We found this gem of a restaurant seemingly in the middle of nowhere through the interwebs. They apparently have a smart casual dress code, but we called them up, and since we were all dressed for the hot weather, they told us our shorts and t-shirts were okay.
We opted for the tasting menu (8 courses for £55 with an alternate cheese course for £7 more) and two of us got wine pairings (for just a wafer-thin £15 more). Unfortunately, I was driving, so I was forced to just try a few sips of the wine. There's also a great supply of homemade breads (my favorite was the treacle bread. fantastic!)
There were some amazingly stand-out dishes for me. I really liked the (slightly large) amuse bouche of a mix of seafood. The scallops and chorizo were also spot on. The smoked duck was nice, but a bit chewy. But all the bits and bobs that came with it on the plate were like duck flavor explosions in your mouth. The Bloody Mary sorbet palate cleanser was to die for. I have to find a way to do that at home. The steak was fantastically cooked, but it was a bit large for a tasting menu. The lemon posset pre-dessert was delightfully lemony. The chocolate cake with buttermilk ice cream was everything you could imagine from a chocolate cake. Dense and rich and the buttermilk ice cream went perfectly. It could have been half the size though. Unfortunately there was a bit too much food for the tasting menu so we decided against cheese in the end. The petit four were nice, although some better than others (and I even asked for more as they gave us five pieces for three people and got way more than we needed plus a bit of cheeky banter from our server.) The wine may not have paired perfectly, but they were not stingy with the pours. Three massive glasses of wine and a glass of prosecco for £15? A bargain.
The service is pretty great as well. Everyone there was incredibly friendly. Our server was a whole lot of fun, even if she was a bit kooky and flighty. The building itself looks like an old converted pub (it was probably even a barn at one time given the name). It's definitely fine dining sans the Michelin stars, so you get a nice laid-back and delightful evening. In fact, some of the courses are definitely at that quality of standard as they outshone some of the food I've had in such establishments!
If you're visiting Kent and in the area, this is definitely a place worth checking out. read more