FRESH TAKE ON TRADITION

Deer Path Inn’s The Brasserie brings new life and flavor to a storied destination.

Long before Downton Abbey captured America’s imagination, English manor style, beginning at the turn of the 20th century and ending in the 1930s, served as shorthand for refinement, exclusivity, and Old World pedigree for American hoteliers and their architects. While many of those buildings have since disappeared, the Deer Path Inn has not only survived but thrived; it is currently Travel + Leisure’s #1 Resort Hotel in the Midwest.

To maintain that level of luxury, the Inn has quietly and continually refreshed its interiors, from a comprehensive 2016 renovation to the recent transformation of its main dining destination—now a bright jewel at the heart of the hotel—The Brasserie.

Formerly The English Room, The Brasserie is much lighter on its feet, minus the weight of heavy, button-tufted wingback dining chairs and dark paneling. With construction by Bulley & Andrews, interior design by Knauer Incorporated, and warm lighting from Archistoric, the space now bursts with vibrancy, drawing guests in from morning to night.

Much of this new energy comes from an eclectic gallery of more than 70 original artworks by UK and Chicago-based artists, including David Hockney’s etching The Blue Guitar, displayed across three walls. All of this is complemented by the towering, brightly lit, pewter-topped bar by Mitchell & Mitchell anchoring the fourth wall. White tablecloth squares are gone, replaced by cozy marble café tables and wraparound banquette seating in a deep jade green. Lightly toned herringbone wood flooring and a freshly patterned carpet add warmth underfoot.

The layered design works especially well in a space that must serve guests every day of the week, transitioning seamlessly from breakfast to lunch to midafternoon snacks and tea service to dinner and weekend brunch.

With the heavy demands of so many dayparts in mind, the restaurant’s menu refresh is impressive. As any longtime restaurateur will tell you, reworking a menu is a tricky proposition: Remove customer favorites from the roster, and you risk a firestorm of protest. But pleasingly, the selection of reimagined classics and new-to-Deer Path Inn items was executed solidly by The Brasserie’s kitchen team led by executive chef Allan Briones, previously of The Ritz-Carlton Chicago and The St. Regis Chicago.

To begin our visit, knowing one of our late-arrival dinner partners was allergic to shellfish, the rest of us began with a mignonette-graced platter of oysters and sampled some of the bar’s lightly refreshing new cocktails. The Bit of a Tart (Ketel One Vodka, guava, ginger, lime, and egg white) and the Lavandula Fizz (Hendrick’s Gin, lavender, lemon, egg white, and cream) were favorites. There’s also a thoughtful assortment of zero-proof options, such as the Snap Chat (vodka alternative, snap pea, tarragon, lime, and verjus). As we sipped, we made a mental note to return for the seafood tower. Piled high with poached prawns, oysters, a whole lobster, scallop tartare, and crab claws, it could feed a crowd on its own.

Once our party was complete, we moved on to starters, skipping the entrée-sized Caesar and chopped salads in favor of the beetroot carpaccio—a pretty plate of thinly shaved beet rounds with sweet-tart complements of poached pear, candied walnut, and pickled onion. A bit of goat and cottage cheese added creaminess.

Also good, the dry-aged beef tartare was accented with chive, cornichon, and pickled mushrooms, topped with cured egg yolk and served with crunchy toast thins.

Among the mains, the flounder meunière was a standout. It arrived dotted with capers, potatoes, and a confit of asparagus, with just a bit of Manchego cheese, beurre blanc, and parsley oil for richness.

Another classic, the oxtail cottage pie—a slightly simpler version is featured at Deer Path’s White Hart Pub—pairs braised oxtail and short rib meats with pearl onions, mushrooms, carrots, and peas under a blanket of piped potato.

Skipping the trio of grass-fed steaks (offered with green peppercorn or bordelaise sauce), we opted instead for one of two large shareables, the herb-crusted rack of lamb. We loved both the presentation and flavor. Served on a copper pan from Mauviel, the Frenched lamb chops came out artfully arranged beside fingerling potatoes roasted in beef tallow, maple butter-glazed carrots, and a truss of nicely blistered vine-on cherry tomatoes. There was more than enough for four, though we happily fought over the last drips of the deeply flavorful rosemary jus.

To finish, we took our tea and coffee with The Brasserie’s Raspberry Tea Panna Cotta perfectly textured and not overly sweet with its jewel-toned topper of raspberry tea and thyme gelée, and a scatter of fresh berries. And for the chocoholic at our table, the menu’s Divine Chocolate Bar proved irresistible. A streamlined, but still indulgent update of the Inn’s former many-layered chocolate cake slice, the new version includes moist layers of chocolate cake interleaved with chocolate mousse frosting, all encased in ganache and finished with sugar pearls and cocoa nibs.

Throughout our meal, from the amuse-bouche of tiny cruets of creamy mushroom soup to the little conversation starter card the server slipped us with a twinkle in her eye to the theatrically poured coffee service, the service was polished and well orchestrated. Never intrusive, always attentive, the wait staff, paired with the inviting new design and confidently refreshed menu, make The Brasserie a welcome addition to the North Shore dining scene.

For more information, visit thedeerpathinn.com.