FOLKESTONE WINE COMPANY, FOLKESTONE

Behind the steamed-up windows of The Folkestone Wine Company, a warm glow reveals a cosy, casual restaurant, with wooden floors and tables, and a record player quietly turning out a selection of Motown classics.

Chef David Hart has been cooking fantastic food in Kent for years, having worked alongside Stephen Harris at Michelin-starred The Sportsman in Seasalter and its sister restaurant The Granville in Canterbury. He also helped to open the well-regarded Frog and Scot in Deal. The foundation of the menu here is local Kentish produce, too, including dairy from nearby Ottinge Court Farm and fish landed just a few hundred metres away at Folkestone harbour.

Locally smoked herring was a triumph of texture and delicacy with a silky Russian salad that was simple enough to enhance the fish without stealing any of the limelight. Line-caught cod with crab bisque was beautiful in its simplicity. A rack of pork, while a little tough, came with an outstanding umami-rich charcutière sauce. Don’t skip the bread and butter, though, made in-house daily – the white bloomer and the soda bread were exceptional. Orange and almond cake was moist and buttery, and came with chocolate ice cream, the richness of which was offset by the clean acidity of crème fraîche. A cheese plate was generous, with a good mix of local and foreign. folkestonewine.com (Words by Pami Hoggatt)