insideKENT Magazine Issue 71 - February 2018 | Page 80
FOOD+DRINK
The Wife of Bath
THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS TO ENJOY A MEAL AT THE WIFE OF BATH IN WYE, NEAR ASHFORD. YOU
MIGHT BE DRAWN TO IT BECAUSE OF THE CHEF PATRON, MARK SARGEANT, WHO IS A PROTÉGÉ OF
GORDON RAMSAY, AND WHO WON HIS FIRST MICHELIN STAR AT JUST 28. YOU MIGHT WANT TO GO
BECAUSE THE REPUTATION THAT THIS RESTAURANT HAS FOR FINE FOOD, ELEGANTLY PRESENTED AND
PERFECTED COOKED IS AN IMPRESSIVE ONE. YOU MIGHT EVEN DECIDE TO VISIT BECAUSE THE COOL,
SOOTHING DÉCOR WITH ITS POLISHED WOODEN FLOORS AND EXPOSED BRICK WALLS, ALONG WITH
THE RUSTIC FURNITURE IN THE GENEROUSLY PROPORTIONED DINING ROOM (ALL HIDDEN BEHIND
AN UNASSUMING YET ATTRACTIVE FAÇADE) APPEALS. BY LISAMARIE LAMB
The surprising thing about The Wife of Bath
is that it caters for all tastes, with tapas-style
Spanish influenced morsels, as well as a lovely
fine dining menu. We decided to try a bit of
both, and had a few smaller dishes to share
for our starter; the main would come from the
larger menu.
We chose to have fried padron peppers, Queen
Sevillano olives, crispy squid with smoked
paprika, sourdough bread, and chorizo Iberico.
It sounds like a lot (and perhaps it was!), but
that didn’t mean we couldn’t attack it with
gusto (and we did!).
There wasn’t a single low point in our
selection: seasoning was on point,
presentation was perfect, and the taste was a
combination of being transported to a
beachside bar in Spain with the added benefit
of being in a beautiful restaurant in Kent.
Spanish food with a decidedly local influence,
I’m sure we would have ordered more of the
tapas, only the main courses were calling. It
was time to move on.
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Moving across to the main menu, we browsed
for a while, debating the merits of each dish.
There was the roast chicken with chorizo,
pumpkin and broad beans to consider. There
was the pork collar with parsnip, morcilla,
charred onion and watercress to discuss. And
of course, the baked cod, tomatoes, pimento,
potato and clam dish to wonder about. The
winners, though, were the Angus beef
Albonigas with 'Dulce Y Amargo' peppers and
grilled hispi, and the lemon sole served with
shellfish and saffron broth, capers and aioli.
No choice would have been a bad one, but
the one we eventually made worked well for
us. The beef melted away, and hardly needed
to be chewed, and it was impressive just how
many flavours could come from one
mouthful. The sole was tangy but with a hint
of sweetness from the broth which offset the
salty capers just right.
Would we like dessert? Silly question, really.
We always like dessert. Now, if there is a
pudding that involves salt, I’m on it, so the
bitter chocolate tart, Sevillano olive oil and
Folkestone salt (not just salt, but local salt!) was
mine for the taking. My guest chose rice
pudding gratin with Seville marmalade. After
a truly wonderful meal, these delicious dishes
really let our taste buds in for one last treat.
The Wife of Bath is an unusual place, a mixture
of things and ideas. But when those things
and ideas come together as well as they do
here, it’s a pleasure every time.
The Wife of Bath
4 Upper Bridge Street
Wye, Ashford
TN25 5AF
01233 812232
[email protected]
www.thewifeofbath.com
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