Fordwich Arms

Set beside the river Stour near Canterbury, the current Fordwich Arms building dates back to 1933, when it was rebuilt after a fire. There has been a tavern of some form on the site for over 900 years. Head chef Dan Smith earned a Michelin star for the restaurant within his first year of cooking here in 2019. There is terrace seating in good weather, and the restaurant seats around 55 diners. Head chef Daniel Smith used to work at Clove Club. There was a wide range of menus, from a la carte through to a tasting menu at £110 per person, a pescetarian, vegetarian and a vegan tasting menu, a set lunch at £45 and even a pork menu. I have written previously about the wine list here.

At this meal, we started with some enjoyable canapes including a good beef tartare tartlet. The first formal course was smoked chalk stream trout jalapeno and smoked butter. The jalapeno was very restrained and for me could have been a bit more obvious, as this Hampshire-farmed trout has little flavour of its own and so really needs something to liven it up. Sea trout can have lovely flavour but farmed trout is pretty dull fare (14/20). 

Chicken liver parfait was dopped with beetroot powder and came with Sauternes sauce and warm doughnuts. The parfait had deep liver flavour and smooth texture, the doughnuts working nicely with the parfait and the earthy touch of beetroot brought some balance to the richness of the other elements (16/20).

Hake from the south coast with courgette, mussel and a buttery sauce of fino sherry. This was the best dish of the meal the hake being superbly cooked and having excellent flavour and texture. The sauce complemented it well, with the sherry cutting through the richness of the butter (17/20)

Guinea fowl from the Stour Valley came with quail leg, hen of the woods mushroom, crisp baby gem lettuce crisp and parsley sauce with a vin jaune sauce. This was a good dish, the guinea fowl being carefully cooked and the sauce having plenty of flavour. The lettuce worked well and the parsley sauce, which is potentially a very strong flavour, was well-controlled and did not unbalance the dish (16/20).

Dessert was strawberries from Kent served with fromage blanc, meringue and elderflower. This was simple but enjoyable: the strawberries were nicely ripe and their acidity enlivening the fromage blanc, while the meringue was delicate (15/20). Service was good and the bill including wine came to £195. The Fordwich Arms has a lot going for it, with its riverside location, appealing menu and very capable food.

Further reviews: 23rd Aug 2019