The Dirty Habit - Hollingbourne, Kent

Craig and I decided to eat out last night as the teenager was at his dads so we had some time alone.  I don't normally like to go out on a Friday night.  At the end of a long week all I want to do is cook something simple at home and watch the telly.  But it was the only evening we had free so Friday night it is.

We decided to go to The Dirty Habit in Hollingbourne.  We had eaten here once before back in November with friends.  It was a good evening so we thought we would give it another go on our own.  I booked a table via their website, which shows you all available time slots for tables.  It was very easy to use and convenient.  I hate it when you try and phone a restaurant to book a table and they never pick up the phone gggrrr.

When we arrived we were greeted by a couple of staff.  We were asked if we wanted to have a drink at the bar first or go straight to our table.  We decided to sit down straight away.  They gave us a table for two by the fire; unfortunately its also by the door which opens every time new diners arrive.  That's where we sat last time and it wasn't very pleasant due to the cold air that keeps on blowing in.  So I asked for a different table which they gave us with no hesitation.

Menus were handed over and a drinks order taken.  I'm not drinking wine at the moment so I ordered a Gin & slimline tonic.  Craig doesn't drink most of the time so a large bottle of sparkling water and a diet coke for him.

We ordered a bread selection to nibble on while we waited.  This came with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  It wasn't the most interesting selection though, two slices of white bread and two slices of brown bread. I would have preferred some Italian breads perhaps.

For my starter I ordered Ham Hock terrine with homemade piccalilli.  This is one of my favourite starters and we had it at our wedding last year so it also holds happy memories (its the only part of the wedding meal I ate).  It was beautifully presented and the slice of terrine was not to think so it didn't fill me up.

Craig had the Thai fish cakes to start.  He said they were delicious, however I thought they were both to big and a bit to cooked.  They were very dark in colour.  The sauce you can see in the photo is a sweet chili sauce.

For my main course I had the slow roast belly of pork with savoy cabbage and mashed potatoes.  I was really looking forward to this as Craig had cooked it for me and my sister the previous weekend.  While this was nice it was not a patch on Craig's.
The meat was very tender but it was a little bland.  It came with one long strip of crackling which was nice but that's the best bit of having roast pork so I would have liked a little more.  The cabbage, potato and sauce were all nice.

Craig had the Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas and Tarter sauce.  It looked fantastic.  The fish was not too big which is something I normally find when you order fish and chips.  The mushy peas were very good indeed; I tried a little bit and I wish I had had that.

We decided not to order desserts or coffee, however the dessert menu had some lovely dishes.  The chocolate brownie pudding was tempting and the banoffi pie caught Craig's eye.

The bill came to around £50 which included two G&T's, a large coke and a large bottle of sparkling water.

We really like the feel off this pub, its warm and cosy and the service is excellent.  So despite the food not being perfect we will return.