Chartwell at Aldwark Manor: The Michelin-recommended Yorkshire restaurant with a secret door to an opulent room

Our route took us down a side lane overlooking Aldwark Manor where, from a distance, we would spy on the latest renovation of the famous hall following new ownership in 2019.

We would chat at length about what we thought it would be like when the restoration was finished and lament even longer on how long before the world returned to normal.

Well, here we were on a winter’s night in early 2025, finding out precisely what had altered. The new owners have invested heavily, spending millions already, including redesigning the 18-hole golf course and adding the new Bunkers clubhouse with additional accommodation.

We realised work is still happening here, as there’s a rather large hole in the ground where the spa used to be and is the site of the new one due to open later in 2025 following another multi-million-pound rebuild; welcome news to all the spa lovers out there.

However, we were here to eat, not to dream about luxurious spas. We headed to the fine-dining restaurant Chartwell, which opened in 2024 and has already been awarded three AA rosettes and entry into the Michelin guide. It has been firmly on my radar since then.

Chartwell promises “to bring the timeless glamour of the 1940s to life, offering an unparalleled dining experience steeped in history and elegance.” Crikey, they are bold words.

And I wondered about the Chartwell theme and the ‘40s. It seems the name comes from Sir Winston Churchill’s iconic country home, Chartwell – and as we know only too well, the late PM’s love of fine food and wine seems apt.

Plus, Aldwark Manor is closely affiliated with WWII, having been requisitioned by the Home Office to provide accommodation for the Canadian Air Force stationed at nearby RAF Linton on Ouse during the war.

Chartwell is undoubtedly glamorous. Now housed in what I think was the old golf clubhouse, the transformation is stunning, and I felt hopelessly under-dressed in its glamour.

There are lofty ceilings, acres of glass windows, crystal chandeliers, heavily brocaded seating, and potted palms - which I hoped were real, though I forgot to check.

My favourite, though, was the floor-to-ceiling bookcase filled with actual books and, as I later discovered, a secret door to another opulent room.

As I expected, Chartwell is a tasting menu place with a reasonably priced five-course £65 p/p, wine flight £45; seven-course £95 and wine £75; ten-courses £130 and £110 respectively. I feel confident seeing if the food passes muster with five; adding more doesn’t always make it better.

Too many courses in the wrong hands can sometimes wreak havoc, though I have little doubt of that happening in head chef Chris O’Callaghan’s capable hands; he has an illustrious CV.

We head off with snacks and bread, seemingly par for the course on a tasting menu now. There’s a lovely little tart with tangy poacher cheese, allium and a sprinkling of burnt chives.

The promised sourdough had morphed into brioche, which nonetheless was delicious, but the roast chicken seemed to have gone AWOL in the butter; if it was there, it was hard to detect, and a shame as roast chicken butter is one my absolute favourites.

Second up, a pressing of charred Yorkshire leeks was a plate full of fresh, clean flavours and surprising textures on the way; it also looked so pretty.

The slice of leek terrine showed a masterful hand in the kitchen with each leek cut perfectly; there were tiny nuggets of smoked eel which, even though small, were packed with flavour and worked so lovely alongside the artichoke and hint of umami-giving miso.

For ‘mains’ came a superb, tender and deeply flavoured piece of venison from Yorkshire, of course, with parsley root and salsify truffle. Oh no, please don’t let this be the synthetic Chinese truffle-infused oil doused like a loose cannon on anything these days, I hoped.

Please let it be the black Perigord truffle with its enchanting aroma and vigorous flavour. I need not have worried as this was a carefully balanced whisper of truffle with the salsify, supporting, not drowning the dish. Phew.

We skip quickly to the first of the two desserts (or pre-dessert, they choose to call it) of Yorkshire Parkin poached pear and a duck-egg custard; promised stem ginger on the menu seemed to have gone the same walk-about as the roast chicken despite us eagerly trying to find it.

Nevertheless, it was a delightful dish. Our second and final course was another pretty plate of intense Yorkshire rhubarb jelly, a superb white chocolate ice cream, little glass-like shards of caramel and - we did question this - pistachio, which had a distinct heavy almond aroma?

We were assured it was the former; we believed it to be the latter, so we nodded politely and left it at that.

The service, mainly from a charming and patient Sam Peacock, was terrific even when he tried desperately to find the source of the cold air blowing on my feet, which had left me feeling so cold during the whole meal.

What a fabulous change there has been here at Aldwark; it was too late in the evening, and the weather was too filthy to see all the other changes, but I hope to see them relatively soon.

But I had an excellent taste for what they are about on this brief visit, and this handsome manor house deserves no less after the chops and changes she has endured.

Chartwell deserves its recent plaudits; if you could just track down the roast chicken, stem ginger and the cold draught, I am sure there will be many more to come.

But honestly, those teeny, tiny niggles did nothing to spoil the excellent meal we had enjoyed.

Welcome 5/5

Food 5/5

Atmosphere 5/5

Prices 5/5

Chartwell at Aldwark Manor, Aldwark,YO61 1UF www.aldwarkmanorestate.co.uk