Limited Edition

The historic village of Wrotham, near Sevenoaks, is the attractive setting for The Bull Hotel, writes Sarah Gordon.

The restaurant and bar first began trading in 1385 and maintains the period feel with exposed wooden beams and log fires. Old photos and pictures also highlight another part of the hotel’s history, which was a meeting place for RAF pilots in the Second World War.

Particularly popular in the summer, this venue is also perfect for cosy winter dinners. While my guest sipped on an organic beer from the award-winning Dark Star Micro Brewery in Sussex, we browsed the varied menu which changes monthly.

Starters include chicken liver parfait; Jerusalem artichoke and mushroom soup and devilled kidneys served with toast. I opted for poached pear, Roquefort and walnut salad which combined sweet and savoury flavours perfectly and was a refreshing start to the meal. My guest meanwhile, enjoyed the smoked salmon with chive crème fraiche, a true classic and a pleasure to eat when the ingredients are of such high quality.

Main courses include herb stuffed line-caught sea bass with chargrilled fennel and potato dauphinoise, Cumbrian Galloway herd fillet steak with lemon garlic butter and hand cut chips, and confit of duck and juniper red cabbage, mash and a citrus sauce. Not able to make up my mind between a number of dishes, the friendly staff recommended I tried the chargrilled lamb neck fillet with a celeriac dauphinoise, grilled cherry tomatoes, basil and pine nut sauce.

The lamb was succulent and complimented well by the celeriac dauphinoise, while the fresh taste of the tomatoes and basil balanced the dish beautifully. My guest loved his choice of venison fillet with honey roast parsnips, beetroot purée and smoked mash.

The meat was tender and the combination of flavours offered by the beetroot, mash and parsnips was subtle and had a homely feel, a real winter warmer.

The incredible variety of top quality and often locally sourced ingredients on offer was noticeable in our dishes and also throughout the menu, which offered luxurious meals at reasonable prices.

The desserts didn’t disappoint either – we opted for the mulled winter fruits and cinnamon ice cream, a rich treat which fitted perfectly with our cosy surroundings. This was a tough choice as we had also been temped by some other delicious options, namely the vanilla ice cream with honeycomb and treacle sponge with butterscotch sauce and crème anglaise.

The meal was fantastic and seemed even tastier due to the rustic surroundings and log fires keeping us warm. I shall definitely be returning, probably with my guest I tow, who summed up the meal in one word scrawled across my notepad – ‘amazing’. SARAH GORDON