Author: Sylvia

Njord – Scandi Style in Pegwell

I’ve wanted to try out Njord for a while now, I mean a Scandi style place overlooking Pegwell Bay is so intriguing. So we headed out on a lovely sunny day (it’s only a few minutes away from Ramsgate by car or bus) and about a 40 mins walk if you’re feeling energetic!

Njord is in a great location on the edge off the Pegwell Bay nature reserve, it’s rather lovely inside, with a mix of comfy lounge style seating & coffee tables, dining tables with bench seating and bar stools at the window overlooking the bay. There is also some outside seating and lots of bike racks for cyclists.

The breakfast/brunch menu is mainly muffin, sourdough & croissant based dishes. We rather fancied the less conventional breakfast of Cochon Pulled Pork with Sundried Tomato & Chorizo Tapanata and Poached Kentish Free Range Eggs on a toasted English Muffin with Hollandaise sauce & chilli flakes. However they’d ran out of pork and were doing a pulled Chicken recipe instead, so we ordered that and Americano Coffees. The Coffees were served quickly and were excellent, I even had some left when the breakfast muffins arrived, the pulled chicken muffins tasted as good as they looked too, nicely spiced from the Tapanata and very filling.

Njord is also a Bar with an excellent drinks menu, lots of different brands of rum and gin is always a good sign. They also serve a few cocktails to enhance your breakfast/brunch experience.

The cakes at the Bar looked really good as well, they’re from the Beardy Baker in Canterbury so I’ll certainly be back to try those.

Attractions in the area include the aforementioned Pegwell Bay nature reserve and the Viking Ship Hugin, which is a great photo opportunity and I guess sort of in keeping with the Scandi style at Njord.

Vincent’s in Ramsgate

Vincent’s is a gem of a cafe in Ramsgate, one you would struggle to find without local knowledge. It’s located in Spencer Square in the little hut overlooking the Tennis Courts, I didn’t even realize that it had inside seating, but it does and it’s surprisingly spacious. It’s a friendly place serving good Coffee and homemade Cakes. The outside seating is on both sides of the hut, so you can also sit overlooking the rather stunning Vincent van Gogh sculpture.

Spencer Square leads into Addington Street which has a nice selection of independent shops, see the Addington Street section of the Ramsgate Shopping Guide for details.

Vincent’s is also located at the start point for the Vincent van Gogh self guided walking trail.

 

 

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Christmas Eating & Drinking – Ramsgate

Time to think about Christmas meals & party venues again. Here’s some help for those of you living in the Ramsgate area. Places open on Christmas day are highlighted. Click on a Restaurant Map icon to access it’s Christmas Menu or a Bar to check out it’s Christmas party options.

If you’re visiting Ramsgate and planning to stay local. Check out the Visit Ramsgate Website and the Maps & Trails page that covers Eating & Drinking, Tourist Attractions and Activities in Ramsgate.

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Wyatt & Jones – Broadstairs meets Barcelona

Wyatt & Jones overlooks Viking Bay and although generally I’ve found that there tends to be a negative correlation between ‘Food Quality’ and ‘Good Views’, specifically that ‘the better the view the more likely you are to be served mediocre food’. Wyatt & Jones is very much an exception to this ‘theory’.

I was especially impressed by thier small plates menu, I almost felt like I was transported to Barcelona, as I tucked in to our first plate of refreshing heritage tomatoes.

We ordered the chargrilled sourdough with potted shrimp butter, all the cold and all the hot small plates to share between 4 people, then added second plates of our favorites, the aforementioned tomatoes and a very moreish Welsh rarebit dish.

Everything we ordered was delicious, including a nice reasonably priced bottle of Viognier. The wine list had nearly all the bottles of wine available by the glass, so you could have a go at matching wines if you felt so inclined. Service was also efficient and friendly. Highly recommended.

 

UPDATE September 2023 : Restaurant has announced that it is closing. Now ’27 Harbor Street’, with same staff for more information click here.

 

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Pit Stop in Sandwich town for Le Weekend

A favourite breakfast venue of ours in Sandwich was the Beach Hut, but that was a while back and the location on Strand Street was taken over by the Smokehouse which didn’t seem to last very long, but we’d notice that there was a further change of ownership and the cafe was now called ‘The Pit Stop’. So when we made a visit to Sandwich for the ‘Le Weekend’ event, we made sure to make a pit stop and check out their breakfast offerings. They do several English breakfast variations, as well as, Omelettes, Eggs Royal, Eggs Benedict and various toast and sandwich options.

We had Breakfast 1 & 2, so between the two of us we had a nice range of quality ingredients. Nicely cooked bacon & mushrooms, plenty of black pudding & hash browns. An excellent breakfast all round and reasonably priced (just over £20 for two breakfasts & two coffees).

There is some nice outside seating, so it’s a great place to have a leisurely breakfast or brunch in the sunshine. Good service too, quick & friendly.

Le Weekend is an annual event in Sandwich where the town hosts a French Market and an Anglo- French Medieval Encampment. There is also Live Music and lots of stalls mainly in Market Street.

Several cafes (including the The Pit Stop) offer classic French menus over the weekend.

For more information see www.sandwichevents.org.uk

 

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The Cook’s Tale @The Ambrette – Canterbury

My first visit to The Cooks Tale (aka The Ambrette) in Canterbury was an absolute delight. Not only were the rather delicious cocktails half price (part of their Thirsty Thursday deal), but the food and service was really good.  I’ve eaten at the now closed Margate Ambrette several time so I knew to expect some really good, innovative Anglo-Indian dishes. The food was even better than I remembered. I had the Dosai as a main course and it was fantastic. I regret not being able to finish the huge portion as every mouthful was a treat.

One of my companions ordered Chicken Supreme. The Ambrette’s take on this classic dish was beautifully presented and thoroughly enjoyed.

It was definitely not from the same continent as the version of the dish you typically think off when you see Chicken Supreme on a menu.

My other companion ordered the Lamb Fillet, Lamb Kebab dish and was delighted with the beautifully cooked lamb.

We finished off our meal by sharing a plate of chocolate samosas.

I should also make a special mention of the lovely amuse-bouches. The rather tasty pea soup with hot buttered naan bread and the theatrically presented stuffed popodoms – so good.

We went a la carte but there are also a couple of tasting menus available (including a vegetarian one) which based on the level of cooking I experienced, are likely to be somewhat special.

They also had a pianist playing in the background which was a bit odd at first but we got used to it as he wasn’t loud enough to disrupt our conversation.

This has to be one of the best restaurants in Canterbury, I know it’s top of my list for a return visit.

 

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