The Dirty Habit, Hollingbourne

Searching for something a bit different for Sunday lunch, not really in the mood for a roast on such a scorching hot afternoon, we stopped on a whim at a 13th century inn called The Dirty Habit.  Recently taken over by a small chain of gastro-pubs and given a bit of a make-over, this ultra-traditional Kentish building felt welcoming from the start.

The interior is heavily beamed and rambles a bit from room to room around a central bar.  The menu is fairly short, featuring the obligatory Sunday roast lunches and an assortment of traditional dishes very similar to those on the menu at The Farmhouse (see my earlier blog review!) with main courses from £10.50 for Dublin pie up to £24.50 for fillet of Kentish beef with all the trimmings.  

There were various lagers and three real ales on tap, two local Rother Valley Old Dairy Brewery beers and Harveys Sussex from just over the border.  I had a pint of Red Top that, although a little cloudy, was light and refreshing at just 3.8%.

Having all decided we were in the mood for a ploughman's lunch or something similar, we were delighted to see a selection of "light bites" on the menu.  Dee chose smoked haddock fish cakes with poached eggs, wilted spinach and hollandaise sauce (which was also available as a starter), while Mum and I both went for the fish deli-board.  

The deli-boards didn't look like a large portion, and were part of the light-bites section on the menu, but they proved to be surprisingly filling and neither of us managed to finish the lot!  There were some delicious smoked salmon crostini, four ramekins of such delicacies as smoked trout fillet, salmon rillette, crayfish cocktail and fresh anchovies.  I was a bit dubious about the anchovies to start with, my only previous experience of them having been on pizzas or in a caesar salad, but without all the oil and salt they were actually very nice indeed and as it turned out it was the smoked trout that proved too salty for me.  The fresh bread that came with it was soft and tasty, the perfect accompaniment.  Dee's fish cakes were large and mostly potato, but the smokey flavour from the haddock and the hollandaise sauce were enough to keep her interested.  With two poached eggs it was very filling and may be too much for some, but they kept the dish balanced.

The staff were friendly and, although they were not the quickest, got everything right.  All in all a thoroughly enjoyable lunch in a truly lovely setting.  Will we go back there again?  Yes, I'm sure we will.