Great local ingredients get the treatment they deserve at Colwall Park, whether it’s organic lamb or chicken or superb asparagus. While it’s all very traditional-sounding, the menu nicely combines imagination with homespun favourites – Pernod & sesame dressing with a salad of fresh lobster, for example, or a tomato & basil vierge with goats’ cheese ravioli. Homely dishes feature too, such as char-grilled beef fillet with grain mustard mash, & Sunday lunch is as traditional as can be – roast rib of beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast leg of lamb or slow-cooked organic ham with new potatoes & parsley sauce. If the formal surroundings of the restaurant don’t appeal, try the hotel’s Lantern bar for favourites such as fish pie, as well as more unusual items such as a Moroccan mutton tagine. All in all it’s friendly & down to earth with staff always eager to please & the surroundings – the stunning Malvern hills – are simply wonderful; it’s almost worth it for the drive alone.