Yew Tree, Barfreston, Kent

[Harters]

We can confirm the entry in the Good Food Guide that this one will test your sat nav!

We were stopping overnight in Dover having got the ferry back from France. We’d also had a four course lunch in Calais so, perhaps, didn’t necessarily do full justice to the Yew Tree. But it was to be a good meal.

A small village gastropub with two rooms. One room pub, the other gastro. Two staff – one cooks, the others does everything else. Six tables and a short menu with about six choices at each course, with starters at around a fiver and mains in the £13 – 16 bracket.

A seasonal starter of asparagus, soft boiled egg and “English dressing” came as a cold salad with some rocket. Good concept, although the egg was cooked more than permitted dunking. English dressing was a good vinegary homemade salad cream.

The other seasonal starter was an asparagus soup. No cream to distract from the very fine flavour but a sprinkling of croutons and a drizzle of very fruity olive oil lifted it.

A main of lamb rump was cooked pink and sliced very thinly. It came with Provencal vegetables in the form of smallish dice of pepper, courgette, onion and black olive. There was a savoury but fairly indeterminate meat-based sauce. Good dish.

The other main was simplicity itself – grilled Dover sole, a few new potatoes and asparagus making another appearance.

We were too full for dessert. As mentioned a bit out of the way (perhaps not so much, if you’re familiar with the area and can ignore the sat nav) and well worth seeking out.