124 High Street is a beautiful old building and since it has become our very own artisan bakery, it’s been given a new lease of life. The owner, Clare, is capitalising on her skills and building by offering bread making lessons, and also, pizza nights. Quite appropriately, the Bakehouse looked rather different to its daytime appearance when I visited with a friend at the beginning of February for one of the pizza nights – all dimly lit & hushed. We climbed the well trodden old stairs to our table where there were quite a few tables of two but also tables for larger groups. The menu is diverse with something for everyone – vegetarians, meat-lovers & vegans were certainly catered for. We were tempted by the anti-pasto starters but we decided to dive right into the pizza. Stinky Pete at The Bakehouse I learnt a few tips about food reviewing from Jay Rayner when I saw him at the EM Forster theatre in January: he advised to go for the most obscure thing on the menu unless, in his case, he saw something on the menu that involved pork. For me, substitute pork with mushrooms and you’ll guess that I didn’t go for anything unusual or new; I was predictable, and delighted, that there was a funghi pizza on the menu. My friend set a better example by choosing one of the menu’s new additions – the Stinky Pete which definitely packed a punch with its strong Kentish blue cheese. My delicious funghi pizza… The funghi was not tomato based which made a nice change for me (& is great for anyone with a tomato allergy) and I absolutely loved it. The cream gave the mushrooms the right kind of tang and the seasoning was great. But one of the USPs of the evening is that these are no ordinary pizzas – the base is made from sourdough rather than your traditional pizza dough and you could definitely tell the difference: the base was crisper and lighter than normal, yet still sturdy enough to handle the topping if you decided to pick up a slice. The sourdough may be what makes these pizzas different but with these nights, The Bakehouse is, too, differentiating itself – it’s offering a calm, relaxed, even refined way to enjoy a bite to eat & a bottle of wine with friends. Experience Ingredients In the group: 2 Consumption & cost: 2 x pizzas at £10.50 each + bottle of red wine = £40
Author: CK
The Honeymoon, Tonbridge, 2 February 2017, Chinese New Year!
We were trying to organise a night out when my friend suggested we visit The Honeymoon for their Chinese new year celebrations and more importantly….Elvis! I have to admit that I hadn’t been a fan of Chinese food after too many nasty nights out at Chinese restaurants in my youth with orange, gloopy sauce sticking to the meat. But, I needn’t have worried… And so, on a grey Thursday night in February, we stepped into Chinese new year at The Honeymoon, festooned with red lanterns and welcoming faces, tables of (mostly) ladies waiting patiently for The King…or at least The King impersonator. I really need to go on a food photography course… There was a set-menu for veggies and meat-eaters which always makes life easier, doesn’t it? The food was good, brought to our tables promptly (service was good all night): I loved the prawn toast & satay chicken for starters (there was also roast pork money bags and sticky plum spare ribs) and my particular favourite of the mains was the beef in black pepper sauce, but I had a clean plate so clearly enjoyed all that was on offer (chicken in garlic wine, prawns in delicate sauce & egg fried rice)! Two things I want to mention in particular – The Honeymoon has a great white wine menu! I only tried the sauvignon blanc at £17.50 a bottle but it also had picpoul and Vouvray wines on offer which you don’t often see in a high street Chinese restaurant; secondly, in a world where we are frequently reminded of food waste, I thought the portions were spot on, just right. There was enough for everyone but not too much, which appealed to my Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall side. So, I definitely enjoyed the food & wine. Now onto the main event – Elvis! The Elvis impersonator (Scott Elvis) seemed authentic to me – when I shut my eyes, he definitely did sound like the man himself! And many of the Elvis fans there seemed to think so too, dancing alongside him whilst he crooned. Photo courtesy of R Homewood We had the whole back catalogue of Elvis hits, regular serenading which, rather than being embarrassed about we became accustomed to and a costume change, from GI Elvis to a leather clad King. It was a really fun night, great value for money and there was talk of it becoming an annual thing. The mistakes of my youth have been replaced by happy memories of good food and good fun. Experience Ingredients In the group: 11 Consumption & cost: Set-menu- £24; bottle of sauvignon blanc £17.50
Bring a friend February!
Thanks to Sophie Gibson for these fab photos from Havet, “a firm favourite”! Please continue to send photos to eatreviewer@gmail.com!
Calling all job seekers with restaurant operations experience!
It’s that time again where we publish the catering & hospitality jobs available in Tonbridge. The jobs at The Bakehouse and Saltwaters are still open so if you’re interested then please do apply as I know that Clare & Ellie would love to hear from you. Read more about the roles here and good luck! The catering manager role at The Bakehouse would be great for an ex-chef or someone with restaurant operations’ experience who is looking for something with more sociable hours. Clare is open to suggestions on flexible working so don’t be afraid to get in touch. Ellie at Saltwaters is looking for someone reliable and experienced in the take-away and/or restaurant industry. Ellie and her brother work side-by-side running Saltwaters so you really would be working for a family business, with a great work ethic.
Why not become part of the Tonbridge foodie scene?
The Tonbridge scene continues to grow with the revival of The Rose Revived at the weekend & the arrival of The Clockhouse (hoping for March), Fuggles (summer opening) and Creams Factory (also planning to open in March) this year. Creams Factory at 160 High Street If you want to become a part of it, why not apply for one of the jobs on the Eat Around Tonbridge job board? Click here to see what’s available. Good luck and let me know how you get on!
Bring a Friend February – photos!
Evening all! I have only received one photo so far for Bring a Friend February (sob) so I’m hoping that in the last week you’ve been introducing your friends to new places but just forgetting to take photographic evidence! Please do try new places and while you’re there, take a pic and send it to me eatreviewer@gmail.com or tweet it to me @eat_tonbridge. Here is the photo from Tracey Prockter from Friday 3 Feb with the caption “This morning at the Bakehouse, yummy toast all round.” Thank you Tracey! And here is one from me this morning with my friend Karen at Teal café, Hildenborough – she’d driven past many a time and never been in! It was very busy in there today which was good to see.