Haven't updated this in a while, and we had a great meal out the other night, so thought I'd share.
Located on lovely cobbled streets a short walk from the cathedral, this modern English restaurant is easily one of the finest in Canterbury. Being in the city centre it is within walking distance of the bus terminus, and all of the car parks.
With a comfortable, welcoming atmosphere it is a fantastic place to spend a couple of hours. The layout is such that there is an element of privacy, and a sense of space. Having appropriate disabled facilities, and even a baby changing area make it welcoming to everybody.
The waiting staff were attentive and knowledgeable; when asked about the eggs in the mayonnaise our server knew immediately that they were pasteurized. There was also no feeling of urgency, they encouraged us to take our time choosing our food.
An extensive menu was complemented with a drinks list which had, along with a good selection of wines from around the world, plenty of English wines, beers and ciders. The selection of fish and vegetarian options on the menu was good, however we did note a lack of any vegan options.
A really special thing I found about this place was that it grows a lot of its own food. This is something close to my heart, as those who know me will know, and I love it about this place. They have a 5 acre small holding called 'The Bunker' near Canterbury, where they grow as much of the food as they can for the restaurant. So the food is fresher than fresh, and better for the environment.
A really special thing I found about this place was that it grows a lot of its own food. This is something close to my heart, as those who know me will know, and I love it about this place. They have a 5 acre small holding called 'The Bunker' near Canterbury, where they grow as much of the food as they can for the restaurant. So the food is fresher than fresh, and better for the environment.
The food itself was close to faultless. Before we started we were brought warm bread rolls, with a choice of smoked or salted butter. The smoked eel in my starter went great with the samphire and apple jelly, cut through with slices of pickled cucumber. The other starter of celeriac and apple soup was creamy and delicious, and was complimented beautifully by garlic croutons. The starters were quite reserved in size; at the time they seemed a bit too small, but with such intense flavours and with what was to come it was actually just right.
We went with the belly pork and sea bass for mains. The slow cooked, pressed pork with impossibly thin, crispy skin was topped with a cider braised cheek with apple sauce - classic but perfect. We were surprised to see sea bass with orange sauce, but we weren’t disappointed. In fact the aforementioned mayonnaise mixed with crab brought the two together beautifully.
The dessert was the reason the small starters were so clever. They were big, and they were good. Trio of chocolate with mousse, brownie and dark chocolate sorbet sounds a bit heavy perhaps, but with the clever addition of minted orange and sticky-sweet honeycomb it was practically ambrosia. Bramley apple and quince crumble was the other dessert, and it was good, very good. The one down point was that the custard with it was a little runny, delicious, but could have been thicker. That being said when it was poured into the little copper pan used to serve the crumble, the taste was great.
It was certainly a place we would visit again soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment