(1) If you go to Thackeray’s House looking for a Sunday lunch of roast beef and two veg. you are going have a big disappointment. But if you are looking for technically perfect modern French cooking, and not a single duff dish in sight, you will be in Heaven. The fixed price three course menu at £22.50 with freebie starter has got to be one of the best bargains in Kent. Perhaps only exceeded in value by the fixed price weekday lunch at around £12.50. In comparison a la carte dining is for the well off or those on an expense account. Some might call the food “Nouvelle Cuisine”, but to do so conjures up visions of miniscule portions delicately arranged on huge plates. Not so at Thackeray’s. Thackeray’s gives decent sized portions, delicately arranged on medium sized plates. Without exactly quoting the menu it’s going to be hard here to do justice to food, and even the menu descriptions understated what was actually delivered. In every case presentation and content exceeded expectations. This is definitely food that few people would be capable of preparing at home.
There were four of us dining, and between us, after our taste bomb freebie starter, we tested the “Duck Salad, Three Ways", Crab and Avacado and Skate. Then we moved on to a Salmon dish, Marinated Pork Cooked three ways and Calves Liver. All perfect, but as I hinted earlier if you are looking for a portion of chips or a Yorkshire Pudding, try elsewhere. Puddings were all delicious and tasty, but not belt bustingly huge. All were washed down with a mineral water and an excellent bottle of Gigondas with coffee and petit fours all round at the end. Was everything perfect? Well almost. The restaurant was not full when we arrived and the ratio of waiting staff to customer was a little unbalanced (that makes a change in Tunbridge Wells). The enthusiasm to refill our glasses, by one waiter after another, was almost farcical. Our “driver” who was trying to make a small amount of wine go a long way, was almost having it poured through her fingers! Still once the restaurant filled up service settled down to a more reasonable pace. With the discretionary service of 12.5% added to the bill our meal for four came to a shade under £150. Top Cat
(2) AA Gill once remarked that all restaurants outside London serve "bilge" and, for a while, I tended to concur, consoling myself with the crusty traditionalism of the country pub - log fires, old dog and large blackboard.
Since moving from North London's Crouch End I have spotted a few unusual things about Tunbridge Wells. It has three pet shops but no fishmonger, getting an aubergine is almost impossible unless you go to a supermarket, cider never gets put in the fridge in the off-licence, they run out of garlic and ginger in the local Marks and Spencer but never out of party selections of vol-au-vents and little sausage rolls and people are friendly to you in the shops.
Thackeray's in Tunbridge Wells does not serve bilge, but some of the best food I have tasted in London or out. Chef Richard Phillips has an excellent pedigree having worked with the Roux brothers at Le Gavroche and as Head Chef for Marco Pierre White's Criterion and the classic and modern French combinations served here are true class.
A pre-starter, on the house, of a duck ravioli with tangy peppery broth heralded the start of almost two hours of heaven - through main courses of Roast Cod with creamy spinach, Fillet Steak with ceps, both mounted high on top of other ingredients and skittered with classic sauces. Dessert choosing was a monstrous pain as I wanted everything, settling for a Rhubarb mouse with white chocolate ice cream (shades of Le Caprice). Q had apple tarte tatin with apple ice cream and apple sorbet - absolutely fantastic.
The best place in town by a league. M
