What Michelin say, “Characterful
beamed restaurant with contemporary oil paintings and a wood-burning stove -
one of a row of old weavers' cottages in a picturesque village. Original,
modern dishes display global influences and the occasional playful touch, and
top quality ingredients allow the natural flavours to shine through.”
The West House’s Chef/Proprietor, Graham
Garrett, has just published his autobiographical cookbook, entitled “Sex,
Drugs & Sausage Rolls” (see
here).
Rock star to Michelin star / swapping drum sticks for wooden spoons – the cheesy tag lines
write themselves, so I’m not going to bother. Instead, I’ll get to the point…
the food!
The first food to arrive was a bowl of
perfectly formed breakfast radishes with
aíoli; some fab olives and breads (sourdough and hazelnut &
raisin, including salted and pork dripping butters) – I love radishes and have
decided that a bowl like this with aíoli is how I want to start my last meal on
death row (when I’m finally caught).
At dinner, The West
House offer a tasting menu and a la carte – with an eye on the time to get
back to pick up my wife (who was on a hen do), I opted for the a la carte.
Although, after mentioning to the waiter that I particularly liked the sound of
the ‘taco’ dish from the testing menu, they kindly sent this as an extra
course.
The front of house team have mastered what I call “laidback proficiency”
– an “anything is possible” attitude without the fuss and obsequiousness which
can be the case with “fine dining”.
I started with Ajo
Blanco – a silky white gazpacho with a salt cod stuffed courgette flower. A
delightful summery dish.
Next, living up to my expectations, came the Taco – a crisp ‘taco’ shell, topped
with sticky braised duck, onion marmalade and finials of duck liver
parfait. This was finished at the table with a flurry of cured frozen foie gras. A properly
sexy dish!
For my main, I opted for the Beef – two flavoursome hunks of grilled under fillet, charred alliums,
carrots and radish came with an intense onion broth. With it’s light fluffy
texture, a particularly delightful element came in the form of a meat stuffed steamed
dumpling (think ‘baozi’).
For pud, I ordered the Tart
– a beautifully crafted work of art in a crisp pastry shell. It was filled with
a luscious elderflower crème and topped with slivers of strawberry, strawberry
sorbet and meringue. I grew up in Kent (Bexleyheath), and eating this in one of
the county’s finest restaurants triggered fond memories of summers filling punnets
at a ‘pick your own’.
I don’t get back down to Kent as much as I’d like but next time
I do, I certainly hope to return to The West House!
Follow @HungryHoss
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