Latymer

If accessible grandeur is something you look for in a restaurant setting, the ivy-laden, sumptuously decorated and characterful Latymer is the place for you.

Housed in one of the oldest parts of five-star hotel, Pennyhill Park, attention to detail and dazzling presentation of both the food and the surrounding is something that this Michelin rated eatery has in abundance. We are so excited to add this wonderful Michelin Star restaurant to our list of places that are now well-stocked with Studio William cutlery!

Head chef Matt Worswick has really made The Latymer his own since taking over in the kitchen back in 2016 when, despite the two-star Michelin rating that previous head chef Michael Wignall had won with the existing menu, he decided to make some big changes to suit his own style. As it turned out, this was a good move – he picked up his own Michelin star and four AA rosettes just a year later.

When you visit The Latymer, expect bold and seasonal offerings with delightful presentation that we are so proud to see Studio William cutlery laid beside.

The estate that The Pennyhill Park Hotel sits on dates back to 1609 but the house itself has been operating as a high-class hotel and spa since 1973. Although there are a number of dining options within the resort, The Latymer is its flagship restaurant and resides in the main building, complete with beautiful old wooden beams and a whole lot of period correct detailing and décor which makes for a truly memorable experience.

With lush carpeting, wood-panelled walls and a breath-taking view out over the grounds, just the setting alone is a feast for the senses. Perhaps this is why Worswick has made the decision to allow the diners to eat in peace, with no music playing in the background. An unusual choice, but a blissful one that somehow works with the decadent interior.

Matt Worswick fell into his life as a chef purely by happy accident and boy, aren’t we glad about that! Growing up in Liverpool, in a family where homely classics graced the table on a daily basis in an unrefined but always delicious manner, Worswick was always a fan of good taste, but it was only when he went for a job as an apprentice chef simply to pay the bills that he discovered his true love for the art.

Half and hour into his first shift, Worswick claims that found the experience amazing. The fast pace, the pressure, the sense of satisfaction when delivering a great meal. This was something he could do more of – and he did. Quickly moving onwards and upwards in the dining industry, Worswick soon found himself in more serious kitchens, such as Teän at St. Martins-on-the-Isle on The Isles of Scilly, working with Kenny Atkinson, where he feels his training really began.

Later, when his skills were really becoming quite honed, Worswick landed a position at legendary two-star restaurant, Le Champignon Sauvage, working under David Everritt-Matthias. This is where he truly came into his own, inspired by phenomenal food and exquisite presentation that he still carries with him in his personally developed menus at The Latymer today.

At the age of 26, Matt Worswick won his first Michelin Star for his work as head chef at Glenapp Castle on the Ayrshire coast of West Scotland and now, he holds one at The Latymer.

We feel as though Worswick’s interview with Great British Chefs explains his style of cooking best: ‘I’m big and Northern and I think that comes through in the style of food. No thrills, but just great, great flavours.’ He continues ‘My food shouts out its flavour and it can be quite rich. I’ve been to places where there’s eighteen things on the plate and you’re trying to work out which flavours go together. People who eat in my restaurant will know what they’re eating, without even reading the menu. Really bold, hearty flavours. The food should be able to speak for itself.’

The Latymer, there is a choice of several tasting menus. Each faultless and as he claims, full of great flavours and in our mind, perfectly executed. The octopus in the seven-course taster menu is slow-cooked for 12 hours for avoiding any rubbery texture; the bread is sourced from London bakery Dolce Forno and is everything that bread should be; flavours are well-balanced, perfectly controlled and beautifully turned out.