In honour of Pignut and The Hare opening its doors for the first time last week, we’ve rounded up some of the most beautiful dining spaces to nibble on an hors d’oeuvre, or two, with friends, family, or new acquaintances.
So raise a glass and pass the nuts: no matter the company, we’ve got the setting.
Crowhurst Farm Cottage, Crowhurst Lane, West Kingsdown, Sevenoaks, Kent
Now this is an outdoor dining area to make the entire cast of Love Island desperate for a chat.
Bordering the end of Crowhurst Farm Cottage’s rear garden is an utterly fabulous decked terrace with everything you need for a full days entertainment. Complete with swim spa, hot tub, and a striking outdoor kitchen with a 3.5m BBQ setup, you’ll be hosting your own dinner parties every weekend of the summer.
And when the night starts to turn dark? Invite your guests indoors to a gorgeously sleek kitchen, where post-dinner conversations around the island can go on until the wee hours – and probably end up back in the hot tub.
And remember, the nation isn’t watching, so getting up to no good isn’t going to land you in any proverbial hot water…
5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 5 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £1,400,000
For Sale with
Maison Partnership
Greystead Rectory, Tarset, Northumberland
If you want a more antiquated feel to your dining experience, consider Greystead Rectory. Surrounding your table with an abundance of perfectly preserved original detailing creates a timeless atmosphere that is hard to replicate in any modern home, no matter how crafty you are with an MDF picture rail.
Tall sash windows bring in the light until the sun goes down, whereafter the candles and the open fire are lit for some late-evening cosiness. Finish your desserts and let your guests spread out to take in the quiet twilight: séance, anyone?
6 Bedrooms | 3 Bathroom | 2 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £1,000,000
For Sale with
Finest, Northumberland
Thorpe Lodge, Thorpe End, Norfolk
If a modern bohemian coastal theme is more your vibration, consider Thorpe House in the picturesque garden village of Thorpe End, Norfolk. With its calming, neutral tones and natural textures, this dining space offers oodles of places to snooze off your big plates: an adjoining snug gives somewhere for Dad to have a post-dinner doze, or the kids to watch a film while the adults talk shop around the kitchen island.
Ideal for a less formal, family gathering, this kitchen and dining area is perfect for a either a catered meal or a comfort-food buy-in. Just let the kids tidy up the pizza boxes, for once.
4 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms | 4 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £1,200,000
For Sale with
Sowerbys, Norfolk
Low House, Slaley, Hexham, Northumberland
This distinguished country estate in Northumberland unfolds with a quiet sophistication: an elegant, open plan kitchen opens its bi-fold doors out onto a glorious patio, overlooking sprawling gardens and a glimmering pond. It’s a smart choice for summer afternoon teas and lunches, a post tennis game, or pre-show outing.
While the perfect setting for guests, it’s also ideal for quiet reflection too: not all dinner spaces need to be shared.
And don’t you feel pressured to share that wine store, either.
37.52 Acres | 6 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 4 Reception Rooms
Offers in Excess of £2,750,000
For Sale with
Finest, Northumberland
Caldew Bank, Bridge End, Dalston, Carlisle, Cumbria
Set within a varied and expansive garden plot, Caldew Bank is a bit of Georgian classic with a sprinkling of the Mediterranean.
The sumptuous lawns are edged with mature borders and fruit trees ripe for pudding-picking, while a productive vegetable patch is tucked discreetly to one side to stop your guests from lurking off with your runner beans after tasting that starter salad.
This is a home that naturally provides, and while we don’t necessarily think you’d want to set up your own locally sourced restaurant, there’s no reason why you can’t offer an exclusively-sourced menu to just your family and friends, instead.
So while perfect for hosting a three-course meal, outside the sandstone terrace creates the perfect spot for a lavish BBQ or a buffet of seasonal salads and small plates. The rising patio leads to a hierarchy of levels, thoughtfully placed to follow the sun and framed by traditional walls and planting, so your guests have somewhere to sunbathe, no matter where they sit.
6 Bedrooms | 3 Bathrooms | 4 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £895,000
For Sale with
Finest, Northumberland
Amity Lodge, Freathy Cliff, South East Cornwall
Quite honestly, you could give your guests a slice of apple and a dish of peanut butter to dip into for dinner, and it wouldn’t matter a jot.
The views at Amity Lodge are the starter, the main meal, and the dessert, as well as a natural palette cleanser for the soul.
With positioning like this, you’ll have your guests clamouring to get a good seat. In that respect, they’ll have plenty to choose from. Perhaps a lay on the sunbeds, a vantage from the hot tub, or a saunter down the footpath to sit your bum down (apple in hand, of course) to watch the light fade over the horizon.
If you did fancy serving a little more than fruit for dinner, this one-bedroom lodge is well equipped for such fancies. The sleek grey kitchen benefits from a layout that enjoys the glorious south and west-facing vistas, so no suffering FOMO while you’re tossing the avocado salad. A Miele oven and microwave keep food standards high, while four sets of sliding glass doors mean that even when you need a helping hand, your mates are still taking in those dramatic skies and unforgettable sunsets.
1 Bedroom | 2 Bathroom | 1 Reception Room
Guide Price £695,000
For Sale with
Rohrs & Rowe, Cornwall
Calthwaite Hall, Penrith, Cumbria
This Grade II-listed Victorian hall serves up the drama, atmosphere, and class, with or without sprawling vistas. Set between the UNESCO world heritage site of the Lake District National Park and the North Pennines AONB, imagine a days exploring, with sore feet trudging back to a candlelit dinner as the mist start to lay low over the verdant horizon. It’s giving cosy winter dining over roast chicken and sumptuous joints of beef, Christmas parties with an array of cheese boards, and rambunctious board-games after dinner.
And if it’s a big affair you’re planning, consider Calthwaite Hall to be the perfect base for such occasions. With 12 bedrooms upstairs and a further nine luxury holiday lodges and a separate cottage, you’ll be at no loss for where your guests can hunker up in for the weekend.
So get those calendars blocked out now between the rentals – those party guests won’t want to wait for the next one!
7.404 Acres | 12 Bedrooms | 7 Bathrooms | 5 Reception Rooms
Offers Over £2,850,000
For Sale with
Finest, Northumberland
Glebe House, Nr Truro, South Cornwall
Located within easy access of the Roseland Peninsula and all the facilities of the city of Truro, is Glebe House, where a dinner party will be as easy to cater for as it will be to enjoy.
The modern extension containing the open-plan kitchen and additional dining space is bound to draw a “wow” from guests, with its high vaulted ceiling, beautifully finished units, and a huge central island. The space opens out on to the courtyard and garden, where tables, blankets, and garden games would be dotted. This is a place where the perfect English summer garden party can reign supreme, and where the gorgeous hue of the powder blue exterior will blend in effortlessly with rich, southern blue skies, so you and your guests will feel part of the vastness of the above.
An abundance of seating means Glebe House will be serving occasions, large or small, for as many years to come as this lovely period property has been standing for.
1 Acre | 5 Bedrooms | 5 Bathrooms
Guide Price £1,750,000
For Sale with
Rohrs & Rowe, Cornwall
Cavendish Road, Brondesbury, London, NW6
21st Century dining doesn’t get much better than a classic London townhouse filled with an array of interesting creative types facing off against bankers and the lone singleton. But maybe we’re thinking too much of a Bridget Jones novel.
Either way, Cavendish Road has got it going on. With a warm and homely 34ft open-plan kitchen, diner and lounge letting light in from as many angles as possible, we imagine hastily organised dinner parties with friends that happened to be free on the same evening, or the odd impromptu guest stopping in and staying for the Wednesday night family meal.
With Queens Park just down the road and an array of global ingredients on your London doorstep, you’ll be serving up delicious meals sourced fresh from Sunday’s farmers market in no time.
5 Bedrooms | 4 Bathrooms | 3 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £2,300,000
For Sale with
Garrison Estates, London
Greystead Old Church, Tarset, Northumberland
If you fancy your dining plates set amidst neo-gothic architecture and Northumberland National Park- designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and hosting Europe’s largest expanse of Dark Skie- then obviously, this property is for you.
This exceptional Georgian church conversion is indeed a spectacular and stand-out place to host your gatherings. The Neptune kitchen, granite countertops and the substantial central island ensures guest-count need not be a worry, with a table big enough for a five-course meal should you wish it, or perhaps a simple but succulent banquet reserved for those nearest and dearest.
Whatever your palette, Greystead Old Church offers you far more than just bread and wine. Although breaking bread with your friends with light pouring in through those stained glass windows doesn’t sound so bad, does it?
By the grace of God: go eat.
4 Bedrooms | 3 Bathroom | 3 Reception Rooms
Guide Price £750,000
For Sale with
Finest, Northumberland