Tuck in! It’s your food and drink newsflash
Extra, extra! We have the latest on a brand new restaurant in Tunbridge Wells (see you in there), a fab new food festival, celeb spots nearby, and dates you’ll want for your diary.
CELEB SPOTS
With the weather warming up we can highly recommend a trip to the seaside – with Whitstable being a long standing gem of the Kent coast. But it’s not just about the beach – there’s a cool indie shop and foodie scene. In fact top UK chef, Tom Kerridge was recently quoted saying; “Samphire is a brilliant little local restaurant on the Whitstable High St. I’m lucky in that as a family we get down to the north Kent coast quite a lot and this is always our go-to before a day of dog walking adventures or swimming. The service is always friendly, there’s great coffee and super-tasty food; the sugar pit bacon chops with fried and hash browns are fantastic”. Well if it’s good enough for Tom!
COMING SOON
Hello there Bluewater’s first ever food and drink festival! Scrumptious Food Festival is taking place under the marquees for three days of feasting from Sat 25 til Mon 27 May. Expect delicious street food to artisanal stalls selling homeware and accessories. Watch your favourite celebrity chef demos on the Big Cookery Stage with Rosemary Shrager, Chetna Makan, Laura Adlington, Steven Carter-Bailey, Tristan Welch, Alex Hollywood, Chigs Parmar and lots more. Plan your trip stat.
NEW OPENING
After a very successful residency and many pop-ups and private dining events later, The Counter is now a permanent restaurant in the heart of Royal Tunbridge Wells. Chef Robin Read together with his wife Greta Boccia have taken on a 200-year-old Georgian building which includes the main restaurant with table and counter dining, private dining room, small wine bar and courtyard garden. Offering a choice of five, eight or ten-course tasting menus, costing £60, £95 and £125. His menus are sustainable with seasonal cooking, few food miles and using every part of an ingredient.
The ten-course menu is the real star of the show, offered at the counter and gives diners an interactive experience watching Robin and his team of chefs cook and plate up at the pass. Here the menu is more experimental and you’ll get to taste-test dishes that are in development for the next month’s menus. Book up!
ROUND OF APPLAUSE
The Small Holding in Kilndown has just been awarded Three Green Circles in the UK edition of the 360 Eat Guide which is a huge accolade as it’s 1 of only 4 restaurants in the country to receive it and it’s right on your doorstep!
The 360 Eat Guide look beyond the plate, considering both the gastronomic experience and sustainability of what’s served. They take into account that chefs don’t just spend all their time in the kitchen but out on the farms, in the fields and greenhouses and you won’t find a more sustainable restaurant than The Small Holding that’s for sure. Growing, foraging and cooking the best ingredients is at the core of The Small Holding, with monthly changing tasting menus, using home-reared and home-grown ingredients from the farm which happens to be less than 10 feet from the kitchen.
Never been? Make a beeline! Open Weds – Sun with an 8-course Full acre menu costing £95pp and a 5-course Half acre menu costing £75pp with the option of a wine flight.
BOOK ASAP
Wine & Dine Evening, The Blue Room at Hoof & Hook, Tenterden, Thurs 23 May
The first of monthly ‘Wine & Dine Evenings’ where Hoof & Hook will be teaming up with a selection of the very best vineyards that Kent and Sussex have to offer. Coming this May they’ll be welcoming Woodchurch Wine to their restaurant in Tenterden who will be hosting a delicious tasting for the evening. Enjoy a 4-course menu that will be paired with a selection of curated wines from Woodchurch. Tickets are £60pp. Can’t make it? Don’t miss Wayfarer Wines on Thurs 6 June and Squerryes on Thurs 4 July.
Balfour Wine Dinner, St Leonards, West Malling, Thurs 30 May
Try six delicious dishes paired with some wonderful wines from nearby Staplehurst, hosted by Balfour Winery in St Leonard’s gorgeously elegant restaurant. Enjoy seasonal courses such as English asparagus, scallop ceviche and Creedy Carver duck breast, harmoniously match with Luke’s Pinot Noir, and Liberty’s Bacchus, to name a few favourites. £150pp and only a few spaces remaining.
Cider Tours, Woolton Farm, Every Sunday til September
Gather the gang and head to Woolton Farm in Canterbury for a glorious cider tour and tasting. Be led on a guided orchard walk where you can learn about the different types of apples grown in the country and taste the different cider styles direct from their tank. Taking place every Sunday from now til September from 12 noon in the Barn. Tickets are just £20pp.
Wine & Roses, Mount Ephraim Gardens, Sun 16 June
Name a better duo than wine and roses, we’ll wait! Father’s Day never sounded so good than this gorgeous one-day event at Mount Ephraim Gardens near Faversham. Wander through the fragrant rose gardens, listen to live jazz music on the terrace and taste some English wine from the pop-up bar and enjoy cheeseboards, cream teas and handmade cakes from their Tea Room. Book your tickets online now, limited capacity. Open 11am til 5pm.
Gusbourne Midsummer Barbecue for Two, Fri 21 June
Nothing screams summer more! Gusbourne’s Midsummer Barbecue makes a return this June and for £65 per 2 people, enjoy a special BBQ cooked by their chefs, share a bottle of the English Rosé 2023 as well as a 30min vineyard tour and live music. It doesn’t get more romantic than this.
Celebration of Summer, Hide & Fox, Weds 3 – Thurs 4 July
Shake off the shackles of winter and step into summer with Hide & Fox’s new summery menu which you can try for two days only this July. Experience this specially designed 5-course dinner full of delights with delicate bubbles and still refined wines from aromatic white, elegant rosé, light red and more. All with a focus on locally sourced ingredients of course. £115pp and starts at 7pm.
NEWNESS
As if we needed another reason to love Eat ‘n’ Mess, the most delicious gluten-free bakery you’ll find, with its unique outdoor space, called The Pod, in picturesque countryside surroundings. They have now launched a new eco drive with cups that are left behind (to be washed and reused) by anyone sitting in, or Keep Cups for anyone wanting take away. Just another reason to stop by some time soon – especially now the sun is shining.
The Ferry House has launched a brand new breakfast menu! The most important meal of the day just got a whole lot tastier, providing the perfect start to a day trip or end to your overnight stay in this countryside abode. The new breakfast dishes showcase their fresh Kitchen Garden produce and locally sourced bacon, sausages, and Harty hens’ eggs across sweet and savoury plates. Available now, served 7am – 10am throughout the week and 8am – 10am on Saturdays. View the menu here and be prepared to salivate, you’ve been warned.
Listen up! The Dog in Wingham has a brand new Tasting Menu which is available now, five delicious courses plus Chef’s amuse bouche. For £65pp. Your next date night is sorted.
Words by Mollie Manning