Glenskirlie House

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

This sophisticated family-run hotel, function room and restaurant has built a sturdy reputation for quality over the years. Chef Darrel Jordan is nothing if not adventurous, using local produce and seasonal ingredients to whip up thrilling and inventive concoctions. Amuse bouche set up the impending flavours and are delivered in the small leather seated lounge. In the main restaurant, high ceilings and bold, contemporary wallpaper give the air of lush dining, and the dishes don't disappoint. From the starters, a langoustine-filled ravioli is light and racily served in a pool of breezy champagne and saffron sauce, while a long, thin plate lines up pan-fried scallops and small, fragile chunks of slow roasted pork belly in various dabs of delicate, vanilla-tinged frothy sauces and the most exhilarating taste contrast in the form of a chilled sweet pea sorbet. The mains continue the audacious taste assault with an expertly cooked, moist roast wild mallard served on a puy lentil nest with fluffy ginger-laced vegetable mash and a tiny partridge pie adding complementary gamey flavours to the busy plate. Sweets are all home-made and served from heavy glass bell jars that occupy the centre of the room, and coffee with more of the kitchen's treats is served in a comfy armchair-filled lounge.

• High point: Exhilarating food in plush surroundings
• Low point: High-end prices