Places To Eat In Kent: The Hare & Hounds, Northbourne

There is nothing I like better than a good country pub with a nice atmosphere, delicious food and great drinks. It is surprising therefore, that before a few weeks ago I had never been to The Hare & Hounds in Northbourne village in South East Kent before, because it is within walking/ cycling distance from where I live and work.

For my main course I had an absolutely to die for plate of fresh linguini with chickpeas and spinach in a fresh tomato sauce. The flavours were so fresh, and so perfect; you could taste everything on a different level from the tart spinach to the rich tomato sauce and the white wine the chickpeas were cooked in.

To start, which I was also blown away by I had Green Lipped New Zealand Mussels and Tiger Prawns  cooked in a sauce of ginger, lime, chilli and coconut cream. The dish had a complex flavour I'd never tasted before, but again all the ingredients were so fresh and I could taste them all separately on different levels.

My father had Persian Lamb Meatballs in a tomato chutney topped with emmental cheese. It looked and smelt delicious, and he assured me that it was. I don't like lamb or cheese, and the dish still looked mouthwatering!

For his main he had what I think has to be the signature feature of the pub, one of their epic burgers served in a giant foccacia bun with chunky cut homemade chips and the most crispy and flavourful homemade onion rings I have ever tasted. It was quite feat for him to get it in his mouth to be honest, but I'll be sure to be heading back there sometime soon to try out one of these bad boys!

My mother, more of a main and pudding person than a starter and main like my father and I, started her meal with a main of a fish trio including tuna, salmon and red snapper served with a teriyaki glaze and a wasabi sauce, as well as a portion of jasmine rice, which she really really enjoyed, and I would like to go back and order at some point too; it looked right up both our streets.

When we got towards the end of the meal I was rather heartbroken to be honest that I did not have any room at all for a dessert. I tried to get my mother to order what I wanted to have, so I could have a try; the White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake, but she went for the Sticky Toffee Pudding instead. I must admit, it did look rather good!


To my Kentish readers (I have got rather into Google Analytics recently and I know from my stats there are a surprising lot of you), what are your favourite country pubs for food?