“The problem with this menu”, my wife said, “is that I’d be happy to choose almost anything. I can’t make up my mind” There is no pleasing some people, but I knew what she meant and she was right. The menu at the Hotel Du Vin and Bistro in Tunbridge Wells is just right, with something for most peoples tastes, well as long as you want French Bistro type cooking at its very best. Perfect, but not cheap. Starters typically £6.50, Mains £14.50 and deserts £6.00. The décor of the Hotel in general and the dining room in particular are almost worth a visit on their own. Very quirky, very interesting. At night the restaurant and reception rooms are lit with soft light and candles generating a cosy, romantic atmosphere. During the day, especially in summer, the rooms become light, and airy. We’ve eaten at the Bistro many times since it opened and have never been let down. It manages that very rare trick of mixing excellent food, perfect professional service, with friendliness and informality. The wine waiters, who really know their stuff, treat you the same, proffering good advice and attentive service, whether one orders the most expensive bottle, or in our case an inexpensive half.

So to the food. Our starters of Spanish Serrano Ham with pickled vegetables and Smoked Salmon, were simple and proved the point, often made, that with good quality ingredients, there is no need to muck them about. Our main courses of Duck Confit and Rib-Eye Steak with Chips, were again spot on. The steak managing to be both tasty and tender and cooked exactly as requested. The chips even looked hand made. I didn’t taste the Duck, but was informed that it was first-rate. We added a green herb salad and mange toute peas, but would have had ample without these. Desserts were forced down only in the interests of research and were again faultless. As this is a Hotel, we took our coffee in one of the lounges, so we could take as long as we liked, slumped in armchairs, recovering before our journey home. With aperitifs, coffee and tip our meal for two came to a shade under £100. Costly but worth it for that special outing. So there you have it; food possibly only equalled in Tunbridge Wells for technical accomplishment by Thackeray’s. If you like good food and service, in an informal atmosphere, there are not many places between London and France to beat the Hotel du Vin and Bistro. Top Cat