FOOD + DRINK
SQUIRES AT BRIDGEWOOD MANOR
by Lisamarie Lamb
SQUIRES RESTAURANT AND BAR AT BRIDGEWOOD MANOR PROVIDES A RELAXED ATMOSPHERE IN WHICH TO ENJOY DINNER WITH COLLEAGUES OR A NIGHT OUT WITH FRIENDS, WITH DISHES CREATED TO SUIT ALL TASTES COOKED WITH PASSION AND FLAIR.
The restaurant was easy to find, and the route to Squires took us through the bar area which was bustling. The tone of general bonhomie followed us from the bar to the restaurant itself where a jolly young waiter was pleased to meet us and seat us. With a flourish he produced a rather wonderful looking tasting menu, and indicated the ice bucket complete with a bottle of Tenterden’ s finest, Chapel Down Bacchus, chilling nicely. As far as welcomes went, this was one of the nicest we’ d encountered yet!
What’ s lovely about a tasting menu is that any problems with choosing between delicious dishes is taken out of your hands, and all you need to do is enjoy the food itself. Up first was stone baked artisan bread along with seaweed and sea salt butter, olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar. It was a tasty way to start a meal, and the creamy seaweed butter mixed with tangy vinegar and oil really set the tone for the rest of the meal. Taste buds at the ready, sipping exquisite Kentish wine, we settled down for the next course. It was spiced mixed bean, chickpea and vegetable soup – a veritable feast of warming, rustic, flavours that was hugely moreish. If seconds had been offered I’ m fairly certain both my dining partner and I would have had another bowlful.
However, it was probably a good thing that we moved onto the fish dish instead – more soup might have meant there wasn’ t enough room left for the rest of the meal( which would have been a tragedy). The dish was baked hake, potato, smoke paprika, butter bean, chorizo sausage and tomato and red pepper fondue. The hake was perfectly cooked, soft and tasty, and the potatoes were fluffy and almost creamy in texture. This combined with the spicy chorizo and red pepper sauce and the explosion of flavours was quite something.
The next course was the steak. And not just any steak, but Hereford rib eye with garlic Portobello mushrooms, plum tomatoes, watercress and chips. The chef recommended that we tried the meat medium rare, and so we did – it was the right choice. All the flavour stayed with the steak, and combined with the tomatoes and other accompaniments, it was perfect.
Dessert … who could possibly say no to a warm chocolate brownie with coconut ice cream and lime and ginger syrup? Not us, certainly. Although the brownie itself was decadently deep and dark, the lightness of the ice cream and the sharpness of the syrup meant that it wasn’ t too rich in the slightest – so of course, we ate the lot.
And to finish – yes, there was more! – was an overflowing cheese board featuring a selection of local cheeses and a spiced russet apple chutney and savoury biscuits. The perfect end to a perfect meal.
Squires at Bridgewood Manor Hotel Walderslade Woods Chatham ME5 9AX 01634 201333 www. qhotels. co. uk
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