How nice it is to come across somewhere new that ticks all the boxes! Having asked for suggestions earlier in the week (see my last post) I got a handful of suggestions, many of which I'd tried before, including a couple of ringing endorsements for The Stile Bridge at the bottom of Linton Hill on the way to Marden. It's well over ten years since I last visited The Stile Bridge, so I thought it was probably time to give it another try.
The Stile Bridge fronts right onto the road between Maidstone and Staplehurst in the middle of nowhere. It's a welcome sight on a cold, dark, winters night, a feeling that grows as you enter to find a roaring open fire and a busy little bar. The walls and ceilings are covered in pub, brewery and booze memorabilia, including a fine collection of miniatures in a nice old display cabinet and a collection of printed pub mirrors. There are five real ales, several unusual lagers and one cider on draught and a selection of more than forty bottled beers from which to choose. Sorry about the blurry picture, but you get the idea...
Having ordered our drinks (a pint of Horsham ale for me!) we were seated straight away in a cosy side room just off the bar. The menu was short enough to suggest minimal use of the freezer, but long enough to contain a number of unusual and interesting choices. I'd never heard of Onglet steak before, but the waitress was able to explain that it is a cut of beef taken from just behind the rib. I'll give it a try on our next visit, sounds good.
We started with deep fried brie with cranberry sauce for Liz and chicken liver parfait for me. The brie was rich and creamy, and the parfait was as light as a feather. We were off to an excellent start.
As well as a well balanced menu there were a number of specials on offer, including a pie of the day. Now, I have a real problem with what most pubs seem to think passes for a pie. (For the record, a bowl of stew with a flaky pastry lid is not a pie!) Imagine my delight, then, on being told that the special was a short crust pastry mixed game pie of generous proportions! How could I refuse? It was lovely! If I was being hyper-critical, it could have had a bit more meat inside, but it was delicious, filling and definitely a real pie. The accompanying veggies were cooked to perfection and the skin-on chips were crispy.
Liz chose the lamb leg steak with rosemary butter and roasted winter vegetables. This turned out to be a big slab of melt in the mouth lamb smothered in melted butter with a stack of mixed beetroot, potato, carrot and parsnip chips that added a lovely earthy dimension and a few unusual flavours. We also had a bowl of the best beer battered onion rings either of us had ever had to share. As it turns out, there was no need to order side dishes as the main meals were more than filling enough, but we'll certainly be ordering them again, maybe with a house special burger or freshly made pizza next time.
We both chose desserts from the specials board, in the hope that we'd manage to squeeze them in. Liz fancied the chocolate pot, which was dark, delicious, and came with a lovely little filo basket of red berries to cut through the richness. I had a blood orange posset with shortbread, mostly because I'd never had it before. It was sweet and creamy with a citrus twist, the perfect end to a very good meal.
I think it won't be long before we're back. The beer was excellent, the food was good, the staff were friendly and knowledgeable. I'm told there might even be some house brewed beer on offer soon and I'd certainly like to try that. We are very lucky here in Kent, we have a number of genuinely nice pubs that go the extra mile. This is certainly one of them.
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