Restaurant in Whitebrook, United Kingdom
Commit to the drive. The food delivers.
The Whitebrook serves a nine-course tasting menu at £130 per head from a remote Welsh valley near Monmouth, where Chris Harrod's kitchen sources from the Wye Valley and its own kitchen garden. La Liste-recognised (85pts, 2025) and hard to book, this is a genuine destination restaurant for diners who want ingredient-led cooking with a clear point of view. Book weeks in advance and stay the night if you plan to drink well.
That price point tells you what The Whitebrook is: a full-commitment destination restaurant in the Welsh borders, where the format is a nine-course tasting menu at dinner and the surroundings are a winding, wooded valley outside Monmouth. This is not a restaurant you fall into. You plan it, drive to it, and give it an evening. The question is whether it deserves that effort — and for most diners willing to engage with Chris Harrod's ingredient-led cooking, the answer is yes.
The physical space sets the tone before a plate arrives. Polished wood floors, pale walls hung with original art, and well-spaced tables with crisp linen produce a room that reads formal without feeling stiff. It is a former pub, which gives the building a solidity and scale that purpose-built restaurant rooms often lack, and the woodland setting outside the windows closes the gap between kitchen and landscape in a way that feels intentional rather than incidental. For a special occasion, the room works: intimate enough for conversation, considered enough to signal the evening matters.
Service is knowledgeable and attentive, which matters here because the menu requires explanation. When a dish features arrowgrass, sea spinach, and blightweed alongside Cornish day-boat turbot, a good server is part of the experience, not a luxury. The wine list is wide-ranging, covers most regions and price points, and includes a strong selection from UK vineyards.
The editorial angle on The Whitebrook that most reviewers reach for is the foraged-and-foliage shorthand, but that framing undersells what Harrod is actually doing. The sourcing here is structural: ingredients come from the Wye Valley and the kitchen's own garden, and the menu is built around what that supply chain produces rather than fitted to a predetermined template. That means vegetables are frequently the lead component of a course, not a supporting actor.
The carrot tart illustrates this clearly: intense grated carrot with buttermilk sauce and alexanders seeds in a wafer-thin crunchy case. The mugwort-smoked beets with homemade black pudding, sticky Madeira sauce, caramelised shallot, and wild leaves show the same logic — the vegetable is the anchor and the other elements orbit it. Radishes blanched in lemon verbena with woodruff cultured cream, white crabmeat with fennel fronds and pineapple weed sauce, turbot with smoked roe and Jersey Royals brightened by foraged sea herbs: each dish reflects a kitchen that forages and grows with intention rather than decoration.
Middle White suckling pig is the signature meat course, and the version with pine-nut purée, garden leeks, girolles, broad beans, and nasturtium leaves is the kind of dish that draws the meal together: familiar protein, unfamiliar context. Desserts follow the same sourcing logic , honey and elderflower cream with dandelion honey and sweet cicely, then Herefordshire black cherries with meadowsweet, cherry-stone ice cream, and hazelnut cake. The menu moves from light to earthy to dark across nine courses, and when it fires it is genuinely good cooking.
The honest caveat: not every course lands for every diner. A handful of reviewers note that the emphasis on foraged leaves and root vegetables at this price can feel uneven, with some dishes working less well than others. The suckling pig and fish courses draw the most consistent praise. This is a kitchen with a clear point of view, and the nine-course format means you experience all of it , the peaks and the occasional flat note alike.
The Whitebrook is a hard table to secure. Book as far in advance as possible , several weeks at minimum, and further out for weekend dinners or special occasions. The combination of a remote location, a small room, and a reputation that earns La Liste scores of 82–85 points across consecutive years means demand consistently outpaces availability. If you are planning around a specific date, treat the booking as the first thing to arrange, not the last. Lunch offers a shorter menu at a lower price point and tends to be slightly more accessible, though it is not a walk-in proposition either.
Accommodation is available on-site, which is worth factoring into the decision. Driving a narrow Welsh valley road after nine courses and a sommelier-backed wine list is avoidable if you stay over, and the rooms follow the same nature-inside design logic as the dining room.
For the right diner , someone who wants a cooking-led destination experience and is willing to engage with a kitchen that treats vegetables and foraged ingredients as seriously as prime protein , The Whitebrook justifies both the price and the drive. It sits in the same conversation as Black Swan in Oldstead and L'Enclume in Cartmel as a destination restaurant where the sourcing philosophy shapes every course, and it is one of the strongest cases for this style of cooking in Wales. For broader context on destination restaurants with a rural British footing, see also Moor Hall in Aughton, Gidleigh Park in Chagford, and Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton.
If you are in the area and want to compare options, CHAPTERS in Hay-on-Wye is the closest Creative British alternative. For a full picture of eating, drinking, and staying in the region, see our full Whitebrook restaurants guide, our full Whitebrook hotels guide, our full Whitebrook bars guide, our full Whitebrook wineries guide, and our full Whitebrook experiences guide.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Whitebrook | Creative British | ££££ | “Tucked away in a secluded Welsh borders valley” , Chris & Kirsty Harrod’s “former pub might seem like an unlikely venue for a high-end restaurant; and the quirkiness doesn’t end there, as chef Chris’s food is highly original with most dishes featuring some sort of foraged leaves or organic whatnot” . One or two reporters feel this leads to ups and downs in a meal ( “not a great fan of eating weeds and root vegetables at these prices, although the halibut and venison were sublime to be fair…” ; “the vegetables, presumably from their own garden, were not quite up to scratch and contributed to a few dishes that didn’t really work… still some were excellent” ). Overall, though, it’s a thumbs up for one of Wales’s more renowned culinary destinations: “I was a little sceptical but I shouldn’t have worried. The food was sensationally good, packed with intriguing flavours, beautifully presented and very different” . There are cheaper options at lunch, but by night it’s nine courses for £130 per person.; La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 82pts; The very definition of a destination restaurant, this place's isolated woodland feel is all part of its inherent charm. A nature-inspired colour theme and rustic wood flooring suit the location down to a tee. Ingredients are sourced from Wye Valley and their own kitchen garden, and are used in botanically based dishes with natural flavours. Middle White suckling pig is one of their signatures and Hereford raspberries with garden herb sorbet is a fitting end to dinner. There’s also a particularly creative vegetarian menu. Bedrooms follow the theme of bringing nature inside.; Tucked above a country lane in a winding, wooded valley, the Whitebrook is perfectly in tune with its surroundings, majoring in picture-perfect dishes strewn with wild flowers, seeds and herbs. It’s quite a formal affair – very smart, with polished wood floors, pale walls adorned with original art and well-spaced tables sporting crisp napery. The service is impeccable and knowledgeable, with much to explain about the intricacies of the dishes. Chef/owner Chris Harrod prizes vegetables as highly as meat and fish, often making them the star of the show: take a carrot tart, for instance, combining intense, juicy grated carrot with buttermilk sauce and alexanders seeds in an airy, wafer-thin crunchy case, or technicolour, meaty mugwort-smoked beets with 'divine' homemade black pudding, sticky Madeira sauce, caramelised shallot, wild leaves and petals. Foraged ingredients run wild and free through the whole menu – white crabmeat gets paired with fennel fronds and pineapple weed sauce; woodruff cultured cream elevates radishes blanched in lemon verbena; and arrowgrass, sea spinach and blightweed brighten a pearly piece of Cornish day-boat turbot with smoked roe and Jersey Royals. A main act of gloriously tender suckling pig with pine-nut purée, tiny garden leeks, girolles, broad beans and nasturtium leaves was followed by a blast of folksy freshness: honey and elderflower cream with a jewel-like pool of dandelion honey and a sprinkling of sweet cicely. The menu flexes effortlessly from fresh to earthy, and from light to dark – so this dish was followed by a deeper, richer affair: Herefordshire black cherries with meadowsweet, cherry-stone ice cream, milk crisps and crumbled hazelnut cake. The sommelier-backed wine list is a veritable tome, covering most regions and price points – including a superb selection of reasonably priced bottles from UK vineyards.; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 85pts; The very definition of a destination restaurant, this place's isolated woodland feel is all part of its inherent charm. A nature-inspired colour theme and rustic wood flooring suit the location down to a tee. Ingredients are sourced from Wye Valley and their own kitchen garden, and are used in botanically based dishes with natural flavours. Middle White suckling pig is one of their signatures and Hereford raspberries with garden herb sorbet is a fitting end to dinner. There’s also a particularly creative vegetarian menu. Bedrooms follow the theme of bringing nature inside.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Hard | — |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
How The Whitebrook stacks up against the competition.
Dress formally. Reviewers consistently describe The Whitebrook as a smart, polished room with crisp linen and knowledgeable service — this is nine courses at £130 per head, not a country gastropub. A jacket for men is appropriate; anything you would wear to a serious London tasting room fits the register here.
Book as far ahead as possible — several weeks at minimum for midweek, longer for weekend dinners. The Whitebrook is a destination restaurant drawing diners from well outside the region, which compresses availability fast. If you have a fixed travel date, lock in the reservation before you book accommodation.
Yes, if you are willing to engage with a kitchen that treats foraged vegetables and botanicals as seriously as meat and fish. At £130 for nine courses, the format is justified by Chris Harrod's sourcing from the Wye Valley and the restaurant's own kitchen garden, recognised by La Liste (85pts in 2025, 82pts in 2026). Diners who want a conventional protein-led progression may find the approach uneven; those who trust the kitchen tend to leave converted.
For most diners who make the trip with clear expectations, yes. At £130 per head for nine courses with hyper-local sourcing and a sommelier-backed wine list, the price is in line with serious tasting menus in London — without London's ease of access. The honest caveat: a minority of reviewers find the heavy forage emphasis produces uneven dishes, though the same reviewers typically single out the meat and fish courses as excellent.
Lunch if price is a factor — cheaper options are available at midday compared to the full nine-course dinner at £130 per head. Dinner if you want the complete format and are staying overnight, which makes more sense given the restaurant's location down a winding valley lane outside Monmouth. The setting rewards an unhurried visit rather than a quick turnaround.
The format is a set tasting menu, so there is no à la carte selection to navigate. Middle White suckling pig is a documented signature, and the kitchen's botanically driven vegetable courses define the meal's character. If you have a strong preference against foraged leaves and weeds as primary components, flag it when booking — the restaurant also runs a creative vegetarian menu, which suggests kitchen flexibility.
Location
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