Harden's says
Hadspen House, built around 1690, has been bought and refurbished as a luxury hotel by South African billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos, former Elle Decoration editor. There's gardens to explore here and a cafe as well as this main restaurant.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“A wonderful, exclusive, if rather pricey place for a meal” – this glam hideaway is the centrepiece dining-wise of billionaire Koos Bekker and wife Karen’s luxurious estate, which they launched in 2019. With its oak panelled dining room and “attention-grabbing, glass-house courtyard add-on” it’s an “extremely pleasant environment” (“tables are well spread out within the more formal area within the original hotel building and the large glass walled and roofed extension is slightly more informal”). “Staff are so welcoming and motivated” providing service that’s “proficient and leisurely” and the food is simple but very well executed using lots of ingredients either sourced from the estate or nearby farms (including venison). Round off your meal with “a magical after-lunch stroll through the grounds… fabulous!”
Summary
The more formal, oak-panelled dining room at “stunning” Georgian estate The Newt, which was launched by billionaire Koos Bekker and wife Karen, a former Elle Decoration editor, five years back. On the menu, a “sensational” three-course set (£95) which makes the most of “carefully sourced ingredients” spanning heritage-breed meats and catch from the West Country’s ports. Also on the grounds are more casual eateries the Farmyard Kitchen, in an old threshing barn, and the “pleasant” Garden Café (see also). There is the odd naysayer for whom the cuisine is more “sensible” than sensational, but there’s no denying the “atmosphere is chic”, and “after a lovely meal” you can “walk around the beautiful grounds” (“for a while, I felt I was in heaven!”).
Summary
“A treat after viewing the interesting gardens” – this ‘Country House Reimagined’ is a handsome, limestone Georgian pile in lovely Somerset countryside and is the brainchild of billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos’s (ex-editor of Elle Decoration). Where eating is concerned, the main event is a “gorgeous” panelled traditional chamber (for more inexpensive meals, head for The Garden Café – “a beautifully designed glass box” overlooking the kitchen garden and orchards – ). “Good local produce, much from the grounds just outside” is presented alongside meat from heritage breeds on a three-course menu for £85 per person. One or two reports suggest “it’s good but doesn’t quite hit the heights it’s aiming for” but on most accounts it’s merely a “fantastic” experience – “love the range of Newt ciders” too.
Summary
“Love this place” – set in historic Hadspen House and its famous gardens (operated since 2019 as a luxury hotel, shop and restaurant by South African billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos, an ex-editor of Elle Decoration). It’s “beautifully done”, and the “wood-panelled restaurant in the old house, with its candlelit atmosphere”, makes an ideal setting for “a wonderful, surprising tasting menu”, which is “certainly not your usual country house hotel food” – and which includes pairings with cider produced on the estate. (“Perfect on a late summer evening as the sun finally sets after some great pre-dinner cocktails”).
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Have you eaten at The Botanical Rooms at The Newt?
The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, BA7 7NG
Restaurant details
The Botanical Rooms at The Newt Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Surprisingly good value lunch - well cooked and in the very pleasant covered patio next to the rather formal looking Oak Room. Not worth a detour, but a good choice if visiting the gardens (not least as it gives free entry)."
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £40.00 | £45.00 |  |
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| Dinner | £85.00 | |
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| Drinks |
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|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
| Extras |
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| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 12.50% |
The Newt in Somerset, Bruton, BA7 7NG
Opening hours
| Monday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Tuesday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Wednesday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
| Sunday | 12:30 pm‑2:30 pm, 6:30 pm‑9 pm |
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