insideKENT Magazine Issue 78 - September 2018 | Page 78

FOOD+DRINK
ONE POUND LANE
WITH A UNIQUE OFFERING COMBINING THE LARGEST SURVIVING CITY GATE IN THE COUNTRY,
A MUSEUM AND TOWER VIEWPOINT, A PLETHORA OF ORIGINAL RESTORED FEATURES, A WELL
CONCEIVED AND DELICIOUSLY EXECUTED TAPAS MENU, SOME RATHER TASTY AND CLEVERLY
NAMED COCKTAILS AND OFFERING MORE HISTORY THAN YOU CAN WAVE A TRUNCHEON AT,
THE INSIDEKENT TEAM WERE EAGER TO FIND OUT JUST WHAT WAS ON OFFER AT ONE POUND
LANE. BUT FIRST WE HAD TO ESCAPE IN THE TOWERS – WISH US LUCK! BY SAMANTHA READY
In a city immersed in an abundance of
history and culture, it seems only right that
one of its latest drinking and dining
establishments has arisen within the walls of
the former city 'gaol' ('jail' to us modern folk!)
and police station, complete with its own
Grade 1 listed Westgate Towers.
A sympathetic yet thoroughly contemporary
two-year refurbishment project has resulted
in a sleek, welcoming gastropub – albeit one
with private dining in former cells and the
station parade room no less, and of course
that offers its own immersive escape room
experience from within the original jail cells
of the tower.
And it was here, with the promise of the
aforementioned tapas and cocktails, that half
of the iK team found themselves full of nervous
excitement as the door clinked shut, the timer
commenced and the words “you have one
hour” echoed from the darkness!
Now, I can’t tell you too much as we wouldn’t
want to spoil the experience for the next team
of budding escapees; but to elaborate, for those
of you unfamiliar with the escape room ethos,
it’s pretty simple: you and your team, with its
designated captain, are “locked” into your
room or in some cases a series of rooms where
you must solve puzzles and clues, crack codes
and collect passwords and keys to allow you
to escape, all within a designated time limit.
Escape in the Towers has masterly designed
their own escape story based on the history
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of the jail and its original cell features, and it
is simply brilliant!
Buoyed with confidence and the promise of
a celebratory (on nearly not) cocktail or two,
the team embarked on their mission and
promptly made the most typical of escape
room mistakes: a) it’s not quite that simple
and b) we relied on assumption, and almost
failed dismally!
Fortunately with some great teamwork,
constant communication (read as shouting
at each other in increasingly desperate voices)
and some rather fast thinking, we proudly
made it out with minutes to spare!
Buzzing from our success and by the lure of
One Pound Lane’s renowned lunchtime tapas
menu, the team headed straight for a tour of
the former jail and police station. Downstairs
there are a series of cosy tables and bar stools
as well as private dining spaces in former cells,
whilst upstairs is the parade room, a unique
dining space featuring photos of former
constables and officers, with custom made
furniture and original features. We finally took
a table on the Riverside Terrace, to soak up
the afternoon sunshine as the kayaks passed
by the river below, and to toast our freedom
with a Pornstar Martini, a Convict Colada, a
Prison Rose and a Doing Thyme – clever!
And then came the tapas! Still full of team
spirit, and having built up an appetite from
our hour of mental exercise, we hungrily
divvied up crispy por