Isca at Borde Hill

A striking glasshouse overlooking the old Walled Kitchen Garden is home to Restaurant Isca at Borde Hill, the historic Sussex estate near Haywards Heath. The location will be familiar to many as the former home of Jeremy’s, a much-loved restaurant that drew diners from well beyond the neighbourhood. Isca is a new incarnation, with the gardens now playing a much greater part in what happens on the plate.

Borde Hill has been in the same family for more than 130 years and its remarkable gardens are home to rare plants, champion trees and collections gathered from around the world. Isca takes its name from one of its magnolias, while the garden itself plays a rather more practical role in the restaurant.

A two-acre biodynamic Market Garden supplies the kitchen with fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, with menus changing through the seasons according to what is being grown and harvested. Sussex meat, fish and seafood complete the picture, with the same local thinking extending to the wine list and house-made drinks.

The glasshouse dining room opens onto the Walled Kitchen Garden, with magnolias and other planting brought indoors among wood, marble and stone. There is also The Cosmos, an outdoor garden spot for a botanical cocktail before lunch or dinner.