Originally published in The Kent Food & Drink Guide
“Indian food has graduated beyond Chicken Tikka Masala,” head chef Dev Biswal tells me after one of the most outstanding meals I’ve had. “But a lot of restaurants don’t show that.”
The menu, like his CV, takes south-east Asia as a starting point and heads west to Kent. A key stop on the way is Dubai, where Dev worked in top hotels cooking classical French cuisine. What he does with The Ambrette is take a generous portion of Kentish ingredients – 70% of the menu is locally sourced – add a handful of Indian-inspired spices and garnish with top-tier presentation and five-star service.
Other than the food, the relaxed feel is one of the best things about The Ambrette. The waiting staff are attentive without being in your face; the tables are generously spaced, giving plenty of privacy; and you can linger for hours without being hounded out to clear the table. I tried the ten-part tasting menu, which opens, like all the meals, with a mouthful-sized portion of something seasonal, in this case, pork with pea chutney and sea spinach. Packed full of flavours, it raises my expectations for the starters, my favourite being clove-smoked wood pigeon with rosemary and cinnamon-poached peach. The peach, like the mushroom samosa my partner tries, breaks so many rules yet creates something that’s so right. This really is like tasting the world anew.
Before the mains, everyone gets an espresso cup of soup of the day. My partner finds it tricky to pick a main, but goes for grilled mutton with pickled carrots and masala potatoes, and isn’t disappointed – it almost melts on the tongue.
My tasting menu gives me two mains, hake with South Indian spices, then venison loin with spiced beetroot and pickled pears. It’s tough to pick between them, but the mung lentil kedgeree with the hake is divine, while I could happily have eaten a whole plate of the spiced beetroot.
After a shot of popping candy grenita, the desserts arrive and are just as outstanding, particularly the mango and vanilla creme brulee. I don’t need breakfast the next day, and I know when it comes to dinner, whatever I have isn’t going to get close to The Ambrette. It’s rare such quality comes at such a reasonable price, even on wine, with bottles under £20. Not to be missed.
“Indian food has graduated beyond Chicken Tikka Masala,” head chef Dev Biswal tells me after one of the most outstanding meals I’ve had. “But a lot of restaurants don’t show that.”
The menu, like his CV, takes south-east Asia as a starting point and heads west to Kent. A key stop on the way is Dubai, where Dev worked in top hotels cooking classical French cuisine. What he does with The Ambrette is take a generous portion of Kentish ingredients – 70% of the menu is locally sourced – add a handful of Indian-inspired spices and garnish with top-tier presentation and five-star service.
Other than the food, the relaxed feel is one of the best things about The Ambrette. The waiting staff are attentive without being in your face; the tables are generously spaced, giving plenty of privacy; and you can linger for hours without being hounded out to clear the table. I tried the ten-part tasting menu, which opens, like all the meals, with a mouthful-sized portion of something seasonal, in this case, pork with pea chutney and sea spinach. Packed full of flavours, it raises my expectations for the starters, my favourite being clove-smoked wood pigeon with rosemary and cinnamon-poached peach. The peach, like the mushroom samosa my partner tries, breaks so many rules yet creates something that’s so right. This really is like tasting the world anew.
Before the mains, everyone gets an espresso cup of soup of the day. My partner finds it tricky to pick a main, but goes for grilled mutton with pickled carrots and masala potatoes, and isn’t disappointed – it almost melts on the tongue.
My tasting menu gives me two mains, hake with South Indian spices, then venison loin with spiced beetroot and pickled pears. It’s tough to pick between them, but the mung lentil kedgeree with the hake is divine, while I could happily have eaten a whole plate of the spiced beetroot.
After a shot of popping candy grenita, the desserts arrive and are just as outstanding, particularly the mango and vanilla creme brulee. I don’t need breakfast the next day, and I know when it comes to dinner, whatever I have isn’t going to get close to The Ambrette. It’s rare such quality comes at such a reasonable price, even on wine, with bottles under £20. Not to be missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment