insideKENT Magazine Issue 51 - June 2016 | Page 49
FOOD+DRINK
seaside dining in kent
Kent has an astonishing 350 miles of coastline, and it ranges from the iconic and
famous to the intimate and hidden – and all of it is stunning. Clifftop walks and
family-friendly bays vie with golden sand and shingle covered beaches for the
top spot on Kent’s gorgeous coast, but for a true taste of the sea – and a view of
it too – what about our impressive coastal restaurants?
Rocksalt, Folkestone
The Botany Bay Hotel, Broadstairs
Rocksalt’s
main aim is to
cook the best
ingredients as
simply as
possible.
That’s it. And it
works.
Rocksalt is an
informal yet
smart dining
room with a
stylish,
comfortable
bar where customers are happy to spend an afternoon or evening looking
out over the stunning view of Folkestone Harbour and beyond, over the
English Channel. The fish at Rocksalt is as fresh as it gets, caught daily
from the Folkestone fishing boats, and the meat is bred in the surrounding
countryside. For Rocksalt, the keywords are quality, locality, sustainability
and provenance.
At The Botany Bay Hotel, the sea view á la carte restaurant offers classic
British cuisine with a contemporary twist. Seafood is, of course, a speciality,
and only the finest locally sourced seasonal produce is used here. That
includes Romney Marsh lamb, Whistable oysters, and the iconic Dover sole
as well as fresh fruits and vegetables from across Kent. It’s not just about
the food either – Shepherd Neame provides the beers and ales, and the
extensive wine selection features stunning Kentish wines.
The menu includes dishes such as the seafood board (smoked salmon,
smoked mackerel fillet, crayfish, seasonal leaves, warm bread, coriander
mayonnaise and a caper and onion salad); chilli, rosemary and balsamic
glazed lamb cutlets with sweet potato and butternut mash, seasonal greens
and Chantenay carrots; and fillet of sea bream with crab and chilli linguine
with pine nuts and dressed rocket.
Menu items include lobster and salmon pasty with picked cucumber;
Rocksalt fish soup; roast and smoked cod with Jerusalem artichoke, curly
kale and cherry caramel; and wood pigeon, pearl barley, snail and wild garlic
broth with roast onion.
www.botanybayhotel.co.uk
www.rocksaltfolkestone.co.uk
The Sportsman, Seasalter
The Coastguard, St Margaret’s Bay
The Coastguard
has the fantastic
distinction of
being the
closest British
restaurant to
France – and it
has been that
way for more
than 300 years.
The views are
beautiful, the
restaurant
boasts
panoramic vistas across all of the bay and beyond, making this one of the
most awe-inspiring spots to have lunch or dinner in all of Kent. Contemporary
yet with centuries of history, this restaurant has recently undergone a
refurbishment which has turned it into a must-visit Kentish eatery.
There has been
an inn on this
spot since
1642, and the
area itself has
always been a
producer of
food – it is
mentioned in the
Domesday
Book as
belonging to the
kitchens of Canterbury Cathedral. The current owners (who bought the
restaurant in 1999), follow the monks’ example and only use food that is
found locally. The Thames Estuary, leading out to the North Sea, provides
oysters and fish, and in front, marshland, woods and fertile soils give us
meat, vegetables and game. Some of the ingredients are even grown onsite;
a small kitchen garden and polytunnel means they can cook with fruit and
vegetables that benefit from being picked only moments before use.
Food available here is fresh, local and simple with a rustic charm and a
modern twist. Dishes include wholetail scampi with chips, calamari, and
beer battered cod, chips and peas.
Food served at The Sportsman includes rock oysters with hot chorizo;
smoked, maple-cured pork loin with wholegrain mustard tartare; and roast
gurnard fillet with bouillabaisse sauce and green olive tapenade.
www.thecoatguard.co.uk
www.thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk
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