The Wife of Bath

Renowned nationally as "The Garden of England", when moving to Kent eight months ago I naturally assumed (naively at that) that the county would  possess a plethora of outstanding restaurants utilising the produce available. Alas, however, the majority of these dining experiences were ultimately disappointing or over-priced to compete with London neighbours. This normally led to me hopping on the HS1 train to seek out restaurants in London or Michelin starred restaurants in Kent, such as Thackerays in Tunbridge Wells or The Sportsman in Seasalter, struggling to find any more local offerings.

Despite this, a friend managed to persuade me to try this "hidden gem" of a restaurant, in the idyllic, medieval village of Wye, in between the cathedral city of Canterbury and the transport hub of which is Ashford. After doing some initial research into the restaurant the signs looked positive, promising "imaginative yet unpretentious” food & using the “finest local and seasonal produce to create innovative dishes of outstanding quality with fresh, exciting flavours”.  Having held 2 AA Rosettes for a number of years, the pricing also seemed reasonable, but competitive, varying from a Table D'Hote Lunch menu offering a set menu of two  courses for £17 or three courses for £20 to the Tasting Menu consisting of seven courses, champagne on arrival and Petit Fours all for £57 a head. The offer of £27.50 for three courses from Tuesday-Thursday was deemed all too tempting and on a bitterly cold February night we descended on this sleepy, Kentish village.

On arrival, the welcomes were very polite and formal, offered to sit in the waiting area due to our eagerness of arriving twenty minutes early. The wine menu was extensive and accessibly priced, with the cheapest bottle priced at £16 encouraging an eclectic mix of New & Old World wines even with a local English Rose' from Tenterden popping up on the menu.We however were swayed by a New World Sauvignon Blanc from Chile named Valdivieso which was light, fragrant and had a crisp acidity with after notes of gooseberry and citrus fruit.

After a slight mix up with which bottle of wine was at our table, our waitress for the evening rectified this mistake promptly. Throughout the evening, she was very polite and informative about the food and the general area which added to the professionalism of the place. The restaurant itself was simply furnished, almost bordering on minimalistic, but had a sense of class and sophistication of which you'd expect.  The restaurant was dotted with electric heaters to counter such a brisk evening.

Once at the table we were offered tap water, or still or sparkling- I almost wanted to hug the waitress for giving us the option of tap water, purely for the awkward social situation that normally arises from you requesting it yourself (something that I had come accustomed to). After this, homemade bread was offered, a choice of Soda Bread, Caramelised Onion or Sourdough. All full of flavour and seasoned perfectly, I believe I consumed a good five slices before I had to literally stop myself although the temptation was high.
A first glance at the menu made it clear why the menu could be at a set price, was that half the dishes had supplements added, although a pet-hate of mine it didn't stop me buying two out of the three courses involving these dreaded extra charges. For a "Set Menu", five options for each course was generous, and for starters I chose the Jerusalem Artichoke Veloute with Wild Mushroom Foam, and Black Truffle Oil (Supplement £2.00), a wonderfully delicate and light dish was elevated by a punch of nutty wild mushroom and a rich truffle aroma. Although I'm not a great advocate of savoury or sweet foams, this one held for the duration of the starter and had a great purpose in the eating of the dish. My better half had the Twice Baked Goats Cheese Soufflé with Sun-Blushed Tomato Tapenade, two bold flavours paired together complimenting each other beautifully- the souffle light as a feather combined with the intense flavour of sun-blushed tomatoes was a delight on the taste-buds and delicately presented. For the Main-Course the Red Wine Poached Fillet of Beef took my fancy, served almost as a deconstructed Beef Bourgignon. Although the supplement at £5.50 was a tad extortionate I had faith in the dish and it didn't let me down in the slightest. The Beef itself was perfectly cooked to my liking (Medium-Rare) and perfectly succulent, with a mixture of wonderful little garnishes such as the Caramelised Baby Onions, a Smoked Bacon shard- crisp and salty, a rich and sumptuous Cep Puree paired with Button Mushrooms and a soft, buttery Baby Fondant Potato rounded off with the rich braising liquor made it a gluttonous affair- The tastes of a classic Burgundian, elegantly plated. MBH went with a lighter dish of Pan-Fried of Seabass served with a Seared Scallop, Pomme Anna & a Red Pepper Espuma. A somewhat less seasonal dish, however offered a wonderful array of textures and subtle flavours. The sweet and well-cooked Sea Bass, with the meaty Scallop was matched by the salt and crunch of the Sea Vegetables. The buttery Pomme Anna, with the tangy Red Pepper Espuma offset the dish beautifully and was executed to perfection. Even the finer details, such as the Scallop Roe Crisp added an extra dimension, texture and flavour to the dish and rounded it off magnificently.
Having a particular passion for puddings I deliberated for a good ten minutes between the Apple Crumble and Dark Chocolate Tube filled with Mousse and a Orange Cointreau Sorbet. But, I was finally swayed by the crumble and I wasn't disappointed. The elements were deconstructed somewhat, but was jam-packed with textures and flavours that would excel any bog-standard crumble. The diced, warm apple cooked with vanilla, cinnamon and star anise was aromatic and delightful, the oats on top added a much-needed crunch with foraged apple flowers delicately draped over the top offering floral, sweet notes. Calvados Sorbet added a subtle, alcoholic kick to proceedings and the Vanilla Anglaise rounded it all off together majestically. MBH set her heart on the Sticky Toffee Pudding served with an intriguing sounding "Nut Glass Cylinder". This dessert didn't disappoint either, artistically presented with a certain flare and attention to detail the crafted cylinder contained a creamy and indulgent ice cream, flavoured with an assortment of nuts added to an already rich and almost sickly sweet Sticky Toffee Pudding. These were comforting, traditional desserts given a modern makeover of the highest order. After being given copious amounts of local loose leaf tea from the nearby Pluckley we further indulged in Petit-Fours consisting of creamy, smooth White Chocolate Fudge and nostalgic Fruit Jellies, coated in sugar rounded off a superb evening.

I just found it unbelievable that only ten customers (including us) were in the restaurant at the time, considering the sheer quality of the food and service I thought such an establishment would be (and should be) thriving. This did somewhat, dent the ambiance of the restaurant and made it awkwardly quiet at times, however, to my friend who suggested for us to eat here, I had to thank as we will definitely be making this a more permanent fixture for us to eat at in the future, and would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who lives in Kent, or even London for that matter.

Rating- 8.5/10