Putting new menu to the test at famous Harrogate hotel's restaurant where elegant past meets lavish modernity

Built in 1900, recent years have seen a series of improvements and refurbishments since its current owners took over in 2019 following a £2 million pound investment.

The stunning aqua green dome of the DoubleTree by Hilton Majestic Hotel & Spa can still be seen for miles around high above the expanse of its lush grounds.

But it isn't just the historic building’s stately exterior that now attracts the eye.

The interior of the hotel’s attention-grabbing Carters Champagne Bar and Grill is the epitome of food and drink theatre with twinkling chandeliers above and a dazzling horseshoe-shaped bar at the far end beckoning visitors into a room which could belong in a major city.

Elegantly styled with Edwardian flair, it’s a quietly modern version of the past with a feeling of opulence which ticks all the necessary contemporary buttons.

As happy as the hotel itself to move with the times, the Harrogate Advertiser was invited recently to test run its brand new menu designed to reinvigorate its food and drink offering.

As carefully developed by the hotel group’s Group Executive Head Chef, Nick Kimber, the new menu at Carters Champagne Bar and Grill showcases fresh seasonal ingredients with delicious flavour profiles – aiming for a sophisticated take on the classics, as well some modern innovations and minor Asian twists on the way.

The chef joined owners, the Cairn Hotel Group, in 2023 with an impressive culinary background spanning more than two decades working in prestigious kitchens and leading culinary teams.

I was advised by the unfailingly helpful staff led by restaurant manager William Bird; it’s no surprise that the hotel is currently in the running for the Team of the Year prize in the Harrogate Hospitality Awards, to pick from the delicious asparagus starter, the fabulous Chateaubriand steak, Seabass, Three Little Pigs slow-cooked pork belly as the main and, either, the yummy White Chocolate Pudding, Sticky Toffee Pudding or Chocolate Bomb for dessert.

With the wine list more reasonable than you would expect these days, too, the new menu is as tasty in reality as the idea of it on paper.

As well as being recognised for his culinary excellence, Nick Kimber has also won 2 AA rosettes and worked at Michelin Star-level establishments.

All that experience is there to enjoy on the plate as the menu lives up to the lavish ambience of the space.

I hear Sunday lunch is also rather good.