A Sunday Lunch in the Country

Sunday Roasts are the fundamental part of every weekend. Whether they're consumed at home or in a Country Pub off the M25 they make the world a better place.

This Sunday we all popped off to The Stile Bridge just outside of Maidstone. The pub has been listed as one of the best CAMRA pubs in 2014, so expectations were high. To make things even better, the pub itself is independent, which is quite refreshing as just about every street is now littered with Wetherspoons.

Initial thoughts upon arrival were great. It was a truly traditional country pub in every sense; beer mats on the walls, different size pint glasses hanging from the ceiling and, the most exciting feature (other than the alcohol), an open roaring fire. The smell from the fire was fantastic, filling the room with that beautiful, wintery, smoky smell. Traditional pub quirks carried on throughout the restaurant, with big oak beams and bunting hanging over our heads. We had stumbled upon a great pub.

The Stile Bridge had an amazing selection of beers and gins; I opted for a pint of Whitstable Bay blonde lager, which was one of the CAMRA lagers on offer. It was great, really light with a fruity twist, and a nice change to the usual lager that I go for.

Crab Salad 

On to the food then.. after all, it's what we were there for. The Stile has an extensive but enticing menu, including a great range of specials, ranging from a duck and plum salad to artichoke soup. All 13 of us opted for the specials; I went for the crab salad, which was refreshing and light with its mayonnaise base and red onions. It was a perfect way to start the meal.

Duck and Plum Salad 

Despite the slow service our mains arrived. I had the roast beef with yorkshire pudding and seasonal vegetables. To be perfectly honest the roast wasn't the best I have ever had, the veg was a little tight as we only had two small bowls to go around 13 people. The beef was perfectly cooked but the yorkshire pudding was very heavy and not the usual fluffy goodness you would expect. Extra gravy was supplied though, which is always good as I can never get enough.

Chocolate Brownie 

Despite being full, there was room for dessert. Sticky toffee pudding, which is one of my all time favourites, was on the menu. I rejoiced, thinking this would redeem the average roast! But there was bad news. The dreaded nut. Oh how I hate it when places put nuts in their stickty toffee pudding. There was nothing else I fancied, so I sat there sulking for a bit. That got even worse, as everyone else had dessert and I ended up with food envy looking at the cheese boards, treacle tarts and brownies. They all looked amazing!

All in all the Stile Bridge was a lovely pub, and the staff were helpful and smiley. But the service was slow and the roast just didn't give me the warm fuzzy feeling that I usual get. After all, a roast is a special dish which just makes you feel amazing on a cold, wintery Sunday.

I would go back again however, just to try some more of the beers. The burgers also looked delicious and have been recommended.

Italy and the Thames

Once again I have fallen off the blogging band wagon, but I have been storing up some serious treats. Even though this is slightly outdated, Cantina del Ponte is amazing whenever you decide to go.

Situated just behind Tower Bridge the views are just as good as the food, despite how quiet the restaurant was when we arrived there was still an atmosphere, where staff were all friendly and attentive.

If you do go to Cantina for a special occasion ensure that you let them know before hand and you'll get your hands on some freebies! We had two glasses of Processco and the birthday boy had his huge Tiramisu for free too - after all the waiters came and sang "Happy Birthday"! Which was a nice surprise for him.

But most importantly THE FOOD! Cantina has never let me down on this front and this time was no different, to start I had Formaggio di capra, caponata e confettura al perperonchino (or goat cheese in filo pastry, caponata and chili jam). Light and bursting with flavour it was the perfect dish to kick of my meal.

Formaggio di capra, caponata e
confettura al perperonchino 

I often opt for the veggie option for starters as sometimes I find an all meat meal a bit too rich and then I have no room for dessert which of course is practically blasphemy!

Similarly the other starter was all a veggie option Bruschetta Alla Cantina (selection of bruschetta: tomato, olive paste) which was not only delicious but absolutely huge so if you're not too hungry I would defiantly recommend sharing.

Sometimes I find that if a restaurant is quiet then the break between courses is either too long (because they've forgotten about you) or too quick because there's no one else to serve. But the timings at Catina were pretty perfect, I never left rushed once.

Gnocchtti sardi con pesto e gamberi 

For mains of course I had pasta, I always find it bizarre when someone orders anything other than pasta at an Italian restaurant when you know it's going to be so good! Gnocchtti sardi con pesto e gamberi was the dish the finally decided on (gnocchetti sardi with basil pesto and tiger prawns) which sounds simple and like there wouldn't be much going on, on the plate but there certainly was! The pesto was homemade and nutty, the cherry tomatoes made for a juicy companion. I'm a big fan of tiger prawns so even if the plate had been full of them I still would have wanted more, nevertheless the prawns were full of flavour and juicy.

The Pappardelle al ragu' di coniglio (pappardelle, white rabbit ragu) was equally as good, it was nice to have a different type of pasta as the pappardelle is a fat, flat pasta almost like gaint spaghetti, with the tender and rice rabbit ragu it was the perfect combination.

 Pappardelle al ragu' di coniglio 

Dessert is my favourite part of the meal! But often I am left with sorbet or ice cream as sometimes many dessert menus are nut filled, which can be a bit of a bummer. But on this occasion I was fancying something fruity and light. So I opted for a classic favourite of mine - pannacotta con salsa ai fruitti di bosco - pannacotta with mixed berries- which after all the amazing food I had already eaten was a good choice as I didn't want to be too full and ruin the whole experience. The pannacotta was light and creamy and the berries tart.

pannacotta con salsa ai fruitti di bosco

As it was his birthday the second dessert was a favourite of his Tiramisu which was a huge portion, not only did the staff sing but the dessert was decorated with writing and a candle too which was a nice surprise! The Tiramisu went down a treat even if there was a slight struggle at the end due to the portion size!

Tiramisu 

Cantina del ponte is the perfect place to go whether it is for a special occasion or not the staff are always welcoming and the food is always excellent. If the sun is shining I would recommend sitting outside as the view is amazing and watching the boats drift up and down the Thames is always a nice pass time. To get an outside table during the summer it is always a good idea to book similarly for the weekend as it can get pretty busy.