GILL HARRIS samples something a little different at the Japanese all-you-can-eat buffet at Stanton House Hotel

“WE can’t have the buffet,” I said, eyeing the display of exotic dishes. “I won’t know what I’m eating so I won’t be able to write about it.”

My companion said nothing but continued to peruse the menu. After much umming and aahing and a few longing looks in the direction of the sushi counter, we settled on… yep, you guessed it, the buffet.

On Thursday evenings Stanton House Hotel, in its picturesque 18th century parkland, offers an all-you-can-eat Japanese buffet for the bargain price of £20.50.

Which must go some way to explaining why the hotel’s Rosemary Restaurant was rammed on the particular evening we dropped in. On previous week night visits, it’s been us and a couple of Japanese businessmen in suits and that’s been about it.

For me, a visit to Stanton House is a rare and pricey treat. I’ve always ordered from the a la carte menu, and have always ended up spending far more than I intended - one round of sushi is never enough, it turns out.

So it was time to mix it up a little and give the mysterious buffet a whirl.

And if you’re a diner who’s happy to dive in and give new dishes a try, this is the perfect set-up for you.

Dish upon dish of colourful, delicious food had us cramming our plates on our first visit. There is also a sushi chef on hand to prepare your choice of sushi to order. And yes, you really can return to reload as many times as you wish.

If I’m going to be picky, I’d have to say the sushi rice was a bit too warm and so it wasn’t the best sushi I’ve eaten at Stanton House, but this is really splitting hairs as the rest of the dishes were fantastic.

There was a particularly good pork belly with ginger, light and crispy vegetable tempura, a tasty miso soup… and something we christened Christmas balls because they tasted just like turkey with bread sauce and stuffing. Delicious, whatever they were.

Despite the delicacy of many of the dishes and the smallness of our plates, I felt full pretty quickly and threw in the towel, sitting back to watch my pal make several more visits before he too groaned to a halt.

All this was washed down with some hot saki, or in my case as I’m not a fan, a couple of glasses of white wine.

The bill came to £67, which is way less than I usually spend at Stanton House, so the whole experience was a real success story.

If you don’t fancy the buffet, there is a full a la carte Japanese menu and a European menu as well, so there is something to suit everyone.

The staff were courteous and professional, the food was fun and tasty and the surroundings were, as always, stunning.

Give it a try one Thursday evening - and watch out for those Christmas balls. And if you find out what they are, let me know...

Stanton House Hotel,

Rosemary restaurant

The Avenue, Stanton Fitzwarren, Swindon SN6 7SD

0843 5071388

www.stantonhousehotel.co.uk

Parking: Yes

Disabled access: Yes

Adver ratings:

Food: 8/10

Choice: 9/10

Decor: 10/10

Service: 9/10

Thursday all-you-can-eat buffet: £20.50

TripAdvisor rating: 4/5