Restaurant Review: The Greathouse Pub

Hello!

Review time: in the Limelight this week, the Greathouse Pub in Hawkhurst.

Great atmosphere, based on an old English family kitchen. They've got the Aga, old wooden tables contrasted with new shiny copper-topped ones...mmm lovely. The pub is frequented by the local game-shoot and serve the shot birds in the restaurant, so local wood pigeon featured on the menu as did pheasant stew.

Food: unsurprisingly the food was delicious. My dining partner and I both shared a fish board which included various home-made fishy treats to pick at. Highlights of this was the home-cured salmon; I'll do a recipe for this later. We then both had the chicken and ham pie; my initial reaction was the usual man-reaction of "oh, it's a puff pastry top rather than a shortcrust all-rounder." God, I hate puff pastry tops. However, on this occasion I was delighted to see the lighter option as the sides it came with were behemoth, and for me to say something was generous...you get where I'm going with this. Each of the menu options had the same accompanying vegetables and from asking around the local diners, (of which there are many so make sure you book ahead) it's been that way for a while. The copper pans filled with cauliflower, carrots, mange-tout, peas and herbs were a lovely touch, great for cold weather. Everything in general was slightly underseasoned but, then again, I am a salt daemon so most people wouldn't take issue with it. 

I asked what puddings would be best, to which 3 random strangers shouted "fondant" in unison. Don't fight the law, and the intensity of the diners' eyes looked as if they'd lynch me if I didn't listen, so I did. (By the way, Republican Tea Party, you could learn from this. You know, democracy wins and all that. Just saying...) The fondant was delicious as had been foretold; the centre was as perfect as they come and the raspberry and white chocolate ice cream was a nice, if a bit rich, accompaniment. The crust of the fondant could have been crisper, some more butter and a higher temperature required to crisp it while leaving the middle in a viscous state. 

Overall the food was good, the service was okay. Unfortunately one of the waitresses was completely unintelligible and a tad grumpy so I can't rave about it as I usually would. Price wise, £50 for two people with 3 courses from a gastro pub isn't bad. It's nice for a treat but perhaps a bit expensive for a run-of-the-mill saturday. This last comment is based upon looking at the pricier menu items like the 'daily special' rump of lamb, which as far as I can tell was the exact same dish as the beef but with a cheaper meat and a heftier price-tag. Shop well and you'll get the best deal, Haddock, chips and peas coming in around the £12 mark and the Pie, chips and veg hitting in at a lowly £11.50. Give it a go if you can, the locals of Kent should be flocking to it over the coming week. You have been warned.

BenY