RESTAURANT Loving bubbles in bubbles at Homewood

HOMEWOOD Bubbles drunk with your social bubble, within an actual bubble; could there be a more enticing treat in the run-up to Christmas 2020? Words by Deri Robins

They’re the same as the Copper Club igloos at Tower Bridge,” said our informative host Daisy.

“Ah yes,” we replied, nodding knowingly, while stealthily Googling beneath the table. Turns out it’s not Copper at all, but Coppa. Shows how long it’s been since we were up in London.

Besides, we were only half-listening. We were as excited as kids on Christmas Eve, distracted by the novelty of dining in our own festive globe, set in the manicured 10-acre grounds of Homewood hotel.

Short of arriving at a party with a guitar and a Kumbaya songbook, these pop-ups provide the very best social distancing you can get. Dome-dining was instantly added to my companion’s growing list of lockdown positives, which also includes the curtailment of manhugging and a welcome end to mingling.

Overlooked by ancient oaks and beeches, the rain coming down at a profound slant, our dome was as snug as an Alpine mountain refuge, and as festive as Christmas Eve with candlelight and twinkly decorations.

We began to feel as if we were starring in our very own Last Christmas video, and had the happy realisation that, in fact, we were quite at liberty to play said tune, or indeed any other we fancied, from our phones; nobody else could hear. We gazed from our splendid isolation across the lawns at the diners seated in the hotel’s main restaurant, who gazed back curiously at us. They looked as if they wished they’d thought of booking a globe, too.

We were snug as two bugs on our sheepskin rugs; unlike poor Daisy, who was obliged to trek back and forth in a dripping cagoule as she brought out each course. Even this failed to dim her zeal for the domes, which have been her own personal project; if we were Homewood’s owners, Ian and Christa Taylor, we’d give her full rein to develop a few more cracking ideas like this.

They probably will; this, after all, is the couple who breathed fresh air into The Abbey Hotel, transformed the Country Hotel into The Bird and created the exhilarating No. 15 Great Pulteney. When they acquired Homewood back in 2018, we knew they were unlikely to allow this country house hotel to slumber on in pastoral somnolence without introducing some liberal tweaks.

One of them was to bring classically trained chef Jamie Forman in to run the kitchen. Jamie says his menu is all about flavour and no-nonsense cooking, using the best of seasonal, British produce. Judging by our meal – the Dining Dome Feasting Menu, if you please – we’d add the words ‘hearty’ and possibly ‘Brobdingnagian’. This was the first fine-dining meal that had us sheepishly requesting a doggy bag, a request that was met without the merest raising of an eyebrow. Homewood is supremely unstuffy.

Daisy braved the elements to serve our welcome glasses of champagne, after which she proceeded to fire up the fondue. Creamy, slightly sweet, slightly salty, alcoholic: what more could you want from a dish? The menu tells us that the cheese was Somerset Montgomery, but my notes specify that it was Gruyère. I even have the grave accent over the first ‘è’; that’s how classy I get after a glass of Taittinger. Either way, it was a robust, indulgent dish, served with herb-stuffed focaccia and a huge grazing board of cured meats, chillis and sun-dried tomatoes

We wondered whether this gargantuan starter might also prove to be a finisher, but along came more courses, and more wine. More wine is one of my favourite things, especially on a wet November night.

Looking like something that might have been served to Henry VIII, three Bartlett & Sons lamb shanks cooked in Bath ale came tucked up nice as ninepence in pastry overcoats, with a dish of juicy roasted beets and heritage carrots, and a huge bowl of preternaturally creamy mash.

Clearly worried that we might still be a bit peckish, Jamie sent out a dessert of apple and rhubarb baked Alaska, theatrically flambéed with cider brandy. The pud is also known as omelette sibérienne; please note the acute accent this time (aren’t editors such fun out with whom to hang?) Although a sturdy sweet, it’s tricky enough to get right; it needs to be warmed long enough to cook the meringue, but not so overcooked that the ice cream begins to melt. Chef Forman’s was pudding-perfect.

Some good ideas have come out of lockdown, and while igloo-dining dates back to the Uncontagious Times, these discrete little bubbles could hardly be more fit for purpose this Christmas. They’re open until the end of March, but don’t wait until spring; it’s in the deep midwinter that they really bring the magic. n

“Snug in our own Alpine refuge, we begn to feel as if we were starring in our own Last Christmas video”

DINING DETAILS Homewood Bath, Abbey Lane, Freshford; 01225 580439 www.homewoodbath.co.uk We visited Monday evening Opening hours tbc after lockdown Prices Dining Dome Feasting Menu for 4-6 people (includes a glass of Taittinger champagne and half a bottle of wine): lunch £50, dinner £75; à la carte. NB For couples, add a supplementary dome hire charge of £100. A la carte: starters £6-£9, mains mostly £16-£29, puddings £7-£10 Veggie choice Plentiful Service Warm, welcoming and knowledgeable