Craig and I decided to drive over to the Tenterden branch today for lunch as we wanted to visit the nearby Chapel Down Vineyard to pick up a gift for a dear friend. We arrived at the restaurant around 1.30pm ti find the place busy but still with a few spare tables. After waiting for a few moments to be acknowledged we were shown to a table near the back of the restaurant. This area had a flagstone floor so unfortunately the table wobbled. Craig soon fixed this with a couple of folded up napkins.
A friendly waitress brought us a couple of menus and took our drinks order. The menu had changed since we were last here so we took our time deciding on what we wanted (you can view the whole menu here).
First of all we ordered a bread basket to share. I really should learn not to bother as we never eat it all but the trouble is I love bread. It was a selection of rye, rosemary, sourdough, baguette and flat bread served with french butter. I tried a piece of each and it was all nice. However the rosemary had a really heavy flour coating on the outside which made it a bit "dusty" and the baguette wasn't crisp enough.
To start we ordered 4 of the petit plats (small plates) to share. There is a choice of 11 to choose from. We had -:
Merguez (Spicy beef & lamb sausage with harissa mayonnaise)
Tapenade de Poivron (Flame-roasted red pepper tapenade with crisped flat bread )
Assiette de Porc (Slices of saucisson and cured pork loin with French bread)
Rillettes de Porc (Pulled pork pâté with French bread)
The red pepper tapenade was a surprise. I expected it to be a thick dip, however it was more like a wet salsa but it had a wonderful flavour and was delicious especially used to dip the bread into. The merguez sausage was really good and pan fried so it was served hot and cut into little slices to dip into the spicy mayo. It was all served up on a wooden platter and it was a nice starter to share.
For the main course I had a 5oz minute steak and frites. I asked for it to be cooked medium rare and that is exactly what I got. Quite often a minute steak can be tough and chewy but in this case my knife cut through it like butter. The meat had great flavour and was just the right size for lunch. The chips came with some sort of seasoning sprinkled on them. I couldn't work out what it was so I asked a waitress. She said she didn't know but had asked the chef in the past and was told that it was a secret!! I'm not sure whether I believed her to be honest and I suspect she made that up to get out of not knowing what something on the menu was. All credit to her for thinking on her feet though. The secret seasoning meant that for the first time ever I didn't put salt on my chips.
Craig had the Boeuf Bourguignon which was just right for a wet and cold day like today. It had all the classic elements to the dish, good chunks of very tender beef, baby onions, mushrooms and bacon. The sauce was thick and rich and full of flavour. It was served with green beans and creamy dauphinoise potatoes topped with Gruyère cheese. This was delicious and as one of my favourite dishes I was very jealous.
We didn't have a dessert although I had a quick look and there are some really good choices such as Lemon Tart, Creme Brulee or an assortment of 3 mini desserts.
We like Cafe Rouge at Tenderden. The staff are very attentive and we were looked after well. The food is great and there are alot of things on the vast menu that I would order. My only criticism of the place would be the cleanliness. I saw several tables and that had been relaid after people had left that still had food debris and crumbs on them. Some of the chairs also had food on them. Also the floor could do with a good sweep although I did see a waitress sweep up under a table where a child had thrown half their dinner.
I have heard rumours that Cafe Rouge is opening a branch in Maidstone and I really hope its true. If I hear anything I will update this blog.
Sharon x
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