Now if you ever said to me a few months ago that I was going to while away the hours sitting at an industrial estate in Tonbridge eating amazing Greek food, how I would have laughed at you. Sanderson Way is certainly an unusual setting to hang out at, but with the arrival of Constellation Brewery and now the wonderful Filakia, that is most definitely set to change. I’d heard about the opening almost by accident and persuaded a few friends to join me for a spot of lunch at Filakia on a sunny afternoon. They had only been open for two days but were already absolutely smashing it. When I got chatting to owner Niko, I discovered a heartwarming story. He’d lost his job due to COVID and after many chats with his family, finally decided to follow his dream of cooking Greek street food. Search for a site was carefully considered, looking at Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks etc but Tonbridge won out. And how lucky we are for that decision! The menu contains options of delicious gyros and souvlaki, not to mention salad, dirty fries, sides and vegan options too. I ended up choosing the chicken souvlaki meal. It’s cooked from fresh which is fantastic and tastes sublime. I also got a cheeky pot of spiced whipped feta on the side, which I could eat all day. My friends went for some wraps, with one commenting that it’s the best Greek food he’s had outside of Greece! If that doesn’t convince you to pay them a visit, nothing will. You can check out their current menu by looking through the gallery below. Whatever you do, make sure you order the Spicy Feta! Now they’re in the swing of things the opening hours are now Wednesday 12-9pm Thursday 5-9pm, Friday and Saturday 12-9pm Sunday 12-8pm. Filakia can be found at Unit 21 Orchard Business Centre, Sanderson Way, Tonbridge, TN9 1QF and Constellation Brewery is right next door!
EAT 2.0 – The Reviewer Returns!
Hello everybody! Hope you have all been enjoying the intermittently hot summer. Since I took over EAT from the lovely Caroline, I’ve been toiling away to connect with recently opened businesses (I’m looking at you Filakia and your sexy whipped Feta), reacquainting myself with established ones (Hi Goupie!) and moving the blog to a new platform. I guess I should probably tell you a little about me. I’ve lived in Tonbridge for the overwhelming majority of my past 40 years on this planet and absolutely love my hometown. It’s certainly changed a lot over the past 5 years or so, which is very exciting for a foodie like myself. I think that variety of choice we have is fabulous and I can only see it improving over time. One major change worth noting is the rise and rise of International Food shops. I almost cried when Organic Village Market started selling bread, the smell alone fills me with joy. I’ve also been known to enjoy a wine or two, which has led me to do a few wine exams (purely for educational purposes obviously…) and get super excited about the fact that Verdigris now do over 40 wines by the glass. We also now have the wonderful Carafe distributing a carefully curated selection of wines, from their base just down the road. Another place worthy of note is the great Escape Art Centre. Fantastic exhibitions aside, their wine list was created by none other than the Editor of Decanter Magazine. Lock up your cellars people, I’m going to try it all! It has been great to see the town bursting back into life in recent weeks. The Nelson Arms has restarted its live music schedule, so you can listen to some fabulous tunes alongside a great burger and a cheeky pint from the West Kent CAMRA Pub (and Cider Pub) of the year. The Beer Seller are continuing to sell a great selection of beer and wine and have even organised a festival, complete with great local acts for this coming bank holiday weekend from 27th August. As you can probably tell, I haven’t even scratched the surface of what the great town has to offer. But I’m certainly going to do my best! I look forward to sharing more with you all. Speak soon – Your New Eat Reviewer x
Valentine’s Day Meal-In Options
Valentine’s Day is on Sunday and I have received quite a few DMs about where is offering takeaway or delivered, extra special meals-in. Your usuals such as Indian, Chinese etc, pub food takeaways and chain restaurants doing takeawys are obviously still options but this list of ten is comprised of pub, restaurants and chefs from Tonbridge and around that are doing something that little bit special for February 14th. Many places in the Tonbridge vicinity have closed during this lockdown so there are more places that are further afield in this blog then you might expect. Why not try something new?!
Your Local Delivered – an interview with founder, Charlotte Spencer
Coronavirus has closed down the world and had a devastating impact on so many people. Many businesses have had to adapt and some of us have changed our shopping habits, either through necessity or through a feeling of community and a desire to support others.
Tonbridge resident Charlotte Spencer is helping local businesses and consumers nationwide connect through her new business, Your Local Delivered. I interviewed Charlotte to learn more.
Kent Wine School, Tunbridge Wells, 12 March 2020
The evening before I visited Ferah for my Turkish lunch, I took a trip to Tunbridge Wells for some wine tasting. The lovely folks at Kent Wine School had invited me to a tasting and, as you might expect, I had jumped at the chance. As someone who’s partial to a glass or few of wine, I like to try to sound knowledgeable and so, pre-lockdown when the evenings were still dark, my trusty tasting companion, Cathy and I strayed from Tonbridge and popped along to the Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells to learn more.
thetncard – Interview with founder, Jess Gibson
One silver living of this awful situation is that I have been able to work alongside the lovely Jess Gibson, founder of the tn card. I interviewed Jess (over the phone of course!) about what motivated her to set up the tn card and learnt that she’s as passionate about Tonbridge flourishing as I am!