A wood fire and a ninety-mile list
Dining & Culinary
The Dining Room cooks over a live oak fire with almost everything sourced inside ninety miles. Chef Julien Baptiste writes the menu four times a year, and the Cellar Bar pours from a library of four hundred labels. Here is how it all works.
- A wood-fired hearth at the centre of the room
- Chef Julien Baptiste, with us since 2011
- A ninety-mile sourcing rule, with the farms named
- A menu rewritten four times a year
- A four-seat kitchen counter for the full show
- Breakfast for guests, afternoon tea for anyone
- The Cellar Bar and its 400-label wine library
- Private dining for up to forty
The Dining Room
A threshing barn, a live fire and a short shopping list
The Dining Room is the oldest part of the house, a former threshing barn with a limestone wall at one end and a wood-fired hearth at the other. The fire is lit at seven each morning and burns until the last table leaves.
Executive Chef Julien Baptiste arrived in 2011 from a bistro in Lyon and never left. His rule is simple: if he cannot find it within ninety miles, it needs a very good reason to be on the plate.
In the kitchen and the room
Nine things that make the table what it is
A restaurant is more than a menu. These are the parts of The Dining Room you will notice whether or not you ever read the menu properly.
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The wood-fired hearth
A live oak fire lit at seven and kept burning all day. Most dishes pass through it, beside it or into the embers.
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The ninety-mile rule
Everything within ninety miles or it needs a reason. The farms are named on the menu, one by one.
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Chef Julien Baptiste
Executive Chef since 2011, trained in Lyon, and still on the line for every service rather than watching from an office.
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Seasonal menus
The menu is rewritten four times a year with the seasons, and a little more every week with what the growers bring.
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The kitchen counter
Four seats at the pass, where you watch the fire and the plating at close range and the chefs talk you through each course.
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Breakfast
Cooked to order from 7:00 AM and included in every room rate. No buffet line and no surcharge for the good coffee.
At the fire
Cooking the way this building was built for
When we restored the barn, we could have put in a modern range and been done with it.
Whole fish are grilled over oak embers. Vegetables are buried in the coals and dug out blackened and sweet. The pork from Lawson is smoked over applewood for fourteen hours, then finished over the fire, and the crackling is the thing regulars order before they even sit down.
- Whole fish grilled over oak embers
- Vegetables roasted directly in the coals
- Fourteen-hour applewood pork from Lawson
- Four seats at the pass, booked first
The evening
How dinner unfolds, in five steps
There is no wrong way to spend an evening here, but this is the order most guests find works best.
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Arrive for a drink
Come at 4:30 for the Cellar Bar, where a glass and the fireplace start the evening properly.
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Sit down at five or later
Dinner is served from 5:00 PM. Tables are held for fifteen minutes, then released to the waiting list.
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Choose three courses or seven
The prix fixe is $68; the tasting is $135. Both can be matched with wine by the glass.
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Watch, or do not
The kitchen counter is for the curious. The corner tables are for people who would rather not be.
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Stay for the cellar
Most guests move downstairs after dessert, where the bar runs until midnight and the fire stays lit.
Where and when
The dining venues
Six ways to eat and drink under one roof, from a cooked breakfast to a last glass in the cellar.
| Venue | Hours | Style |
|---|---|---|
| The Dining Room | 7:00 AM – 10:00 PM | Wood-fired seasonal cooking |
| Breakfast | 7:00 – 10:30 AM | Cooked to order, included for guests |
| Afternoon Tea | 2:00 – 4:30 PM | Scones, sandwiches and a pot of tea |
| The Kitchen Counter | 5:00 – 10:00 PM | Four seats at the pass |
| The Cellar Bar | 4:00 PM – Midnight | Wine library and cocktails |
| The Orchard Room | On request | Private dining for 24 to 40 |
Dinner is served 5:00 to 10:00 PM. The full menu is available for in-room dining around the clock. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free versions are offered for every course.
Dietary needs
Tell us, and the kitchen will cook for you
Nothing here is an afterthought. The kitchen plans for diets in advance, so tell us when you book rather than when you sit down.
- Vegetarian and vegan menus, not side dishes
- Gluten-free bread and pasta made in-house
- Nut-free preparation on request
- Shellfish and dairy noted at booking
- Children’s portions at half the prix fixe
- A full allergen list available for every dish
- Kosher-style and halal menus with notice
- The sourcing of every ingredient, named on the menu
The Dining Room in numbers
One kitchen, one fire, and a list of farms short enough to fit on the back of a menu.
- 90 mi The sourcing rule for nearly everything
- 4x Menus written each year, with the seasons
- 400 Labels in the Cellar Bar library
- 14 h Applewood smoke on the Lawson pork
We booked the counter on a whim and ended up talking to the chef about the farm the pork came from for twenty minutes. The crackling is worth the trip on its own.
A look inside
The room, the fire and the cellar below
A short tour of the parts of the house that smell of woodsmoke.
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The hearth, lit at seven each morning
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The Cellar Bar and its wine library
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Cocktails built on fire and garden
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The terrace, open from May to October
Private dining and the cellar
A room of your own, and four hundred bottles below
The Orchard Room is a private dining room off the main floor, with a long oak table that seats twenty-four and glass doors onto the garden.
The Cellar Bar holds the wine library, four hundred labels deep, stored in the stone arches that once held the farm cider.
Good to know
Questions we hear about dining
The things guests ask most before they book a table.
Do I need to be a guest to eat here?
No. The Dining Room, afternoon tea and the Cellar Bar are open to everyone. Guests get first refusal on the kitchen counter and priority on busy weekends.
What does dinner cost?
The three-course prix fixe is $68 and the seven-course tasting is $135. Wine pairings start at $45, and the same dishes can be sent to your room.
Can you cater for allergies and diets?
Every course has a vegetarian and vegan version, and the kitchen makes gluten-free bread and pasta in-house. Note allergies at booking and the chef will plan around them.
What is the ninety-mile rule?
Almost everything we cook is grown, raised or made within ninety miles of the house. The farms are named on the menu, and the pork comes from Lawson, twenty-eight miles away.
Is there a dress code?
None. Come as you are. Most guests dress for dinner, but a jacket is never required and the fire keeps the room warm on the coldest nights.
Can you host a private dinner?
The Orchard Room seats twenty-four at a table, or up to forty standing, with a menu written for the occasion. Call events on (816) 555-0149.
Book a table by the fire
Dinner runs from five and the counter seats four. Tell us the date and any dietary needs, and the kitchen will take it from there.
Keep exploring
Related services at Praivelle House
Most stays combine two or three of these. We will sequence them so nothing is booked before you have decided it is what you want.
Come for dinner, stay for the cellar
Book a table in The Dining Room or one of four seats at the counter, and let the kitchen cook over the fire for you. Tell us about any diet and we will handle it.
- Lowest rate guaranteed when you book direct
- Breakfast for two and valet parking included
- The Prairie Escape from $279 a night
Two ways to book
Reserve a table Call (816) 555-0147Reception 24 hours · Dining 7a–10p · Spa 9a–8p
Need something tonight? Concierge on (816) 555-0148