Lunch at the Small Holding
Tucked away in a little countryside corner of Kent, The Small Holding is a hidden gem. It would be easy to overlook on a drive-by if you weren’t in the know.
Trusting the sat nav and my friend’s reconnaissance, we made our way down winding country lanes near the small village of Kilndown.
The clue is in the name; The Small Holding. A small farm, with a restaurant, showcasing and serving simply the best in seasonal produce either grown on-site or sourced nearby.
Outside, the farm provides the fresh, homegrown produce. The decked area vantage point across the garden, farm and out across the Weald would be a delight in the summer months as the sun goes down.
On this occasion, a cold day in January, we hastily made our way inside to the welcoming warmth of the bar with its wood floors, leather sofa and a few tables, and, of course, drinks. Once inside, the bar area opens onto a small restaurant of seven or eight wooden tables. It’s welcoming, friendly, and the food smells amazing.
There is no choice to be made. No decisions about what to eat. There is only the menu: Lunch 1/2 Acre Menu. A Full Acre option is also available for longer lunches or evening meals, as well as vegetarian and vegan variations.
1/2 Acre Menu
The six-course menu started with a southern-fried oyster amuse-bouche. All the lip-smacking flavours of the colonel’s favourite in the lightest coating wrapped around a tender taste of the sea.
A fennel and pumpkin gnocchi with crispy sage leaves followed shortly after the freshly baked sourdough. Boards of warm bread with either cultured butter to spread or balsamic apple vinegar & rapeseed oil to dip. I wish I’d saved some to wipe up the sauce from the gnocchi!
For the main plates, first, a fillet of gurnard with lard-crisped skin served on a bed of finely shredded sprouts. Next, gelatinous bone marrow mashed potato with mushrooms. Then on to roast pork with crackling, roasted apple sauce and root vegetables.
To finish, rhubarb and custard. A sweet pastry ring with egg custard served with rhubarb and ginger. And finally, a selection of local cheeses to follow for those who could manage a little bite more.
The restaurant connects the farm to the kitchen to the restaurant to the customers, both with its physical location and layout, and in its approach to preparing and serving the food. With each course, a chef appears from the kitchen to explain, but not because the food particularly needs an explanation. Instead, it’s a genuine connection between the chef and the diners to give them some more information about what they’re about to eat, the ingredients, provenance or techniques as the written menu offers the barest description.
The drinks, like the food, are chosen from local producers – Curious Brew, Chapel Down and Greensand Ridge, as well as vodka from Chatham and brandy from up the road. Teas from Debonair in Hythe and coffees from Garage Coffee, a small batch roastery in Canterbury.
They brew their coffees using the V60 drip method. I had the Inza Smallholders Colombian coffee which was sweet and fruity and the perfect light cup of coffee to finish off all that food and drink. And at the point that I declared that I couldn’t eat another thing, a waiter appeared with a bowl of warm lemon and blueberry madeleines to have with our tea and coffee in the bar.
Tell me more about The Small Holding
It’s in the tiny Kent village of Kilndown. If you know Kent, that’s between Cranbrook and Tunbridge Wells, not far from Bewl Water or Bedgebury Pinetum.
After running pop-up restaurants, the Devlin brothers opened The Small Holding in April 2018. The building was an old barn, originally an outbuilding for the Globe & Rainbow pub.
“… immersive, mouth-watering journey into the heart of the Garden of England.”
The Small Holding