Visit: 23 April 2025, dinner for 6 people
Price: **
Website: https://www.morstonhall.com/about-us
Awards: 1 Michelin Star, 4 AA Rosettes
The Review:
Morston Hall is a 17th century country house hotel located two miles from Blakeney on the north Norfolk coast. Chef Patron Galton Blackiston was awarded a Michelin star in 1999 and has retained it for a remarkable 26 consecutive years. We have visited before, and you can find my previous review here:
The 7-course tasting menu changes daily. It costs £125 per person and is available Tuesday-Saturday. Saturday Lunch is available at £70 per person, and Sunday Lunch (3 course set menu) is £50 per person. We stayed overnight and the rooms are large and very comfortable. There is ample parking on-site. Breakfast was very good, as you would expect.
There is an extensive wine list available, and our sommelier created a wine pairing that included a vintage champagne, a variety of white and red wines, and an excellent Canadian ice wine served with dessert.
We started the evening with drinks in the orangery. Galton introduced himself and presented three canapes – a venison tartare on a rosti potato, a tempura of Gigha halibut with citrus, and a caramelised onion vol-au-vent with a truffled Baron Bigod cheese. These were all very good, especially the tartare which was made with shredded pork and venison, shallots, cornichons and egg yolk puree, served with capers on a crunchy rosti.
Next was a lobster minestrone with poached lobster claw, noodles and chive oil. The Asian style flavours were well judged and the lobster claw perfectly cooked. This was followed by duck liver parfait on brioche with pickled onion, lovage emulsion, and garden salad, which was very tasty.
The next dish was a caramelised pear and Binham Blue cheese with roasted cauliflower and grated walnuts. This was an elevated cauliflower cheese dish which had great flavours.
Grilled wild sea bass was served with white celeriac puree, kale, celeriac crisps and a jus made from the fish bones. The fish was perfectly judged with great flavour, but the skin could have been a bit crispier for me. The jus was superb.
The main course was a roasted rack of lamb, crispy lamb belly, wild garlic puree, lamb fat Jersey Royal potatoes, and a lamb jus. The lamb was perfectly cooked rare and melted in the mouth.
Our first dessert was a rhubarb sorbet with an almond crumb which was very refreshing. The main dessert was English custard tart with Sharrington strawberries, and a strawberry ice cream which was excellent.
There was an optional cheese board available at a supplement of £12.50, but we couldn’t manage it tonight.
The meal was rounded off with coffee and petit fours which we enjoyed in the orangery.
Service throughout the meal was excellent. Our sommelier chose a selection of wines that paired very well with the food and gave us a detailed explanation of the characteristics of the wine and why it complemented each course.
This was another superb meal at Morston Hall. The food, wine and service were exceptionally good again. The cost for the dinner, with excellent food and the wine selection, was very reasonable compared to other Michelin starred restaurants. The rooms and breakfast were also very good. We will be returning again later in the year.
The Menu:
The Food:
The Breakfast:
The Menu:
Full breakfast with scrambled egg, sausage, bacon, black pudding, and kidney:
The People:
Chef-Patron Galton Blackiston had planned on pursuing a career as a professional cricketer. By the time he was 17 he ran a stall selling homemade cakes, biscuits and preserves at a local market and the range of ‘Galton’s Goodies’ were so successful he realised that his talents lay in cooking, so he decided to focus on a career as a chef.
With no formal training, his first job was with one of the original celebrity chefs, John Tovey, at Miller Howe Hotel, overlooking Lake Windermere. This might have been a spur of the moment decision as Galton’s parents were on holiday at the Miller Howe when there was a vacant position in the kitchen. However, Galton spent four years working in the pastry section, and eventually become head chef.
Galton then worked at restaurants in London, New York, South Africa and Canada, before he and his wife, Tracy, found Morston Hall on the North Norfolk coast. At that time, it was a country house with only 4 rooms and a 20-cover restaurant. Galton transformed Morston Hall into a beautiful 13-room hotel and, in 1999, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin star, which has been retained ever since, a remarkable achievement.
In the 2006, Series 1, of Great British Menu, Galton represented the Midlands and East of England, knocking out celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson to gain a place in the final.
The Gastronome and Galton:
The Restaurant:
