Restaurant Blog

London may be only an hour’s drive away, but its culture of cool bars and cocktails has yet to travel down the motorway. What passes for vibrant nightlife in a Kentish town tends to focus on the bingeing lost generation. However, the county is also blessed with some of the most ancient and picturesque country pubs in England – many so hard to find they will feel like your own personal discovery. Here you will encounter a dream team of Kentish heroes – the region is awash with brilliant microbreweries, cider makers and wineries. Be warned, you may also find yourself checking out the local house prices.

Salt marsh lamb, Whitstable oysters, apples, cherries, cheesemakers galore – the gentle landscape of the Garden of England is stuffed with artisan growers and producers. Add the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale (150 acres of orchards displaying 4,000 historic varieties), a profusion of farmers’ markets and independent food shops, and it’s obvious that Kent is no longer a place to pass through on the way to the Channel ports – it’s a place to relish, to explore. For the past decade, the county has been a magnate for talented chefs whose top priority is to promote the wealth of fantastic produce on their doorstep. With a choice ranging from Michelin stars to cheerful, budget eateries, Kent is a fabulous place to eat out.

Raymond Blanc OBE has judged the ‘sustainable fish’ category of the City of London Corporation’s Sustainable City Awards 2012, whose winners are to be announced on 1 March. A passionate campaigner for ethical food practices for nearly two decades, Blanc was a pioneer of the sustainable fish movement, and his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons was the first Michelin-rated establishment to be accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council. Square Meal asked the French chef for his take on sustainability issues in the restaurant world.

This lounge bar, a sibling to Jerome Tauvron’s ultra-chic Kensington restaurant L’Etranger (just next door), offers Franco-Japanese small plates plus a jaw-dropping array of thrilling desserts. Special wines from the Meursault region are available by the glass each week as an addendum to the huge wine list, as well as prestige Champagnes, saké and so-called ‘molecular cocktails’.

FEBRUARY 2012: Vinoteca, which has branches in Clerkenwell and Marylebone, is launching a third site this April, on Soho’s Beak Street.

Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed, who is known for his acclaimed installations, sculpture, music, dance and film, will transform Sketch’s Gallery restaurant as part of a year-long artistic project for the venue that coincides with its 10th anniversary.

FEBRUARY 2012: David Eyre, executive chef of Eyre Brothers, has been interviewed by the British Library as part of its archive of recordings to document the changing nature of food production, manufacture and consumption in 20th-century Britain. Eyre’s interview is one of 300 that have been conducted over a 10-year period. Other high-profile chefs who have contributed to the project include Albert Roux, Prue Leith, Fergus Henderson and Antonio Carluccio.

The Clapham branch of mini-chain Del’Aziz boasts an intimate ground-floor cocktail bar. Good shouts from the cocktail list include aviation no.1 (a sweet-and-sour Calvados, cassis and absinthe martini) and shanoush (cinnamon-infused tequila with pear cognac, apple juice and green grapes), while the well-stocked cellar yields some interesting finds. There’s also a decent range of beers, plus a large selection of teas and shisha.

On 1 February, Aston Martin Heritage specialist Nicholas Mee & Co opened a new west-London premises on the high street – a first for the brand. The launch party was attended by motor-industry insiders, Aston Martin customers and senior executives from within the company – with Champagne, of course, courtesy of Louis Roederer.

Karpo, with its swathes of concrete and metalwork plus specially commissioned graffiti art, takes its design inspiration from the urban neighbourhood in which it’s located. The restaurant shares its name the Greek goddess of ‘fruits of the earth’: cue a menu of bountiful dishes with an emphasis on seasonal and sustainable produce (including pickings from a rooftop veggie garden). Brit-accented puds, nibbles such as spiced lardo with toast, and a 100-bin wine list complete the picture.