Woven (*) – UK (Ascot)

Woven is on the Coworth Park property, a great country estate hotel about a 45min train ride from London. The decor in the restaurant is excellent, very cool "woven" theme throughout the restaurant, and it comes off as both modern but warm. We went for lunch, which was "3" courses, but effectively 7 courses. We were incredibly full at the end.

We've been to the Ugly Butterfly, another of Adam Smith's restaurants, and definitely preferred Woven more. Pacing and service overall was much better at Woven.

Overall – very deserving of it's 1 star. Nothing really pushes the limits, but the jellied eels dish and the scallop were great. The plating is a strength, they definitely spend a lot of time making the food look beautiful (lots of tweezering!)

Cheese and onion bite – nice little opener. Tasty but nothing mind-blowing.

Chicken satay – super juicy chicken, great crunch on the outside, and the satay sauce was incredible. Maybe a touch too oily, but I'd still happily eat three more.

Jellied eels – unexpectedly amazing. The broth was smoky and rich, with jelly that melted into the soup in a really satisfying way. Wonderful to sip on. Palate cleanser of yuzu, avocado, and basil mousse was bright and fresh but second fiddle to the broth.

Bread course – really good bread course. Lots of dips which were fun to try. Cheese with truffle honey, lobster oil with pomegranate, miso jam, sunflower hummus. Very fun.

BBQ scallop – nice, buttery yuzu beurre blanc with roe and caviar on top. Felt very luxe. Scallop itself was cooked nicely, although I would've liked a bit more char/smokiness.

Cornish turbot with champagne sauce – cooked well but the flavours were a bit quiet. Not bad, just didn’t stand out. My wife got the lamb, which was definitely a lot better.

Apple & cinnamon bite – refreshing, simple

Rhubarb dessert with ginger and yogurt sorbet – lovely flavors, especially the ginger. Pastry was a bit too crumbly though, so didn’t totally come together.

Finishing bites – truffle chocolate, chocolate caramel, rum baba, raspberry gelée. Classic flavors, well done.