Gavin Gregg Restaurant
The commuter town of Sevenoaks proved to be our next gastronomic destination, a stones throw away from London, this affluent Kentish town you'd believe would be an ideal location for an array of up and coming restaurants. The one we found, however, has been a permanent fixture in Sevenoaks for almost fifteen years. Gavin Gregg Restaurant (self-titled after the chef and co-proprietor) look to offer "inspiring and exciting menus combining traditional dishes with a hint of international panache". Also being able to boast about being rated #1 on Trip Advisor in Sevenoaks and the holder of 2 coveted AA rosettes for nine yea, the signs looked promising. Upon arrival at our table the venue proved to be a quaint building with beams and period features ,proving rather cosy and intimate on a late winter night. The menu was very reasonably priced, considering its close proximity to London. A mere £19 for two courses and £23 for three. The wine list also proved to be eclectic, as well as offering value for money. With the house white wine (La Paz, Sauvignon Blanc)at £17.50.
For starters, since looking up the menu in advance I had set my heart on the duck leg pithivier served with a celeriac puree. MBH was torn between the pithivier and roasted white onion soup with crispy shallots. She was, however, swayed by the special- a tiger prawn cocktail served with an avocado mousse, mary rose sauce and bloody mary jelly. The pithivier lived up to all expectations, rich, fatty duck glazed in an intense duck flavoured sauce, with hints of star anise was wonderful combined with the flaky puff pastry. The creamy celeriac puree and sweet, but sharp baby onions rounded the dish off perfectly.
The tiger prawn dish tantalised the taste buds with an array of textures and flavours proved to be MBH's favourite dish of the night. The tiger prawns, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried were succulent and crisp, with a mary rose sauce with a subtle kick of Worcestershire sauce and tabasco was divine in it's own right. An avocado mousse and bloody mary jelly provided the modern twist on a classic prawn cocktail adding freshness along with the crunch of baby gem lettuce received a resounding thumbs up regardless of the £3 supplement.
Naturally, after two incredible starters, we had anticipated for the food to only get better with the main event. I opted for the rump of lamb, whilst MBH went for the duck breast. The rump of lamb was partnered with Provencal aubergine and courgette, champ mash and braised shoulder. I was slightly nervous about a warm, oily ratatouille partnered with creamy, buttery champ mash, but this proved to be unfounded. These garnishes complemented the lamb beautifully, the rump not being an easy cut to cook was seasoned well, remained pink and the fat was rendered off well, making it incredibly moreish. The dish as a whole, could only be balanced by a chef with bounteous technique and delicate touch, of which this chef obviously did.
However, MBH's main, proved slightly overpowering. Presented with real eccentricity and panache, the appearance was inviting and smells enticing. The duck itself was cooked medium rare, with a rose tint and crispy skin which, with such tenderness, melted in the mouth. The buttered cabbage and carrots were the "best vegetables I've ever had" MBH exclaimed, rich with butter and intense, natural sweetness. The gratin, another rich element filled with buttery, nutty notes (again seasoned to perfection) almost made the dish too indulgent. The croquette proved the weakest link of the dish, overpowered with star anise and lacking the garlic, paprika notes of which you'd expect of chorizo and woody, herbal flavour of thyme. An extravagant and filling dish, that needs slight refinement.
The dessert menu seemed to lack a certain creativity and innovation, with traditional dishes taking their place such as sticky toffee pudding and creme brulee. To round off the meal, I decided upon a chocolate truffle torte, with black cherry jam and pannacotta. The presentation, tried to be minimal and neat, but at best looked sloppy. The swipe of "jam" was untidy and almost flavourless more resembling a puree than jam. The pannacotta, rich with vanilla seeds was pleasant but nothing to write home about and the fact it wasn't taken out of its mould also seemed a bit of a cop-out. Underwhelming. The torte itself, the main event, was rich with bittersweet cocoa notes and was as indulgent as a dessert can get. This redeemed the dish somewhat. MBH chose a classic vanilla creme brulee, served with mixed berry compote and a cinnamon palmier biscuit. The creme brulee was smooth, sumptuous and rich with vanilla and cream. The crisp, sugar layer added much needed sweetness to the dessert as a whole. The mixed berries cut through the creamy brulee with a pleasant acidity, whilst the cinnamon palmier biscuit was crisp and fragrant with cinnamon.
Whilst savouring tea, coffee and homemade chocolate truffles we had afterthoughts about the entirety of the meal. There is no question that this an outstanding restaurant, which doesn't rely on modern gimmicks but uses classical techniques to create it's dishes and menus. On the whole, it proved to be a very positive experience- a more fond embrace of modern technology, however, with more contemporary, creative and innovative techniques/dishes (especially in the pastry section) it would turn this restaurant into a gastronomic destination of Kent.
Rating- 7/10
December 13th 2012
Prior to a gig that me and MBH would be attending in the evening at the 02 Arena in London, we decided to have lunch in Kensington and try out Launceston Place. Hearing that Tristan Welch had left the helm as head chef, replaced by Tim Allen earlier in the year (who himself had worked at the 2 starred Whatley Manor for seven years) intrigued me further to see what this newly awarded Michelin starred restaurant had to offer. Promising "traditional British dishes with a twist. Dishes combine excellent British ingredients and are served at the table with a touch of theatre." This seemed to be an elaborate way of offering a Modern British affair, a term I have begun to dread with a number of restaurants jumping on this bandwagon.
Upon arriving at the restaurant it had a sense of grandeur, and was definitely not out of place in
this affluent area. The monotone exterior may have been slightly intimidating, but once entering, soft furnishings and neutral interiors were on show giving the restaurant some comfort in an atmosphere of which anyone would be deemed as welcome. Once seated we were bombarded with the hard-backed wine list, market and set lunch menus.
Due to it's location, the wines were on the dearer side, looking at £32.00 and up for the majority of the wines offered. Hearing that they had won "Best Wine List at the Tatler Restaurant Awards" the list had a mixture of wines from new, emerging wine areas, as well as old world wines from classically acclaimed regions. We were eventually swung by a Sauvignon Blanc from the Palliser Estate in Martinborough, New Zealand priced at £37.00- containing passion fruit and floral notes, with only slight acidity made it an easy-drinking wine. With our table full of menus and cramped into the corner of the restaurant, the canapes and water promptly arrived shortly after. Although, slightly uncomfortable these delectable morsels improved the situation- hot choux buns, filled with a rich, deep bechamel sauce were divine. Parmesan bonbons equally packed a salty punch, golden brown and crisp served on a spoon with wild mushroom puree was an absolute triumph. A wonderful way to open this gastronomic masterclass. Swiftly offered after was the amuse bouche, of curried lentils served with a cauliflower foam. The lentils were spiced delicately, but had a wonderful kick of cumin and coriander. The sweet and creamy foam acted as a perfect accompaniment to another superb dish.
We both decided to opt for the Market Menu, which came to £48 for three courses, although 3 courses for £25 on the Lunch menu was not to be sniffed at, offering incredible value for money especially in this area. The slow cooked duck egg took my fancy served with pata negra lardon, duck confit, white bean puree and a cep cappuccino. While MBH went for monkfish slow cooked in olive oil served with airbag pork, apple, bacon, onion and ras el hanout. Both dishes seemed to offer a bit of mystique and theatre in the wording, however with the restaurant slowly filling up around us anticipation of the dish was all we could have, for a good 35-40 minutes which for time to wait for a starter I believe is inexcusable. The fact that the waiting staff didn't keep us informed of the progress in the kitchen also made the wait alot more tiresome and frustrating. After some obvious hiccups in the kitchen we received our starters (without an apology for the wait). The slow cooked duck egg, was beautifully rich and cooked perfectly paired with the salty pata negra and crisp duck confit. The cep cappuccino unfortunately was a bit of a non-starter, not living up to expectations or resembling the cappuccino element that was promised, as the foam did not quite hold. Although, in its defence, the flavour was wonderful coating all the elements with the intense wild mushroom essence which balanced the dish splendidly. MBH's monkfish starter looked as pretty as a picture, with the airbag pork proving a huge success, almost resembling popcorn and tasting of crackling- a lovely addition. The other garnishes were woven together expertly with a hint of background spice from the ras el hanout, which was not too overpowering.
For the main event I was torn between a delicate veal dish or robust and hearty venison. I eventually went for the venison, the haunch was cooked in a steamed suet Pudding, whilst roe deer loin was delicately smoked in hay. Served with caramelised swede, swede puree, brussel sprout tops, poached pear and a light venison jus. The gamey, smokey meat, partnered with sweet swede and pear added freshness and vibrancy to an otherwise heavy dish. The sprout tops added much needed texture and the sauce was light and bound the dish together. MBH decided to try the Iberico pork loin, with glazed pork belly, cabbage puree, salt baked apples, roast onion leaf and fig water honey. This renowned high quality pork breed I'm sure tastes outstanding, but being that the loin isn't the most flavoursome cut of pork it lacked flavour. The glazed pork belly, however was a different story altogether. The tender belly, glazed in a sweet liquor was divine, partnered with salt-baked apples added a salty, sweet note like a salt caramel and was a wonderful addition to the dish.
For dessert we both opted for the 70% Vahlrona dark chocolate mousse, but before this we had the pleasure of a pre-dessert which proved to be wonderful palette cleanser. Sweet, but sharp rhubarb compote was delicately placed in a kilner jar, topped with a small quenelle of mellow pear sorbet. To finish it all off, candied ginger produced a subtle heat not overpowering the other elements. Superb. Swiftly after, we received our desserts. The dark chocolate mousse was placed opposite a soothing, mellow pear sorbet, adjacent to that the juicy, aromatic poached pear added an exquisite sweetness which was much needed to counterbalance the bitterness of the dark chocolate. The texture came from praline soil and Breton pastry, both adding crunch and richness with little pools of salt caramel sauce. Delectable.
Coming out of Launceston Place, we had mixed feelings. Obviously a restaurant on the up, with a very talented chef at the forefront of this surge. A few teething problems and service niggles however left us a tad frustrated, knowing that it could have been better. This place definitely deserves the attention and it's newly awarded Michelin starred status, but with more time for Tim Allen to settle into this new busy, city environment it should only get better.
Rating- 7/10
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, t
he 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
For starters, since looking up the menu in advance I had set my heart on the duck leg pithivier served with a celeriac puree. MBH was torn between the pithivier and roasted white onion soup with crispy shallots. She was, however, swayed by the special- a tiger prawn cocktail served with an avocado mousse, mary rose sauce and bloody mary jelly. The pithivier lived up to all expectations, rich, fatty duck glazed in an intense duck flavoured sauce, with hints of star anise was wonderful combined with the flaky puff pastry. The creamy celeriac puree and sweet, but sharp baby onions rounded the dish off perfectly. 
The tiger prawn dish tantalised the taste buds with an array of textures and flavours proved to be MBH's favourite dish of the night. The tiger prawns, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried were succulent and crisp, with a mary rose sauce with a subtle kick of Worcestershire sauce and tabasco was divine in it's own right. An avocado mousse and bloody mary jelly provided the modern twist on a classic prawn cocktail adding freshness along with the crunch of baby gem lettuce received a resounding thumbs up regardless of the £3 supplement.
Naturally, after two incredible starters, we had anticipated for the food to only get better with the main event. I opted for the rump of lamb, whilst MBH went for the duck breast. The rump of lamb was partnered with Provencal aubergine and courgette, champ mash and braised shoulder. I was slightly nervous about a warm, oily ratatouille partnered with creamy, buttery champ mash, but this proved to be unfounded. These garnishes complemented the lamb beautifully, the rump not being an easy cut to cook was seasoned well, remained pink and the fat was rendered off well, making it incredibly moreish. The dish as a whole, could only be balanced by a chef with bounteous technique and delicate touch, of which this chef obviously did.
However, MBH's main, proved slightly overpowering. Presented with real eccentricity and panache, the appearance was inviting and smells enticing. The duck itself was cooked medium rare, with a rose tint and crispy skin which, with such tenderness, melted in the mouth. The buttered cabbage and carrots were the "best vegetables I've ever had" MBH exclaimed, rich with butter and intense, natural sweetness. The gratin, another rich element filled with buttery, nutty notes (again seasoned to perfection) almost made the dish too indulgent. The croquette proved the weakest link of the dish, overpowered with star anise and lacking the garlic, paprika notes of which you'd expect of chorizo and woody, herbal flavour of thyme. An extravagant and filling dish, that needs slight refinement.
