Our friends over at King John Inn recently got in touch to tell us about their fabulous new Garden Kitchen. We’re pretty sure eating outside with friends and loved ones is one of life’s greatest pleasures, so we felt inspired to put together a list of some of our favourite spots to dine alfresco around the world…
King John Inn, Wiltshire, UK
The food at King John Inn is utterly divine and changes daily. The focus is on locally sourced ingredients and seriously fine wines. In response to its rapidly growing popularity, the owners decided to extend the menu and create a dreamy outdoor cooking and dining space styled by interior designer Gretchen Boon. Sit back in the pretty garden and marvel at the chefs in action.
Click here to read the full review.
La Sultana Oualidia, Morocco
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are moveable feasts at beautiful La Sultana and we think this spot on the beach is alfresco perfection. Being so close to the sea, fresh fish is the mainstay of the menus here. You’re literally yards away from Morocco’s best oyster beds, and the lagoon provides an abundant supply of lobster, crayfish, spider crabs and sea urchins. Masses of TLC goes into the presentation of the food, overseen by a top Marrakchi chef.
Click here to read the full review.
Villa Sassolini, Chianti, Italy
For centuries the holiday home of Florentine nobility, Villa Sassolini has been impeccably restored by acclaimed designer Massimo Tani. Smart and contemporary, it makes a refreshing change from the many over-antiquified Tuscan villas around. The cuisine here is a real highlight. Menus are built around local, seasonal produce and are renowned for experimental takes on traditional Italian fare. Meals are served in the refined and intimate restaurant or in the immaculate gardens with stunning views over the Chianti hills.
Click here to read the full review.
Museum Hotel, Cappadocia, Turkey
The sunlit terrace at the Museum Hotel overlooks a breathtaking landscape of rose-coloured ravines, dramatic rock formations and the distant volcanic cone of Mount Erciyes. Breakfast can be served here; the perfect perch to enjoy the early morning hot air balloons. The award-winning fine-dining restaurant, Lil’a, is open every evening with its candlelit room-with-a-view, and picnics and romantic dinners à deux can be set up in the stunning valley. The alfresco bar is perfect for a sunset cocktail or stargazing around the firepit.
Click here to read the full review.
Pristava Lepena, Soca Valley, Slovenia
Hidden away in an alpine meadow in Slovenia’s Triglav National Park, surrounded by wild flowers and the soaring peaks of the Julian Alps, Pristava Lepena is a relaxed haven for outdoor enthusiasts. Endless walking trails, azure rivers with white-sand beaches, horse-riding, mountain-biking and world-class fishing are all on your doorstep, and rafting, kayaking and paragliding are easily arranged for adrenaline junkies. Thankfully, meals here are suitably hearty. Wander down the meadow for a relaxed dinner served outside with stunning views of the mountains (and you won’t need to share with the horse if you don’t want to).
Click here to read the full review.
Shoreditch Rooms, London, UK
Hip Shoreditch Rooms is perfectly positioned for enjoying the equally trendy charms of the East End – Spitalfields, Brick Lane and Columbia Flower Market. It’s not a case of style over substance, though: it has a great atmosphere and lots of lovely personal touches. The Rooftop houses a bar and kitchen, which are adjacent to the pool and set around a large open fire. The food is straightforward, and refreshingly lacking in pretension. We enjoyed a very succulent steak with béarnaise sauce and a cracking house burger up here.
Click here to read the full review.
Lion Sands River Lodge, Kruger National Park, South Africa
Lion Sands is a beautiful lodge set in an ancient stand of high bushveld – it’s the stuff which safari dreams are made of. Book a few nights here and you’re guaranteed the experience of a lifetime. The food is fantastic; you really do get to go gourmet in the bush, and you couldn’t find a more spectacular place to eat than the deck, raised high above the sandy banks of the Sabie. Dinner is occasionally served at the lodge’s riverside viewing platform or out in the Sabi plains but, whatever the location, you’ll be treated to top-notch cuisine.
Click here to read the full review.
Cocoa Island, The Maldives
This is the Maldives – or is it heaven? Cocoa Island is an islet of sandy perfection, washed by warm seas in every shade of blue; a place to leave shoes and cares behind. The food here is some of the best around. Lounge on large sofas at the restaurant, eat on your sundeck or, for one of life’s true ‘zen’ moments, choose a private spot on the beach and enjoy the feel of caster-sugar sand between your toes.
Click here to read the full review.
Mowani Mountain Camp, Damaraland, Namibia
The beauty of southern Africa is all around you at the rock-top dining point of the hauntingly beautiful Mowani Mountain Camp – Swahili for ‘Window on Heaven’. All aspects of the lodge are above the commonplace: the food is superb, the staff friendly and attentive, and the tented accommodation as spoiling as any we’ve seen in Africa. Sit back, watch the sun go down behind the Brandberg mountains, and wait for the stars to come out; the night sky here has to be seen to be believed.
Click here to read the full review.
Alegria, Provence, France
Alegria is a B&B so you won’t find a restaurant here, but breakfast by the pool terrace, with the sun coming over the hills, is such a gorgeous affair that we had to include it on the list. This funky bolthole sits on the edge of a pretty village, surrounded by 200 olive trees. The 5 big, colourful bedrooms have lots of style with sofas inside and deckchairs on the semi-private terraces outside. It’s child-friendly, too, and water babies will love splashing about in the pool. Finding somewhere for dinner isn’t a problem: friendly owners Cindy and Deiter can guide you to plenty of options in Aups and the surrounding villages.
Click here to read the full review.
