may be the more relaxed dining option at this gloriously plush country house hotel, but Grey's still feels decidedly upscale, particularly in terms of what’s on the plate. Terracotta-tiled floors, blue banquettes and pale heritage-grey walls with glowing sconces fuse Parisian brasserie with country-house comfort and, in line with the more laid-back setting, the menu includes nibbles and a list of informal sides such as crisp potato wedges and chargrilled broccoli. But with executive chef Ricki Weston overseeing this menu (as well as the flagship Dining Room), you can expect the very best iterations of even the most informal-sounding dishes. A case in point is a creamy, perfectly garlicky houmous served with crispy chickpeas and tapioca crackers as a pre-starter, while sourdough comes crusty, fluffy and fresh from the oven with whipped butter and fragrant olive oil. Many dishes are classics, but there’s also real creativity here. A starter of confit Jerusalem artichoke with crispy skin and glazed hen of the wood mushrooms was a textural joy full of crunch and creaminess, while the mushrooms added extra weight and richness. Equally sophisticated was a main of Gigha halibut – a beautiful piece of fish, cooked just so and served on delectably sweet roasted parsnips in a luxurious mussel cream sauce topped with samphire. The Parisian vibe came to the fore in a winter dessert of classic Paris-Brest with spiced crème pâtissière, mincemeat and a festive Christmas ice cream flavoured with nutmeg, star anise and cinnamon. The wine list is a serious affair with truly global reach, while service is charming if a little too pacey.
2 Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence
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