Restaurant Interlude Wins 2021 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Restaurant Award

Tripadvisor has recognised Michelin Starred Restaurant Interlude as a 2021 Travellers’ Choice award winner in the Restaurants category.

This accolade celebrates businesses that consistently deliver exceptional experiences to diners around the world, having earned great traveller reviews on Tripadvisor over the past 12 months. As challenging as the past year was to many in the sector, Restaurant Interlude stood out by continuously delighting diners.

Chef Jean Delport and his team at Restaurant Interlude won a Michelin Star for the second successive year in 2021. Set within the historic Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens estate near Horsham in West Sussex, it is one of the first UK restaurants with its own vineyard to win the award.

The restaurant’s tasting menu is inspired by the Grade I Listed woodland gardens with ingredients foraged or grown on the 240-acre Leonardslee estate. Other produce is sourced from selected local farms. Restaurant Interlude is open for dinner from Thursday to Sunday weekly, with ten tables. 

There is a warm reception on arrival for guests in the magnificent hallway of the 1855-built Leonardslee House, to the dulcet tones of the self-playing piano. After drinks in the bar, guests are seated at around 7 p.m. in the restaurant. To the east and south are expansive vistas of the South Downs, and superb views of the woodland gardens nestled in the valley below. 

Chef Jean adds a diverse range of fine wines from his home country of South Africa to his inventive tasting menus, including those from the award-winning Benguela Cove Lagoon Wine Estate near Cape Town. 

“We are delighted by the Tripadvisor award, which is a vote by the diners themselves for their choice of the top Sussex restaurants - in fact the best in the UK. We have had wonderful reviews and it means so much to us that we have helped to make so many people happy, and made their family celebration, birthday or anniversary dinner - or even first date - so special! Our team has sought to create a unique dining experience, with wonderful ingredients from Leonardslee, capturing the spirit of these very special gardens,” says Jean Delport.

“Congratulations to the winners of the 2021 Travelers’ Choice Awards,” said Kanika Soni, Chief Commercial Officer at Tripadvisor. “I know the past year has been a challenge for restaurant businesses. What has impressed me most is how businesses have adapted to these challenges, implementing new measures, adding social distancing guidelines, and using technology to prioritize guest safety.

“The Travelers’ Choice Awards highlight the places that are consistently excellent - delivering quality experiences time and time again even while navigating changing customer expectations and new ways of working. Based on a full year of reviews from customers, this award speaks to the great service and experience provided to guests in the midst of a pandemic.”

What diners say on Tripadvisor about Restaurant Interlude:

“From the moment you turn in to the drive you see the lovely manor.
Once in the restaurant we sat in the bar area and had drinks which were lovely.
Started the first of 21 course of amazing food.
Time went by fast the food was stunning the staff explained were the ingredients came from on the estate and how the chef used them.
It was a long evening but we had an excellent time.
My favourites were the chicken foot, and pork and lobster. The dessert were delicious and definitely made me full I highly recommended coming here for amazing food from a exceptional chef and wonderful team of service.”

To see other diner reviews and popular dishes at Restaurant Interlude, visit the Tripadvisor page reviews.