The Sportsman – Fresh from the garden

The Sportsman in Whitstable is a destination restaurant, well a Michelin starred gastro pub with quite a reputation.  Do not even think about going there to eat without an advance reservation.

They pride themselves on their fresh ingredients. Everything is either from the garden out back or from nearby, its all about provenance here.  On the whole the pride is justified as the ingredients especially the fish and vegetables are really fresh and the cooking shows them off.

We treated ourselves to some Pol Roger Champagne and started on the tasting menu (something you need to pre book or alternatively you can order from the dishes on the blackboard by the bar). We started with some pork scratchings, and to quote “Steve” the chef, the Sportsman is a pub after all.  They were nothing like typical pub pork scratchings, they were delicious, as was the mustard, herring and soda bread they were served with.

We had a very nice salad (Salmagundy, which apparently means a salad made out of available ingredients), but the standout courses were the dover sole with seaweed butter and the turbot with smoked roe sauce.  Our conclusion was that the meal started well and that the fish dishes were excellent, but that the quality dipped with the 2nd lamb dish (some mash would have been nice) and the desserts (can chefs get over popping candy please).

We enjoyed the meal but I must say I wasn’t as wowed by it as some other reviewers.

Oh and we finished off the day with a nice jug of Pimms at Miles Cafe Culture in Ramsgate in case you were wondering.

 

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Bastille Day Menu at Balzac

A post from No Experts Australian Correspondent

Until recently, Randwick has been most famous for it’s racecourse, but no longer! In 2010, this up and coming area, is best known to gastronomes for Matthew Kemp’s Restaurant Balzac. Located in an historical sandstone villa known as “Verona”, the premises has previously done service as a private villa, a pub, a girl’s school, a butcher shop, and even a Pizza Hut. The interior has recently been beautifully and sympathetically restored, and provides a wonderful setting to dine in.

The restaurant is justifiably famous for taking humbler cuts of meat and elevating them to superb dishes, that are both wonderfully flavoured, and a joy to eat. This was highlighted superbly in our Bastille Day degustation menu. Three courses stood out for us as worthy of mention. The first being the Fish Soup with Chervil Chantilly and Poached Snapper Cheek, which was wonderfully aromatic. The second, a humble beef daube that melted in the mouth and was simply divine. Lastly a humble Rice Pudding with Apple crumble that was elevated to the perfect winter desert. Being a “Bastille day menu”, our food  matched with French Wines, despite being a little on the young side, the pairings were superb.
Service was good, a little more laid back than your average French restaurant, but then again this is Australia, and staff were welcoming without being intrusive. Overall a superb evening, excellent modern French food from this young English chef!

Marks out of 10

Food 8

Service 7

Ambience 7.5

 

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47 Mussel Row – Littlehampton

I am not keen on doing restaurant walk ins, have had too many disappointments. However sometimes you have no choice and occasionally you are lucky enough to find a gem. We were driving along the Sussex coastline, looking for somewhere suitable, we made a detour to check out Bognor Regis! – nothing looked interesting enough to even get out of the car, so we drove on to Littlehampton.  This was much better, with its large Victorian Houses overlooking the park and the sea, and its newer developments overlooking the River Arun and the golf course. There we found a nice looking bistro called 47 Mussel Row.

We ordered Mussels in batter with a garlic dip, good apart from a couple of mussels that were a bit gritty. This was followed by a lovely piece of Skate, which was perfectly cooked.

So as walk ins go, this was most definately one of my better experiences.

Marks out of 10

Food 5.4

Service 5

Ambience 4 (it was a quiet day)

 

Another good place to visit if your are in the area is Arundel, it is a lovely town and I would recommend taking a  30 minute stroll along the River to have drinks or lunch at the Black Rabbit Inn.

 

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Tapas Fantasticas – Hotter than Spain!

Glorious sunny day at Tapas Fantasticas in Potters Fields Park.  This is my second year attending this food and drink festival, last year it was in a more cramped location in Brick Lane.  I really like the new site, nestled in between landmark buildings like Tower Bridge and City Hall, it is a stunning setting.  The festival which is organised by Wines from Rioja seems to be very lucky with the weather – it was on during a heat wave last year as well.   It is such a civilized day out,  entrance is free and there are no real queues for any of the stands which sell reasonably priced wine by the glass and off course some rather good Tapas.

There are also organised wine tastings, we booked a session with Iron Chefs Olly Smith, who is always good value and guaranteed entertainment.

However my favourite wine of the day wasn’t at the tasting, but was from the El Coto de Rioja stand. It was a really smooth Coto de Imaz Reserva.

I also tried a couple of Tapas dishes – Salt cod fried in batter, and some blue cheese and ham croquettes, both delicious.

Next years festival will be in my diary too, weather permitting off course.

 

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Blueprint Cafe – focusing on the view

Had lunch at the Blueprint Cafe, it’s a hard location to beat.  They sat us at a great table by the window with a panoramic view of Tower Bridge and the Thames.  They also supplied a pair of binoculars, so the view is obviously a big attraction.

It’s been years since my last visit, and  the decor/style of the place has certainly changed. It’s a much more casual venue these days.

Food wise it was a bit hit and miss (more miss than hit).  The Razor clams I had were nothing special, too much lemon juice for my taste. The mackerel was a bit overcooked, but the pickled cucumbers with mustard and dill that accompanied it was delicious – click here for a recipe

For main course I had grilled leg of lamb with tomatoes and courgettes, the lamb was perfect (well apart from the fact there was not enough of it and there was a real glut of vegetables).  The meringue dessert was rather messy looking but tasted good, however the strawberry shortcake was less successful,  not my idea of shortcake. It was  more like oatcake, with cream and strawberries, basically rather dull.

So in conclusion, great view, OK food. I would make a return visit, but next time I will lower my expectations and focus on the view.

 

 

Update : April 2012 – The Blueprint Cafe has a new chef, Mark Jarvis. He has worked at Texture and spent some time working for Raymond Blanc.

 

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