I recently had a 'momentous' birthday, and to celebrate I was taken on a mystery trip. Just over an hour away from London on the train, we finally alighted in Arundel.
After a fair deal of searching, my wife had found a lovely place called Arundel House – with OVERWHELMING positive reviews on TripAdvisor, for dinner and accommodation. We love this sort of "Restaurant with Rooms" concept ever since we discovered another great place called Little Barwick House many years ago.
The place was perfect. Personal. Friendly. Relaxed. The room was ideal, and the best thing was the 10 steps down to the restaurant.
The food was very well executed, local, but understandably not too extravagant or unusual. My wife's lamb choice looked delicious, and I loved every morsel of my pheasant stuffed with black pudding (and the Great British Breakfast was stunning too).
Best of all, we drank a 1996 (a year with personal significance) Nuits-St-Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots, Mongeard-Mugneret. Delicious! Nicely aged and developed, light on the red fruit but lots of spice and fresh leafy characters.
Arundel itself was a beautiful place to walk around and packed with independent shops – something to do with the wealthy locals and tourists I guess, but the combination of historical architecture and obviously busy shops was a welcome sight. Next time I think I'll go when the castle is open (from April onwards).
If you are looking for a quick trip out of London, I highly recommend this place.
