Orangery - Bassetlaw

My wife and I opted to have a meal at The Orangery having seen that they were offering a Valentine’s Dinner. We were also married at the adjoining hotel (over 20 years ago) and so we felt there was a romantic connection to the evening. The table had some red petals and a tall white candle. The room was lit beautifully and the temperature was comfortable. It seemed like a good choice on arrival But then the “restaurant machine” was switched on and any first impressions we had were soon evaporated. Our order, including drinks, was taken and within 5 minutes the starter and wine had arrived. Our empty plates were whisked away and the sorbet mouth cleansers were popped in front of us. They were removed with the upmost efficiency and we were on to the main course. And so on.. in fact, we were seated and proficiently guided through 4 courses in around 1 hour and 10 mins. Our main courses were cooked very well, though they lacked imagination. In contrast, the starters and desserts were prepared well in advance and we felt they had been bought in. Overall, we felt that The Orangery had stage-managed a Valentine’s Dinner. The speed at which we were whisked through sapped any sense of romanticism and the food was better than average. We may return to sample what the chef could offer on a non-themed evening, but we will consider all our other options first.

This local restaurant is a great option with a good variety of wine and reasonable prices. The decor is also impressive.

There may not be a wide variety on the menu, but the food is delicious. The young staff is very friendly and helpful. I stayed at the hotel and also had breakfast at the restaurant. It was buffet style due to the large number of guests. My only complaint is that there were only scrambled eggs available, and we were not informed that we could order fried or poached eggs in advance. The food was of top quality.

We only had breakfast at the hotel and it was excellent. We went out for dinner and although the menu looked okay, we had already made reservations elsewhere.

Excellent service, very impressive menu which lived up to the recommendations we'd had from friends and colleagues. The price fits the quality of food and atmosphere provided. Generally a nice place to eat and relax.