insideKENT Magazine Issue 64 - July 2017 | Page 138

GETAWAYS
The Gallivant
TURNING OFF A QUIET COASTAL ROAD, YOUR FIRST GLANCE OF THE GALLIVANT IS
A REAL RAISE-YOUR-EYEBROWS-AND-SMIRK-TO-YOURSELF MOMENT. SAT SLAP
BANG IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THE SOUTH EAST’S MOST SEASIDEY OF SEASIDE
TOWNS – CAMBER SANDS – IT’S FAR FROM YOUR STEREOTYPICAL BUCKET-AND-SPADE
GUESTHOUSE. POLLY HUMPHRIS ATE, SLEPT AND MADE MERRY AT THIS UNDERSTATED
BEACHSIDE ESCAPE AND FELL IN LOVE WITH A BREAKFAST PANNA COTTA.
Crowned 2016’s Sussex Restaurant of the Year,
The Gallivant is billed as a ‘restaurant with
rooms’, but in its entirety, it’s actually far more
remarkable than this moniker suggests. With
a ’10-mile menu’ ethos strictly adher ed to,
meaning all of the fresh, environmentally
sustainable ingredients used at the restaurant
have been sourced within 15 miles, the
restaurant is undoubtedly impressive and the
food served is exceptional, but the 20 chic
bedrooms, pretty gardens and glorious
location are more than a match for their foodie
counterpart.
Cleverly, the look of the motel (on the roadside
with rooms arranged in low blocks and free
parking directly outside) combines the
exclusive feel of California’s Hamptons with
an eclectic British twist. The welcoming
weatherboard cladding puts you in mind of a
quintessential UK seaside scene, but neat
touches such as chalkboards displaying the
day’s weather forecast and colourful
complimentary towels and flip flops laid out
neatly in reception give it a quirky and stylish
edge. The atmosphere matches this feel too:
dogs are welcome and the 4pm afternoon tea
(at which it’s entirely acceptable to eat two
huge pieces of orange and cream gateaux), is
a lesson in how to be British – the cakes keep
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on coming and every guest stops what they’re
doing to congregate for a freshly brewed,
reviving cuppa.
Settled into a coffee-table book about an
extraordinary man who cycled around the
world (and a little lazy with cake no doubt), I
was so comfortable in the cosy, Nordic-meets-
New England restaurant, that I actually forgot
to check into my room until at least an hour
had passed. The vision behind The Gallivant
was to create a relaxing hideaway where one
can escape from the stresses and strains of
everyday life – tick!
In the same relaxing vein, the bedrooms,
decorated in pastel shades of green, blue and
grey, are as stylish as they are fun –
appropriately coastal, as evinced by vintage
swimwear displayed on the wall,
complimentary canvas beach bags and
obligatory ‘gone to the beach’ driftwood signs,
they’re also very elegant, decked out with all
sorts of interesting literature and objet d’art,
Shaker-style furniture, Douglas Fir floors and
handmade recycled timber beds. Cosy, Garden
and Deck rooms are smaller, with access to a
pretty shared garden or private decked area,
but it’s worth stretching the budget slightly for
a Luxury Garden room to make the most of
the freestanding rolltop bath and French doors
leading to a beautiful coastal garden;
communal, but cordoned off into separate,
private spaces.
Most room rates come, very reasonably, with
breakfast and dinner included, neither of
which you’ll want to miss. Oliver Joyce runs
the kitchen alongside a team of young,
exuberant staff who bring informality to what’s
unsurprisingly a very tight ship – it needs to
be to produce such exceptional modern British
food. I’d heard so much about the Romney
Salt Marsh lamb served here that I almost didn’t
order it, but I’m so glad I did; succulent and
perfectly pink, it came with equally delicious
dauphinoise potatoes and buttered green
beans. The pickled herring potato salad was a
delicate, zingy highlight, and you can’t go
wrong with any ‘catch of the day’ here – we
tried the locally caught cod and it was a firm,
but flakey delight packed full of flavour.
I could go on and on about the food...breakfast
was a triumph, a groaning spread of delicious
‘starters’ in the form of breads, berry pots,
pastries and granolas alongside a ridiculously
tasty yoghurt panna cotta – a pot of soft
creamy goodness with notes of vanilla and
honey – that will live on in my mind until I