Dorchester’s The Barn in Coworth Park offers Halal

By Adil Iqbal

We went for my dad’s birthday brunch at a place owned by the Dorchester in Ascot called Coworth Park where we dined at one of their restaurants called The Barn.

They have a separate Halal menu which was an added bonus (however please note that alcohol and non-Halal items are served).

The place is smart/ casual and child friendly, and located in a very picturesque setting next to acres of green polo fields and a tiny stream which you walk over on the grounds to get to restaurant.

10oz Waterford Farm 65-day salt aged ribeye, £34

The place is a hotel/spa resort with some beautifully cosy yet big cottages for rent for guests who don’t wish to stay in the main hotel. I will let the pictures do the talking.

So down to the nitty gritty, the food. To be honest when I saw the Halal menu, I was hoping for a few more meat options.

Instead what I was greeted with was a veggie menu with a couple of Halal meat items to choose from.

I guess I shouldn’t complain as it’s good to at least have the option even if limited. I believe they used to have a Halal beef burger option I was looking forward to, but it had been swapped for another item. In terms of meat choices, then there were chicken, rib eye steak and cod.

We ordered croquettes for starters (although I did not try this, I was told they were tasty), followed by a veggie burger, chicken burger, and cod and chips.

When our food was brought over, my first impressions of my chicken burger was that it looked quite simple; but how wrong I was.

From the looks of it, even though it was only seasoned with basic salt and pepper, I was shocked by how very tasty and juicy it was.

The size of the chicken was very liberal and the chicken was protruding outside the bun which is always nice to see.

The burger comes with lettuce, red onions, tomato, gherkin and burger sauce.

The balance of the burger was really good as no one particular flavour was overpowering, and it was nice to be able to taste a bit of everything.

My chips were okay, and I felt they were a bit too oily, though everyone else enjoyed theirs, so maybe it was just me.

I was told the cod and chips and veggie burger were tasty, but as I did not try them myself, I cannot comment, although they looked very good from what I saw.

This place would really be nice in the summer as you can sit outside.

One gripe I did have was that nearing the end of our dinner a dog was allowed to enter the restaurant.

This may have been a mistake by the dogs owner as he was quickly led outside; but for the type of place this is meant to be, I was surprised.

Ed. – Discretionary service charge of 12.5% added to the bill.

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The Barn
Blacknest Road, Ascot,
Berkshire, SL5 7SE.

T: +44 (0)1344 876 600 | W: www.dorchestercollection.com/the-barn

Opening Hours:
Mon–Fri (Lunch) 12:00-14:30, (Dinner) 18:00-21:30
Sat (Breakfast) 8:00-10:30, (Lunch) 12:00-14:30, (Dinner) 18:00-21:30
Sun (Breakfast) 8:00-10:30, (Lunch) 12:00-15:00, (Dinner) 18:00-21:30