No Expert …but I know what I like – Food Blog, Restaurant reviews – Page 6

Forts – don’t tell everyone

Like most food bloggers we write posts to tell readers about the places we find because we want to share the experience, especially if the restaurant or cafe is a good one. Sometimes though you find these amazing places in the most unlikely of areas that are just so good that you are conflicted – “If too many people get to know about how good it is, we might not be able to get a table”. However praise where praise is due. Forts is pretty special. We first passed it on a Winters day when it was closed and looking more shabby than chic. The surrounding area was particularly run down and the streets were full of litter, it looked grim. Cliftonville needs a very sunny day indeed to look anything close to good. So finally a few months later after a visit to the nearby farmers market we thought we would see what all the fuss was about (lots of people we follow on Twitter etc had spoken very highly of this unassuming cafe).

Even with its Formica tables and the best of British sauces and condiments taking center stage, it’s very much a foodie enclave. I would be very surprised if any of its customers had just wandered in expecting a bog standard Full English All Day Breakfast. The menu changes regularly and does include the ubiquitous Full English along with several brunch type dishes. We ordered the Mackerel with Bubble and Squeak and the Scrambled Eggs with spicy Brindisa Chorizo. Both were fabulous dishes with the quality of the cooking and the ingredients shining through. We also treated ourselves to some Rhubarb Spritzers which were delicious and very refreshing. Normally we wouldn’t order desserts for brunch but there is something about the place that encourages you to try more, so we had some of their lovely creamy stem ginger ice cream.

I suspect we could have had anything on the menu and loved it. The next table ordered burgers and when they arrived they looked amazing. Here’s hoping we can still get a table the next time we’re in the area!

UPDATE – September 2016 : Forts has been sold and will be re-opening under new management.

UPDATE – December 2019 : Forts is now Closed 🙁

UPDATE – Under New Management

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The Sportsman : Seasalter near Whitstable

Whitstable is a popular historic seaside town that is about 40 mins from London and 30 mins from our new home in Ramsgate. On arrival at Whitstable station you can order a taxi for the 15 minute journey to The Sportsman in Seasalter. The taxi office is right next to the station and they have lots of cars on call, or you can head into Whitstable itself, explore the shops and harbour, then do the beach walk to Seasalter which takes approximately an hour and half. On a beautiful sunny Winter day, like the one we had for our visit, its worth arriving early at the restaurant to give yourself enough time to walk on the beach at Seasalter. Bring your binoculars and watch the birds and seals off the Isle of Sheppey.

The Sportsman is one of only a handful of pubs with a Michelin star. They keep it simple and use very local ingredients, i.e. meat from the surrounding marsh lands, fish and oysters from the Thames Estuary and vegetables from their rather extensive Kitchen garden.

There are blackboards by the bar where you choose the dishes you want, or you can go for a tasting menu. There are two, a larger one you pre book and a 5 course one you can order on the day. We like the little extras so we had the 5 course tasting menu. The tasting menu doesn’t change much, so if you go often you’ll probably appreciate the blackboard options.

We started with a glass of Charles Heidsieck champagne, which was a good accompaniment to our first few dishes. A lovely selection of bread was served with home-churned butter and Seasalter seasalt followed by the amuse-bouche which consisted of an egg shell filled with yoke, cream and smoked eel. Then we had a stunning cod and crab bisque and two of the famous Whitstable oysters cleverly presented in a box of seashells. Next came our favorite course a delightful red cabbage dish, we ordered some Chablis to drink with this and our main course of Monkshill Farm Lamb with Mint Sauce which was a sort of miniature Sunday lunch, as it is served with one roast potato, a sliver of onion and one floret of cauliflower. Pre desert was a quince lollypop in cake milk. Then with our dessert wine we had half a chocolate and salted caramel tart with vanilla ice cream – the tart was very rich, I for one couldn’t have managed a full one, although my companion thought he could 🙂

The Sportsman has a lovely casual ambience and an excellent wine list.

Please also note that this is a very popular restaurant and booking is essential. Typically you would need to book between 4 and 6 weeks in advance to get a table.

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Eating and Drinking Guide (Deal)

Updated August 2024

Deal is a coastal town with quaint streets and houses.

The Deal Eating & Drinking Map shows the locations of some of the Restaurants, Cafes and Bars in Deal including the ones described below.

Le Pinardier – A great place to chill if you’re into wine and cheese. It’s a Wine Shop/Bar with a fabulous selection of wines (mostly French). There are several tables in the shop area and a few outside. Good for people watching.

The Black Douglas – A friendly and relaxing spot on the sea front. This coffee house serves excellent Coffee and interesting Sandwiches, Savoury dishes and Cakes.

Pop up Cafe – A pleasant place to stop when visiting Deal High Street, the staff are friendly and helpful. The baked goods are made on the premises. The Pop up Cafe is much larger than it looks from the outside. There is also a small seating area outside, although the view of Poundland is not as appetising as the cakes.

Frog and Scot – A popular small plates venue. The bookings are timed for 1 hour 30 minute slots. Three Small plates per person is recommended. Click here for a full review.

Deal Saturday Market

Worth a browse, it does tend to get very busy though. Look out for the Cheese & Wine stalls.

For information on places to Eat and Drink in nearby towns and villages, see the East Kent/Thanet Guide.

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B is for Broadstairs

On a stunning sunny Sunday in October we made a beeline for Broadstairs taking in the beautiful beach at Viking Bay, Breakfast at the delightful Belvidere Place Boutique B & B, the highly acclaimed Broadstairs Food Festival and the hidden delights of Bleak House.

I’d like to say we did the picturesque beach walk from Ramsgate to Broadstairs but alas we didn’t allow ourselves enough time. Instead we jumped on the regular Loop bus for the 15 minute journey to Broadstairs.

Belvidere Place

We had pre booked breakfast at Belvidere Place, Jilly Sharpe’s rather special Boutique Bed & Breakfast. It’s a beautiful quirky and artistic place with just the right level of civilized informality.

There was no menu, breakfast is based on whatever goodies Jilly can source locally. We were offered the choice of figs or baked apple to start. We opted for the Apple served with yogurt and just enough Muesli. Very healthy and tasty. Next course was bacon, tomatoes and egg served with toast and a delicious stuffed mushroom. Arbroath Kippers were also on offer. After a leisurely morning reading the newspapers, chatting to Jilly, her friendly staff and guests lucky enough to be staying in the much in demand 5 bed-roomed B & B, we headed off to the Broadstairs Food Festival.

UPDATE – Under new Management.

Broadstairs Food Festival

The Broadstairs Food Festival is an event that attracts a lot of mainly Kent based suppliers and Restaurants. This year they had 100 plus stalls and 53,000 plus visitors over the course of 3 days. The Kitchen Theatre demonstrations were from several well known local chefs like Matt Sworder from the Corner House in Minster. Steven Edwards who won Masterchef The Professionals in 2013 also did a session. The Kitchen Theatre presentation highlight I suspect though was from GBBO semi finalist and Broadstairs local Chetna Makan. Her session was interrupted by a surprise visit from the ever so slightly famous Paul Hollywood – check out the fun videos published by the Isle of Thanet Gazette. It’s just like being there 😉

Top Kent Restaurants like Wyatt & Jones and Rocksalt had stalls, as did Quex Barn – the wonderful deli at Quex Park. There were tastings for Dudda’s Tun our favorite Kent Cider, and East Kent College were showing plans for their 4 star Training Hotel due to open next year.

We had hoped to get food from The Ambrette stall but they weren’t there this year. So for a late lunch we had some Pad Thai from an old favorite Siam Kitchen, followed by a dessert of coconut macrons and salted caramel bars from Sylvia and Terry. We also brought some bread from McCarthys Country Store.

Bleak House

We took refuge from a very busy Broadstairs in Bleak House, which despite its uninviting entrance via the kitchen area is a lovely tranquil spot for drinks or afternoon tea.

You can pre book the formal Afternoon Tea in the Great Expectations Dining Room overlooking the garden and visit Charles Dickens study and the Smuggling Museum.

So after our lovely day out, we are certainly looking forward to next years Food Festival and to having a good few more breakfasts and afternoon teas in lovely Broadstairs.

UPDATE – Bleak house closed.

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Royal Victoria Pavilion, Ramsgate

Like a lot of Ramsgate residents I had mixed feelings when I first heard that Wetherspoons had bought the lease on the Royal Victoria Pavilion and that they intended to convert it into a super pub. My view was that something had to be done to save the Pavilion which like so much of the stunning architecture in Ramsgate was being left to fall into wreck and ruin, but could the town support the largest Wetherspoon pub in the UK?

Now I have to say that I am impressed with the end result, the building has been sympathetically restored to it’s former glory. It’s stunning and has certainly revitalised the Harbour Parade area of Ramsgate. The other bars and cafes around it seem busy too, whether they stay that way I can’t say, but it does look like more visitor’s are being attracted to the area.

We went there on a lovely sunny day just two weeks after the official opening and grabbed a table on the upper terrace, which undoubtedly has the best view of any Wetherspoon pub in the UK. We ordered breakfast using the Wetherspoon Order & Pay App and friends we met there did it the old fashioned way by ordering at the bar. The online order ironically arrived first in less than 10 minutes. The other order had to be chased so there were still some teething problems, the staff are lovely though, friendly and helpful. Food and drink options are exactly what you’d expect at any Wetherspoon pub, it’s inexpensive, you get what you pay for. The view is free though and that’s what will draw me back.

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