As if we needed an excuse to visit an award-winning winery, Squerryes Winery Restaurant have given us the ultimate reason to visit more this Autumn. Read on to discover how you can feast on delicious seasonal food that won’t break your piggy bank either…

THE LOCATION

Squerryes is a 2,500-acre wine estate located just outside Westerham and has been run by the Warde family for just over 300 years. Building on the outstanding success of the winery, the brasserie-style restaurant was opened in 2018 meaning you can soak up the vines from its sun-filled terrace whilst enjoying delicious food using seasonal ingredients foraged from the estate. Yes. Please.

Travel down from London to Oxted station (a mere 40 mins by train then 5 mins taxi) or Sevenoaks station (30mins by train and 10 mins by taxi) so you can see why it is so popular with those DFLs keen to get a bit of the winery action in our Garden of England.

Linger on beyond lunch (if you can) to pick up fresh goodies from its on-site deli where you will find some wonderful artisan producers or discover more about Westerham Brewery, a craft brewery and tap room who are a separate business but also on site, who have a great local reputation for their frequent pop-up street food events so you will always find plenty of excuses to return.

Not least to admire some of the spectacular names for their beer – personal favourite is It Means Nothing to Me brewed with only Vienna malt. See what they did there…

THE LOWDOWN

But we digress – back to the wine – Squerryes produces award-winning vintage sparkling wines made from their own fruit (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes) grown high on the North Downs.

Henry Warde created the vineyard after a Champagne house visited the estate in 2004 to try and buy some of the land after a survey revealed the soil had qualities similar to the esteemed “Cote des Blancs” region of Champagne. After politely declining their offer, Henry set about planting his own vines on the land and now produces vintage sparkling wine, Brut, Rosé and Blanc des Blancs, produced solely from their own grapes.

They take a minimum of 4 years to make each bottle, using ‘Méthode Traditionnelle’, the same method used by the champagne houses which explains the finesse of the fizz. Just this month, they won their sixth gold medal in the World Championships of Champagne and Sparkling Wine, so it’s not just Muddy who rate Squerryes as one of their favourite fizzes in Kent.

Above the front door to their home sits the family motto: ‘Licet Esse Beatis’, which means ‘permitted to be joyful’. They say they’re in the business of creating joy, from bottling their vintage sparkling wine to the event and dining spaces they have created across the estate to enable more moments of joy.

THE VIBE

It’s a beautiful place to be as it’s the gateway to the Garden of England with views across the south of the estate and their Rosé vineyard. Having said that, the view does come as a bit of a surprise as you arrive off Beggars Lane, just off the M25, and not a road known for its outstanding beauty so don’t get deterred on arrival.

The restaurant is cosy in nature as it feels you have walked into someone’s home with mis-matched dining chairs combined with antique rugs yet also has the most eye-catching bar we have seen on our Muddy travels. Racing green subway tiles against a copper bar packed full of bottles, from gin to wine (of course) and conveying fun, fun, fun times.

Come Summer, the super stylish terrace has been built to take advantage of those breathtaking vineyard views and incorporate a dining experience. Think continental cool mixed with English elegance.

SCOFF AND QUAFF

I know you hear it a lot, but this is local, local, local. Dedicated to sustainable dining and seasonal dishes, Head Chef, Seamus draws on livestock reared on the estate, produce foraged from its woodlands and fields, as well as handpicked local producers within a 30-mile radius and Sous Chef, Aya even butchers the meat on-site.

For this reason, their menus are ever-changing, influenced by the seasons but as you can imagine, you can expect simple dishes expressing the natural flavours of the region.

Our Muddy mission was to review the Autumn Lunch Set Menu available Weds to Fri lunchtimes with a choice of two or three courses. And throughout November, you can enjoy three courses for the price of two. Just enter the code ‘Lunch23’ in the booking notes section when booking online – let this be our Autumn gift to you.

We were lucky to be there for Harvest week so we devoured Treacle Soda Bread with Marmite butter and the goat cheese tartlets as amuse bouchées were also a wonderful addition on the day and best enjoyed of course with a chilled glass of the Squerryes Brut alongside. Maybe it was the fizz, but the Latin words were now starting to flow freely – Licet Esse Beatis.

The menu is limited in choice with three options for each course, but this helps quick decision making. We indulged in the Crispy Cod Cheek with apple compressed cucumber and warm tartare sauce, which was simply executed, and the tartness of the cucumbers worked very well with the delicacy of the cod.

Lamb faggot with crispy shallot and pan jus was our other starter and these aren’t for everyone so make sure you go in open-minded as they are made from minced off-cuts and offal mixed with herbs, so they have quite a rich and distinctive flavour and texture but a good hearty choice to combat the cold outside.

Smoked poached haddock with a caper & shallot crushed Kentish new potato, poached egg and Squerryes beurre blanc was crowned the winning dish of the day with us fighting to get the last spoon of the incredibly more-ish beurre blanc. We also opted for the beef bourgouin suet pie with Confit garlic pomme mousseline and curly kale which is a refined take on a quite an old-school dish and it makes you wonder if the menu could benefit in being ‘lighter’ especially with three-courses to fit in and not the obvious choices if there is a desire to attract the ‘ladies who lunch’ crowd?

We finished on a high with our puds – Estate apple crumble tart, crème patissiere, cobnut crumble and vanilla ice cream plus Squerryes Rosé poached pear, hazelnut and cranberry sorbet. Autumnal flavours at their peak.

The wine list has been designed by their Master of Wine, Laura Evans an expert in her field for 20 years. Her passion is shared with you through the ample selection of red, white and fortified wines, each with their own quite fascinating story – old and new world, contemporary English brands and exciting new finds. We could not resist a glass of Squerryes Brut, especially when served from a magnum, which is made with fruit grown on the chalk soils of the North Downs vineyard – a portfolio of young and aged wines, that clearly express the natural terroir.

OUT & ABOUT

It’s no wonder that Kent’s small-but-mighty village Westerham is one of our brand-new spots in our Best Places to Live 2024. With stunning walks and days out on the doorstep from National Trust site Chartwell, as well as The Old Bank, Muddy Kent’s top restaurant as voted by you and your number one interior store, Gaia, plus walks on the North Downs so plenty of ways to work off the feasting.

ANYTHING ELSE?

We hear very good things about their Jazz in the Winery Restaurant, hosted on alternative Fridays. Local talent is hand-selected by industry master Paul Dunton, known for the Local and Live Music Festival and The Grey Lady Music Lounge and a good excuse to soak up the food and atmosphere.

In the spring and summer, you can have a picnic in the Rosé vineyard, with hampers freshly prepared by the estate kitchen filled with delights using seasonal ingredients. Autumn Tutored Tastings are currently Friday and Saturday only and once Spring arrives, you can then explore the vineyard too so worth having that on your radar.

In the winter and colder seasons, heart-warming Sunday roast in the cosy surrounds of their restaurant is a big hit. We can happily report that the 45-day aged Park Farm roasted sirloin with beef dripping potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, gravy and seasonal veg is just as good as it sounds!

And if it is a special event you have coming up, they also have a number of individual spaces for private hire for meetings and celebrations for up to 200 people across the Estate.

Don’t leave without taking a tour of their Estate Deli & Cellar Door stocked full of sweet and savoury delights. They have over 40 British cheeses at any one time plus freshly baked sourdoughs and patisserie from Halstead Bakery, locally roasted coffee and blended teas from Corban Coffee of Sevenoaks and smoked charcuterie and meats from the Weald Smokery in Flimwell.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

GOOD FOR? The lunch mid-week menu is the perfect excuse to step away from day-to-day life and meet up with pals during the week for a gastro feast or treat your folks as we saw a fair few doing this on our visit. We also know that Sundays are very much a family affair so good for all age groups.

NOT FOR? The Autumn menu on our visit was quite heavy on our visit so not for all taste buds but it’s an ever-changing concept so I am sure the fruits of the land will deliver!

THE DAMAGE

The official deal is £23 for 2 courses and £27 for 3 courses but take advantage of the November lunch time deal whilst you can.

It’s also appreciated that there are no surcharges on certain dishes which can be a frustrating part of set menus nor expensive mark-ups on side dishes.

Review: Squerryes Winery, Westerham

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