Places To Eat In Kent: The Kings Head, Wye

There is nothing like a good old pub in the British summertime, and I’ve got a newly re-launched with new owners one for you tucked away in the lovely village of Wye, conveniently located between Ashford and Canterbury. If, like me you’re one of those people who keeps a list of all the local places you want to eat, you need to add The Kings Head to that list. Thank you so much to the team for inviting us to lunch earlier in the week to sample the menu!

Located in the heart of the village, if you’re not local they’ve also got rooms if you’re looking for a convenient base to explore the area. They’ve also got a terrace to sit and eat and drink on – we only stayed inside because it was a very, very hot day and we had a small baby with us we needed to keep shaded and cool!

Starting with two lovely glasses of Simpsons local Canterbury rose (they’ve got an excellent English wine selection at The Kings Head, and I was pleased to report I really enjoyed this one – in previous years I’ve always thought Simpsons wines both too rough and too overpriced for their quality but they’re really starting to improve as their vineyard ages!) we got stuck into the starters section of the menu, which would also make great options for a light lunch.

The Halloumi Fries are good if you’ve got a big table to share with; served with a garlicky, creamy dip one or two are crisp and lovely, but after that the batter gets a bit much. A nibbly bit for a group.

However, the calamari with a zesty lemon and garlic aioli were on point, light, crisp, and very tender – get these if you want a crispy nibble all to yourself!

Our favourite starter, however, came from the specials board: a heirloom tomato salad topped with shaved fennel, generous pieces of creamy burrata and a verdant green pesto. The flavours were beautiful, good tomatoes, excellent cheese, and I can’t wait to re-create this combination at home. You know I love a good composed salad at this time of year. Okay, so enjoying this as a starter I would have not served this salad on a bed of salad leaves, but on reflection I think it is what makes it a great option as a specials dish as it can be enjoyed as a lunch on it’s own, with or without fries, rather than just as a starter. If this is on by the time you make it to The Kings Head, get this.

Moving onto our mains, there was one clear star of the menu: whatever you do, order the pan seared Folkestone hake fillet, served with perfectly cooked, plump and briny mussels, a fondant potato, crispy kale and a saffron sauce. Light, rich, and everything a good pub fish dish should be. I think the highlight of our entire meal.

However, that is not so say that if fish is not your think you can’t still eat excellently. The chicken schnitzel is good – moist and tender served with a generous amount of herb roasted potatoes, creamed spinach, and a punchy cream sauce. Also, do get a side of the excellent truffle chips, drowned in parmesan.

We were treated to the three stars of the dessert menu: I can tell you that if you love a crème brûlée the one at The Kings Head is excellent, and whilst it was not quite the weather for it, their apple crumble is good too, full of textures and flavours – sorry about the rather lacklustre photo of that one, but we were saving it for the Instagram Stories pouring shot!

The other ‘best thing we ate’ was out final dessert, a brilliantly conceived deconstructed Eton mess. What made it excellent aside from the perfectly seasonal strawberries was that instead of cream they’d gone for a yogurt with macerated strawberries folded into it, the tang creating the perfect foil for the bright fruit and the usually sickly sweet meringue. Great presentation, wonderful textures, and even better flavours.

You can book at table at The Kings Head here. Thank you so much to the team at the pub for inviting us along for lunch and for taking such good care of us – even if you did stuff us so full of food neither of us could face dinner later that evening!

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