A place that receives three wows has to be great, right? Well you wouldn’t be wrong. Let me tell you about my visit to The Beer Seller, or rather its upstairs neighbour, The Hidden Seller.
Tag: night with friends
Pizza!! 124 The Bakehouse – Pizza night, Tonbridge, 9th February 2017
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
The Old Fire Station, Tonbridge ….Dads just wanna have fun
It’s Saturday morning of the bank holiday weekend, grab yourself a cuppa & have a quick read about the Old Fire Station: I interviewed Richard & Sam earlier in the month… “Let’s have some fun with it…” – that was the culmination of a conversation between two dads at the school gate, after one of them had just bought The Old Fire Station in Tonbridge & the other suggested hosting pop-up restaurants there. Richard Collins, who owns the building (& the insurance business it accommodates upstairs), didn’t know what pop-ups were; he took a leap of faith with Sam Goode and his book of culinary contacts, to create this quirky, individual & versatile venue. Just in case you’ve never seen it – The Old Fire Station Richard & Sam were going to have fun with it for three months but six months later, Tonbridge Old Fire Station (TOFS) is going from strength to strength. So far the restraunpreneurs have brought Tonbridge a really diverse range of evenings, a beer café, celebrity chefs, poetry nights & a vegan & vegetarian night, to name a few. TOFS is a genuine destination for out-of-towners, some even venturing from London to enjoy celeb chefs’ cooking – quite an achievement. “The guys all cook out the front, they bring everything in, their own induction hobs, ovens … it’s like one big chef’s table,” Sam tells me. It must be a very interactive experience I reply and he goes on to tell me about Masterchef 2013 finalist Adam Handling’s dry ice for his desserts “going a bit over the top”. The venue is probably most recognised for the cuisine it brings to Tonbridge but they have hosted Fuggles beer café, a poetry night & temporary art galleries. And what you may not know is that The Old Fire Station is hired out for sales meetings, residents’ meetings & the like at other times – it’s a venue that never sleeps. The two dads have not only created a new drinking establishment but they’ve also created their own branded pale ale, & cider with the help of local cider producer, Phil Turner. I didn’t think I was a cider drinker after sampling a fair amount of alcoholic fizzy apple juice in my youth but after I was generously gifted some*, I felt I couldn’t refuse a try. I have to admit that the medium dry was a revelation (elderflower would be second favourite & medium third…if you’re interested!) *under no obligation to be nice about it! TOFS beer & cider….and a fireman’s helmet. TOFS is a commercial enterprise for sure, but Richard & Sam like to contribute to the community too: in May, they’re hosting ‘Empty Bowls’, a charity evening in aid of The Bridge Trust. The Bridge Trust helps the homeless and so TOFS will be hosting a soup kitchen, of sorts – diners can enjoy soup from three great chefs who are giving their skills & time for free, & come away with a handmade bowl created by a local potter – The Bridge Trust receives all the profits from the evening. This may seem like a very grand gesture but for several months now, Richard & Sam have been working alongside the local council and other local businesses to ensure Tonbridge continues on its upward trend; they have good relationships with other eating places in the town (big fans of Havet) and support local ventures including May’s Tonbridge Food & Drink Festival, organised by Tonbridge Town Team. So what does the future hold? “We don’t want something on every weekend…it’s not as fresh if we do that,” explains Richard. Fear not, however, the pop-up nature of the venue is due to continue for the rest of the year at least, & Richard & Sam hope to make the beer & pizza ‘open house’ nights a more regular occurrence; something to keep us entertained whilst our anticipation builds for the big foodie players that are booked in (Justin Brown & Ben Spalding in May & June). And for diners who like the feeling of exclusivity, or want to enjoy an intimate meal with friends, they are in the midst of creating a private dining room upstairs which will seat between ten & twelve. Not every town, in fact, not many towns have a venue that can offer such a variety of events. The Old Fire Station is helping Tonbridge to gain its own identity, give it a bit of oomph, and not be the poor relation to RTW & Sevenoaks anymore. And, from what I heard, there is definitely more fun to be had there… Upcoming events Always best to check the Old Fire Station Facebook page until the new website launches (soon): https://www.facebook.com/Old-Fire-Station-531356273682618/events?key=events&ref=page_internal&qsefr=1 There are still tickets for the Empty Bowls nights (11th & 12th May) & chef Justin Brown’s 2 night residency but book quickly as they’re selling fast. I will be attending both nights so look out for reviews on those. The Cider Festival is the weekend of 20th May – cider will be accompanied by pizza made in their very own pizza oven.
Graze, Tonbridge, Feb-Mar 2016
It’s Friday night, the weekend is upon us. If you’re wondering where to dine in Tonbridge this weekend, here’s one suggestion…Graze. The Graze Kitchen & Bar is the old ‘The Castle’ pub – prime location on the big bridge, lovely views of the illuminated castle at night. Graze – looks a bit shabby on the outside but lovely on the inside; big windows at street level – not the place for a secret rendez-vous It had some bad press on opening regarding the quality of the food and service. I think some of the bad press is justified but more of that later. Graze by name, graze by nature: a tapas style menu, three dishes for £15, & there’s a really interesting variety of dishes spanning veggies, fish and meat. This allows you to eat less formally with friends, dip your chips in their sauce, fab for a girls’ night out – the Graze cocktails are also good! Graze also has a creative non-grazing menu, for want of a better term. I love the ‘wild mushroom melt’: you think it’ll be snack-ish as it’s basically egg on toast with mushrooms but it’s so much more than that! Wild Mushroom Melt – delicious! The moules in Thai broth – plentiful & a great kick to them; braised beef cheeks – tender & full of flavour; banoffee pie is, I would say, slightly deconstructed (been watching too much Masterchef obviously), so feels modern but it’s served in a retro Kilner jar, all in keeping with the décor. The kids’ menu is really good & the Graze team is very hospitable to children. The portions are large though despite being for little ones, so small children may feel overwhelmed. Now onto that bad press – the service. The staff is lovely: friendly & helpful but each time I’ve been, some aspect of the service has been slow. I’ve had to wait ages for drink service, they have taken too long to bring kids’ puds (kids getting restless etc etc), they have laboured over bringing the bill. I have given them feedback on a couple of occasions and they have reasons….. but it is a little frustrating. Having said that, I have grazed in Graze several times now despite the service. But I do need to make sure I’m in a patient state of mind when I go… Experience Ingredients I have been to Graze three times during February & March, with family and with girl friends. All those experiences contributed to this review. Some of the menus are in the Gallery or, you can find them on the Graze website.http://www.graze-kitchen.com/