For the last three years I have been part of a supper club. We are a group of woman who meet up once a month at a different venue in and around Maidstone for dinner. There are about 16 members with between 10 and 14 attending each event.
We try to pick a new venue each month with one of the ladies volunteering to organise. Occasionally we do a return visit to a venue we all really liked or if we cant think of anywhere new.
We also sometimes do one of the chains if there is a good voucher on at the time which can save quite a bit of money at the end of the night.
So this month I volunteered to do the organising and I suggested we go to The Horseshoes in East Farleigh . It’s somewhere that I have been going to with my husband since it opened. When I say since it opened I mean since it changed from the Brewers Fare to what it is now (a huge improvement).
As it’s only up the road from where we live its easy to pop to for a nice meal that doesn’t cost the earth. I particularly enjoy going there in the winter in the evening when the log fire is lit and there is hearty food on the menu.
So, I phoned the landlord (Paul) and booked a table for 10. This was fine but he said that as we were a large group we would need to pre order our food. After a bit of discussion he kindly agreed that we didn’t need to do this and we could order from the full menu. Fantastic. Unfortunately our numbers rose quickly to 16. This is really unusual as it’s normally between 10 and 14 of us. So I called Paul back and told him our numbers had increased and we agreed that I would get all the ladies to pre order their food from a set menu. I will be honest I was a little worried about this but once I received the menu via mail it was fine.
There was plenty to choose from including 7 starters and 7 main courses. The starters ranged from £2.60 (Home baked bread with herbs, olive oil & cabernet sauvignon vinegar) to £9.95 (Duo of baked cheeses, petit camembert & goat’s cheese brulee topped with caramelised onions served with baked breads). The main course choices ranged from £7.95 (Chefs baked fishcakes with a lemon crème fraîche and a side salad) to £15.95 (Char-grilled rib-eye steak with baked beef tomato, grated shaved horseradish, a cracked black pepper sauce and home-cut chunky chips). Drinks and desserts were ordered on the night.
So after sending out a quick email, all the ladies replied with their food choices and the list was emailed over to the pub in advance.
I had intended to arrive early but best laid plans and all that! When I did arrive several of the ladies were already there drink in hands chatting away. At this point Sam, one of the staff came over and introduced himself and checked a few details on the food order. Sam was lovely and to be honest I would go back just to have him look after us.
Our party had been seated in one of the large sections of the restaurant which we ended up having all to ourselves which was probably good for other diners as 15 ladies can get a bit loud!
So onto the food. After waiting a while as one of the ladies was delayed out came the starters.
I had the Cornish sardines on toast with a sweet pepper & fennel compote. I have never eaten sardines before but I have always liked the look of them so I decided to give them a go. And I was glad I did. They came filleted and grilled laid on a large slice of toasted baguette with some compote. Delicious. It would also have made a nice main course with a few extra sardines. The dish has inspired me to get some sardines and grill them next time we have a BBQ.
The lady opposite me had the French onion and port soup, topped with a Wensleydale cheese crouton. It was served very simply in a pottery soup dish which I think looked great against the colour of the soup. The lady eating it was pleased to discover that the onions had been properly caramelised first which is something that doesn’t always happen with this dish.
A few of the other ladies had starters but had started eating before I could get a photo but they did all look delicious. The presentation at The Horseshoes is very good. Even the individual bread boards looked great.
Starters cleared and glasses filled and it was onto the main course. Unfortunately one of the ladies had still not arrived due to a late work finish and a closed road. We carried on without her and Sam agreed to have the chef keep her meal warm.
I had the baked fishcakes with a lemon crème fraîche and a side salad. I had thought about ordering a side of chips as I didn’t think this would fill me up but I was wrong. Two good sized fishcakes and a large side salad were presented together with half a fresh lemon and a pot of the lemon crème frache. It was just enough and in the end I left some of the salad. The fishcakes themselves were very light and fluffy and seem to have been baked not fried which I loved. One of the reasons I had the fishcakes is because I follow the weight watchers plan so don’t eat fried food (too often ;-) )
A couple of ladies next to me had the Scottish salmon fillet wrapped in light filo pastry served on beetroot, baby Potatoes & wilted spinach. This was a really good dish which we all agreed was an unusual thing to see on a menu. The baby beetroot that garnished the dish looked really good as did the roasted new potatoes. They said it was lovely.
Quite a few of the ladies had the Beechwood smoked duck on a salad of mixed leaves, orange segments and diced apricots. The duck meat was really render and sliced nice and thinly so it was easy to eat. It came with the fat on which some people wont like but it wouldn’t have looked or tasted right if it had been removed. It was a big bowl of salad and along with the oranges and apricots it was a filling dish.
The last dish I managed to get a photo of before it was demolished was the Handmade burger with gherkin, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, onion
& tomato relish, topped with emmental cheese and bacon, served with chips. Again, a really nice dish even though not all the chips got eaten.
After the main course was over the plates were cleared away and pudding menus produced. There was a choice of ten puddings plus a cheese plate for those who like something savoury at the end of a meal.
Its at this point that I always wish A) I wasn’t doing weight watchers and B) I wasn’t dairy intolerant. It makes the puddings and cheese a no go area for me. Luckily several of the ladies ordered puddings so that I could take some photos.
First of all the best pudding of the night, The pudding sharer platter which consisted of two chunks of chocolate brownie which was cooked to perfection (squidgy on the inside, crusty on the outside), a bowl of Eton mess (berries, meringues, cream, all mixed together), two slices of new York cheesecake and a bowl of chocolate mousse topped with a dollop of clotted cream. This was for two people to share but it could easily serve four. It looked amazing and the little mouthful of brownie I had was to die for.
The other puddings ordered were Eton mess, Treacle & Ginger tart with clotted cream and Lemon meringue pie with berry coulis. They all looked fabulous and plates were cleared so they must have been good.
Coffee all round was ordered and the evening was declared a success. The bill was requested and including service charge and drinks worked out to £25 a head which is not bad at all. I believe quite a few of the supper club ladies will be returning in the future.
If you haven’t been to The Horseshoes I recommend you give it a go. They do special nights like Fridays Fish Suppers and Thursday Grill night. They also do Sunday roast platters to share. There is a lovely garden to sit out in on a hot day with a drink.
Sharon x
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