Omboo Restaurant - Sopwell House
omboo restaurant, Sopwell House
Sopwell House is a Georgian country house formally home to Lord Mountbatten and is nestled in the St. Albans countryside in Hertfordshire, a mere 20-minute train ride from London St. Pancras.
It is a perfect location for a weekend escape of R&R due to their gorgeous rooms and stunning spa The Club at Cottonmill but now there is an entirely new reason to visit and we are very happy about it!
Omboo opened in July 2022 replacing the Hotel’s traditional restaurant offering a bold new dining experience focusing on cuisine from Asia and the Far East drawing in adventurous foodies and sushi lovers from all over the place due to its sophisticated menu.
The first thing you will notice when arriving is their very Instagramable exotic décor consisting of maximalist wallpaper of large tropical flowers accompanied by low lighting and Asian lounge music. The atmosphere is relaxed, and equally suitable for the dressed up or the athleisure wear guest.
Executive Chef, Derrick Chen comes with decades of experience from the likes of Michelin-starred Hakkasan and The Four Seasons Hotel in London which is instantly noticeable from the menu options.
Divided into Field, Farm and Ocean the menu offers a whole range of beautiful dishes which caters for all. There are no starters or mains when dining at Omboo, your selection of sharing platters are simply delivered to your table fresh out of the kitchen when ready which we loved.
We genuinely enjoyed everything that we tried. Highlights being the shiitake, shimeji, truffle spring rolls which were light and scrumptious, the baby spinach salad with edamame, sesame dressing, pickled seaweed (trust us, you’ll not have had one this delicious), warm aubergine, the dragon rolls (tempura prawn, fresh water eel, basil mayo) the fresh water eel being a very tasty suprise and the seared tuna which was stunning.
We somehow made room for our desserts and thank goodness we did. We ordered the strawberry jasmine bavarois with popping candy and mint ice cream which was an absolute delight taking us back to our childhood. We also ordered the Valrhona chocolate fondant with orange blossom air and yuzu ice cream.
We absolutely loved Omboo. The food is stunning. The staff are knowledgeable and attentive without rushing you and the décor and ambience was spot on. We are extremely happy to find an Asian restaurant of this quality outside of London. Although, that could be a very dangerous thing for us. We will certainly be seeing you again soon Omboo.
Also, throughout December you can pop down for Afternoon Tea which is served in the same restaurant with a festive twist! Enjoy a beautiful, tiered stand complete with seasonal delicious delicacies and pastries, homemade scones with Devonshire clotted cream, strawberry preserve and traditional finger sandwiches, Afternoon Tea at Sopwell House is a treat not to be missed.
For futher information on Omboo and Afternoon Tea at Sopwell House please click here.