Places To Eat In Kent: Pomus, Folkestone

After hearing fantastic things about Pomus in Margate, when Pomus in Folkestone opened last year I automatically added it to my ‘to visit’ list, but because of one thing and another it took them inviting me for lunch last month for me to finally make it down, and now I’ve had lunch there I’m so glad that they did!

A wine bar and bottle shop focusing on small plates they have a spacious, airy dining room (though I’ve seen photos of it at night and it still manages to have a lovely after dark vibe!) and nice patio garden making it into the sort of place I love: somewhere that can suit many moods, and where you can eat as much or as little as you want.

Whilst I should note that they have an excellent selection of local Kentish wines (and not from the usual suspects, either) we fancied something European to start, going for a wonderfully crisp Italian Pecorino (excellent value at just £7 a glass) and a dry yet still fresh and fruity French orange wine. Both of them were excellent choices from the very decent by-the-glass selection.

The plates arrive as and when they’re ready, so first up from the snack section of the menu came their cucumber salad with soy sauce, chilli and a pleasant mix of nigella and sesame seeds. Fresh, crunchy, spicy and sweet it was something really simple done really well; get this!

Beautifully presented, the whipped goats cheese with grilled figs and a fig chilli jam was also a lovely dish, and unexpected as the goats cheese that had been whipped was something a lot heartier than the usual super-light cheeses that appear in dishes like this. Okay, so there were not enough crispbreads (there never are!) and the jam could have done with a little bit more of a kick, but it was still lovely and absolutely something I’d have again.

Whilst granted, they were not a patch on the ones you get in Sicily, the chickpea fritters were still lovely, crisp on the outside and tender in the middle served with crunchy pomegranate seeds and a fresh tzatziki. But, I got distracted by the shaved courgette and little gem salad with toasted pine nuts and savoury crumbs which, with my apologies for using a bit of a cliche, really was more than the sum of it’s parts.

The popcorn chicken came next: juicy, tender pieces of thigh in a super-crispy batter (any crispier and it would be dry, but it managed to stay on the right side of the line!) drizzled with honey then showered in just the right amount of spicy togarashi. Again, just the right side of being enough vs. too much, a very maxamalist approach to fried chicken.

An incredibly fresh, delicate piece of torched mackerel came next served simply with good creme fraiche, even better extra virgin olive oil, and a tangle of lightly shaved and dressed fennel with broad beans. Unlike the chicken, this was not a dish that shouted out loud; it was a lot more refined. If it happens to be on, get it.

With dessert we switched to a stunning Spanish Llopart sparkling rosé which was fruity, fresh and with just the right amount of dryness; get this with your own dessert, if you’ve not opted to pair it with your meal instead! It worked really well with the very assertive flavours of the lemon posset, topped with a compote of peach and raspberry, and a generous scattering of biscuit crumbs.

Really, I’ve been saving the best until last because we need to talk about Pomus’ parkin. Now, I want to preface this with the fact that neither of us dining usually like parkin. But because we had been invited along to Pomus to write this review, we felt that we really needed to try two different desserts. And this parkin won us both over: topped with a cream of ruby chocolate, and with a custard-like cream and more of that lovely biscuit crumb on the side it was tender yet slightly fudgy like the very best brownie, with gentle, delicate spices. It was a rich, hearty dessert that still managed to be not too much on a hot Friday afternoon, and something I need to go back to Pomus for another plate of as soon as possible.

You can book a table at either Pomus in Folkestone, Margate (either their restaurant or snack bar on the harbour arm), or their Fort Road Hotel Margate residency here!

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