His Nibs and I were on a work stay in Kent recently and, having eaten in the hotel restaurant on our first night, were keen to stretch our wings and discover the local gastro scene. A bit of research led us to book a table at The White Horse in Bearsted, only a few miles from Village Hotel Club in Maidstone, where we were staying.
Hard to tell in the dark of winter, Bearsted looked to be a cracking little village, and The White Horse {Grade II Listed) is a real gem of a pub. The front is where the bar is located, and to the rear is a gorgeous, multi-level restaurant. I didn’t see any dogs in the bar area, but I can’t see why they wouldn’t be allowed in this space; I have looked online, but can’t see any information with regards to this, so if you do want to take your fur-kid here it’d be best to contact the team and ask.
After we confirmed our reservation, we were shown over to our [properly chunky, wooden] table and given the menu, which is really good for a gastro pub. It took us a while to decide what we fancied, but in the end we opted for a couple of ‘dishes for the table’: slow-cooked Beef Croquettes (£6.95) and Padron Peppers with a Spiced Honey, Coconut and Chilli Crumb (£5.25), followed by mains of Panzanella Salad (£13.95) with Goats Cheese added on (£3) and slow-cooked, British Pork Belly with Scallops (£23.75). I was originally going to have the Linguine with King Prawn, Crab and Ortiz Chorizo (sans Chorizo, as I didn’t fancy it), but they had run out of King Prawns, so that idea got shelved!
Whilst we were waiting for food, I had a gander at my surroundings in more detail. Patina’d wood flooring complimented the warm, Amber glow cast from the modern, wire basket light pendants. Rural charm was in abundance thanks to the wood ceiling beams and thick, wooden door frames with their ‘mind your head’ warnings. You can see all the features that contributed to it being a Grade II listed building by Historic England, and we revelled in its quirky charm. Our server was a really lovely young lady, and she was soon scampering over with our nibbles.
The trio of Beef Croquettes were huge! Daft serving three items for two people but, hey-ho, His Nibs soon got the ‘spare’ one divvied up and passed the half over to my plate. A marvellously textural coating (I assume Panko?) had been fried to golden, crispy perfection and there was no trace of oiliness left behind to mar the wonderful, rich flavour of the pulled Beef in the middle. Both of us commented that the bumpy, irregular surface of the Croquettes were more interesting to look at than their commoner, regular cousins and, when it came to dunking in the ridiculously good, Beef dripping dipping sauce (say that when you’re tipsy!), the ridges held far more of the liquid.
For the money (£5.25), we would’ve liked [and expected] more than five Padron Peppers, but that was all we got; again, daft to serve an odd number of items for an even number of diners, no? The peppers themselves had delicious, blistered skins and a sweet taste that contrasted well with the spiciness of the dressing. Such a shame to not savour more! Personally, I thought that the team had got it a bit ‘arse about face’ there should’ve been a pair of Beef Croquettes and more of the Padrons – that would’ve made an awful lot more sense.
To say it was mid-week, there were plenty of other diners in The White Horse, including a family group with children, groups without kids, and more couples like us. There was a bit more of a wait for our mains than was ideal, but we didn’t mind as we weren’t in a rush. When our mains did arrive though, we both smiled happily at their presentation; full of colour and not just plonked on the plates, these looked great.
Seriously, my Panzanella was a veritable smorgasbord of colour, taste and texture! The soaked bread formed the heart of this rustic Italian classic, with layers of Capers, Onions, Avocado, Cabbage, Carrot, Cucumber, Tomato, Salad Leaves and Herbs swirling around it. A majestic tiara of Goats Cheese rounds completed this dish and I have to say that, although it doesn’t sound the most exciting dish, it certainly captivated my palate in the taste test and satiated my appetite. Certainly this was a simple dish, but one that was beautifully executed on this occasion.
The first thing I clapped eyes on from The Man Bird’s plate was the super-crispy shard of golden Pork Crackling: that minx was gonna be mine. Popping it into my mouth, I was rewarded with possibly the loudest crunch in the universe; sorry [not sorry] to the diners in my vicinity! Meanwhile, His Nibs was cooing in delight as he chomped on impossibly tender, creamy-tasting Pork Belly meat, commenting on how silky the texture of it was. No Pork dish is complete without Apple in it, and Chef had served up a quite delightful roasted Apple Ketchup; this was thick and unctuous, with a great sweet/tart character to it that danced on the tongue.
Soft, fragrant Scallops had been cooked perfectly and their taste caressed His Nibs’ palate delicately. Crunch came via the Tenderstem Broccoli, partnered by succulently soft and sweet roasted Carrot halves and a decadent slab of Dauphinoise Potato. The unexpected star of the show (the gastro variety, not Mickey Maccy’s one!) though, was the rich gravy; the flavour in this was beyond extreme, and if they sold it by the bottle I’d buy a gallon!
We skipped pudding, as we try to do when we’re away from home, but I could’ve been tempted by the Lemon Tart. As it was, we paid the bill and drove back to the comfort of our (thankfully cooler, now that I’d had the fan on!) room in Village Hotel Maidstone. Throughout our evening at The White Horse, our server had been a star; checking back to make sure we were enjoying our food and ensuring we had enough to drink.
Hot Wings given to this ‘Nifty Nag’. To book a table call 01622 738365 or visit the website www.thewhitehorsebearsted.co.uk and hit the ‘book a table’ button. The White Horse is open 7-days-a-week: Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm, Friday 11am-11.30pm, Saturday 11am-Midnight, and Sunday 11am-10pm; obviously, food service will be shorter times, so check at the time of your booking when last service is if you plan to eat later.
