DAYSOUT
GASTRO GAMING AND TEAM BUILDING WITH A DIFFERENCE …
HUGO’ S AT THE BOARD ROOM, FOLKESTONE HARBOUR ARM
THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS YOU LEARN ABOUT YOUR COLLEAGUES ON A TEAM-BUILDING AFTERNOON. WHO’ S SECRETLY COMPETITIVE. WHO TAKES WINNING FAR TOO SERIOUSLY. AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHO ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE TRUSTED WITH A SET OF DARTS … BY SAMANTHA READY
Our destination for some insideKENT team bonding was Hugo’ s at The Board Room, Folkestone Harbour Arm’ s largest venue, where food, drinks and competitive socialising come with a rather lovely backdrop of rolling waves and harbour views.
Proving that team building can shrug off flipchart stereotypes, The Board Room has long been about bringing people together over games, drinks and good times( great for social sessions too, of course), and it’ s now in capable new hands. Rob Porter and Emily Davies, founders of Hatch Rotisserie Chicken in The Goods Yard, have taken over operations here, naming it after their baby son, and they know a thing or two about hospitality. Rob most recently ran London pubs for Kent brewery Shepherd Neame, while Emily managed the historic Old Bank of England on Fleet Street. After a couple of jaunts to Folkestone, the pair( along with baby Hugo) fell in love with the town, swapped London life for the coast and have now created a vibrant new food and drink offering to sit alongside The Board Room’ s already popular games.
So, for the ravenous creatures that form team iK, our first stop was food... and evidently lots of it.
Some began with the‘ Mixed Board’ sharer, loaded with chicken gyoza, salt & pepper squid, halloumi fries, Korean BBQ pork belly bites and crispy fries. Plentiful, tasty and perfect for picking at before battle commenced. The rest were swayed by the burgers of which there are two beef, one chicken and one vegan option to choose from.‘ The Hugo’ stacks two 3oz beef patties with smoked streaky bacon, American cheese, crispy onions, iceberg and house burger sauce, while‘ The Chicken Classic’ pairs buttermilk fried chicken with iceberg and lemon & pepper mayo. The star however?‘ The Mac Daddy’: aged beef, American cheese and house burger sauce, topped with a mac and cheese croquette. Because apparently burgers can wear hats. Ridiculously big? Slightly. Delicious and worth the calories? Absolutely.
As well as the food offerings which also include small plate options, there’ s a classic cocktail list, a small but easy to navigate wine list and a good list of beer, lager and ale including locally brewed Docker on draft- ideal for sipping while admiring those views across the harbour and contemplating just how seriously you’ re prepared to take an afternoon’ s forthcoming sporting endeavours. In our case the answer turned out to be, very!
Fed and watered, it was time for our first activity: an hour of darts. The Board Room is proud to be the only location in the South East to offer Fly By Darts. It’ s pub darts, basically, but considerably smarter. Beautiful solid-wood cabinets house traditional cork boards, but clever technology tracks every throw and score
70 • www. insidekent. co. uk