Review: The Small Holding, Kent

Well that was foolish. Go for a seven hour hike on a blazing hot day and then try to have an evening tasting menu at 8:30. Reader, I did very nearly fall asleep in my dessert.

So I’m maybe not going to do The Small Holding justice, which is a shame because what I absolutely remember is that it’s a gorgeous little place with the most excellent “posh garden shed” atmosphere and a lot of very good food that’s right up my street. Service was friendly and excellent, and we found some spiffy natural wine options to go with.

They go big on local, seasonal, forage, ferment and pickle. It’s the kind of modern British food that hits my tastebuds just right. Why not have a starter of smoked garden peas with pea puree and a pea crispy fritter? The smoky note was an inspired one. Another starter was a crunchy

tempura oyster and caviar, given a big jolt with a friendly dose of floral vinegar on top. Lovely to crunch through and the vinegar cut nicely into the rich oyster. Scallop tartare with crispy seaweed and neat little fermented currants worked out well, very funky and creamy. This all has the feel of a kitchen that really enjoys playing with what might work.

Local chalk stream trout was a decent chunk of fish, but the star of this dish was the bright and fresh lovage foam/sauce alongside it. Nicely piggy main course, in particular the breadcrumbed pork cheek and the sturdy chunk of bacon. A bit of roast beetroot and a tangy beetrooty ketchup paired nicely. I really rather loved the pre-dessert of macerated apricots and super-herby lemon balm ice cream, even if the ice cream was only just barely set. And… yeah… I can’t remember the main dessert. What a rubbish food blogger.

The menu is £85 before drinks, and I can definitely see myself going back. The Small Holding is a very strong representative of the best kind of modern British cuisine; paying very little attention to classic French roots, focusing on quality local produce, and emphasising clean, bold, bright combinations of smoke and vinegar and ferment.