insideKENT Magazine Issue 32 - November 2014 | Page 52

FOOD+DRINK

Saltwood on the Green
Saltwood is a quaint English village in the beautiful Kentish countryside. It has a village
store, a village green, a village hall, a village pub and, perhaps surprisingly, it has a fine
dining restaurant at its centre. Or perhaps I should say, at its heart, because as I sat in
Saltwood on the Green, enjoying the view from the large window that gave me a chance
to people watch the residents of Saltwood near Hythe, I witnessed a number of people
enter the restaurant only to be greeted by name. BY LISAMARIE LAMB

It was a lovely thing to see and hear
– especially when the couple
celebrating their wedding
anniversary arrived, and the
fabulous front of house staff,
Gianpaolo and Claudia, wished
them a happy one upon arrival. It
makes a difference when you can
visit a place in which everyone
knows your name, and when the
food is good, it’s a definite bonus.
The surprise is that Saltwood on
the Green has only been open since
April, and already it’s clearly a muchloved fixture in the village.
After a truly warm welcome, my
dining partner and I had a difficult
job to do; we needed to choose a
drink. Normally a fairly simple task,
at Saltwood on the Green the
drinks’ menu isn’t just wine, beer,
and spirits. It has cocktails too, and
they all sound wonderful. I opted
for the English Orchard, since we
were in the Garden of England. This
consisted of gin, mint, lemon, sugar,

apple juice, and damsons. It tasted
as good as it sounds, with just the
right mix of fruit. My partner was
designated driver, and Gianpaolo
kindly suggested he could choose
any of the cocktails minus the
alcohol, so he went for a virgin
Mojito with ginger syrup. It was
sharp, tangy, and rather moreish.

room caught the eye, and the old
wine bottles that adorned it made
a beautiful talking point. The bar
(because this isn’t just a restaurant)
is decorated with white mouldings,
and backlit to show off the tempting
array of bottles, syrups, and glasses
on the shelves behind it. With soft
jazz playing in the background and
the buzz of conversation, Saltwood
on the Green is a friendly and
comfortable place to dine.

If you prefer a nice glass of wine
with your meal, the list is an
impressive one. In addition to
serving international wines from
around the world, the menu
champions local producers, such
Chapel Down (Tenterden) with its
offering of delectable sparkling
wines and ciders.

We started at the beginning (the
perfect place to start) of the menu
with what chef and owner, Jeff Kipp
(who trained under Gordon Ramsey
before going it alone), calls the
‘Nibbles’. These are great to share, and could be eaten instead of a starter
– although you would then miss out on some superb food. I chose the soft
pretzels with rarebit spread, and my dining partner went for the ficelle sticks
and olives. The pretzels were hand-stretched and all the better for it, arriving
at the table warm and springy. The rarebit spread had a good dollop of
mustard in it, which proved a nice kick and made this German crossover
a fiery one. The freshly baked ficelle breadsticks with their coating of herbs
complimented the olives in lemon sauce perfectly. All in all, it was a good
start to a meal that just kept getting better.

The décor in Saltwood on the Green
is calmly classic, incorporating the