Just opened
Western House hotel at Ayr This 100-year-old property has just reopened as a four-star hotel after a £3m makeover. Positioned at Ayr racecourse, it's proving a popular wedding venue, hosting several receptions within its first fortnight.
- Opened: 3 June
- Owners: Alan MacDonald and Richard Johnson
- Rooms: 49, including 10 "luxury classical bedrooms" with WEestern House, some with balcolnies, and a further 39 "courtyard bedrooms".
- Room rate: From £60 a night
- Restaurant: Caters for up to 150 people, with views over the racecourse and gardens. Typical spend is £40 per head
- Head chef: Charles Price
- Address: 2 Whitletts Road, Ayr KA8 0JE
- Telephone: 0870 055 5510
- Website: www.ayr-racecourse.co.uk
The Swan at Iver, Bucks
Chef Dominic Green has brought his expertise from the Glasshouse and the Criterion to create a new eaterie serving classic modern British dishes with in a 16th-century public house.
- Opened: 20 April
- Head chef: Dominic Green
- Owners: Dominic Green, David Dore, Michael Dore
- Capacity: 70 inside, 60 outside and 50 private dining
- Average spend: £31 for three courses with wine
- Food: Lunch and dinner menus at £19.50/£25 for two/three courses. For starters, there's chicken liver and foie gras parfait with Sauternes jelly and granary toast, then move onto organic slow-roasted belly of pork with carrot purée, apple sauce and Madeira sauce and finish with poached rhubarb with panna cotta.
- Address: 2 High Street, Iver, Buckinghamshire SL0 9NG
- Telephone: 01753 655776
Built above the existing à la carte restaurant, this new buffet restaurant has a theatre-style kitchen in the middle of the room so chefs can put on a daily show. There are usually 25 items on the menu, which include a fusion of Kashmiri, mid-Eastern and Chinese recipes, and include some of Aagrah's most popular dishes from the group's other nine restaurants.
- Opened: 13 June
- Head chef: Mohammed Hussain
- Owners: Mohammed Aslam
- Capacity: 130
- Average spend: Evening buffet at £10.95
- Food: Changes every three days, including tikkas, kebabs, tandoori and nanns
- Address: 4 Saltaire Road, Shipley, West Yorkshire BD18 3HN
- Telephone: 01274 530880
Morley Hayes hotel, Derby
Located on the outskirts of Derby, and on the 13-year-old Morley Hayes development, this hotel prides itself on its range of rooms, including ones specifically designed for families, with interconnecting bedrooms.
- Opened: 13 June
- Owners: Morley Hayes Leisure
- Managing director: Andrew Allsop
- Head chef: Nigel Stuart
- Room rate: From £120 per room, including full English breakfast
- Facilities: 18-hole championship golf course, nine-hole, par-three golf course, driving range and resident golf professionals, function and meeting rooms, and helipad.
- Restaurants: The Dovecote à la carte restaurant and Roosters bar, serving food and hand-pulled ales
- Address: The Morley Hayes hotel, Main Road, Morley, Derbyshire DE7 6DG
- Telephone: 01332 780480
- Website: www.morleyhayes.com
Deco Lounge, Bristol
This is Loungers' fourth, and largets, opening in three years. The refurbishment of the split-level premises cost £150,000, and uses reclaimed materials and moody colours to create a relaxed atmosphere. The concept aims to provide an informal, neighbourhood, food-led café-bar.
- Opened: 17 June
- Head chef: Benedict Harding
- Owner: Loungers
- Capacity: 80
- Food: You could have the all-day steak breakfast, with sirloin steak, eggs, hash browns, tomato, mushrooms and toast (£5.95). Or try the smoked salmon bruschetta (£4.25) or baked cod with bacon, pine nuts, green beans and new potatoes (£7.50)
- Address: Deco Lounge, 50 Cotham Hill, Cotham, Bristol
- Telephone: 0117 373 2688
