Staying in Whitstable for a week bought me too close to the highly regarded “The Sportsman” pub (1 Michelin starred since 2008, with the site supposedly having has a pub on it since 1642) in Seasalter to ignore and a lunch time expedition from our base of operations in Whitstable was launched.

From afar it looks just a touch weatherbeaten (unsurprising, perhaps, bearing in mind the location), I thought,

but inside it is much more refined

whilst keeping an unpretentious pubby feel. 

It was certainly a welcome sight after a leisurely (past some rather opulent properties) 3.6 mile walk from Whitstable

(slightly marred by the only spot of rain we had during our week stay in Whitstable) which had rather built up the appetite and resulted in us passing on the shorter lunch menu

and opting for the more expansive 5 course (which was in fact a rather numerically deceptive description, but in a very good way) for the longer tasting menu.

I do like the fact that each major course has options, so you are not locked in to all having the exact same dishes (we diverged at various points)

As we awaited the food (with no little anticipation), we decided an aperitif was in order

Whilst tempted by the sherries, I was ultimately drawn to the vermut blanco (palamino based) and soda (£6.50).

which was a lovely refreshing number which whetted the whistle nicely with it balance of sweet and bitterness

My mum (who had joined Mrs. SF and I for the week and matched us pretty much step for step over 60 odd miles of walking – not bad when you think I am like 150!!) said the G&T (Sipsmith) she had was very good too .

First up on the food front were the snacks, which transpired to be a trio of not insubstantial amuse bouches.

The fatty smokiness of the smoked eel (I absolutely love smoked eel) was balanced by the sharpness of pickled pink onions, a horseradish cream and a nicely tart fruit (burnt apple?) puree.

A pleasing further touch of alium came for the purple flowers of the allium plant and textural contrast was provided by a piece of crisp, treacle infused, soda bread. Lovely stuff and I got two as my mum wouldn’t eat eel (anything without legs and snake like freaks her out, whereas anything on land with too many legs freaks me out).

The second amuse bouche was a cold asparagus soup topped with a milk foam

Lovely flavour to this, with that trademark earthy grassiness you get from asparagus  with a hint of sweetness. Beautifully refreshing this.

The last amuse bouche was a savoury bread pudding topped with old Winchester cheese.

Lovely tang to the cheese tempted ever so slightly by a touch of sweetness, with an almost smoothing texture to the bread and butter pudding base. Very homely, whilst still having that touch of sophistication.

Generously apportionment and flavoured, these were classy amuse bouches.

Next up was bread, with in-house churned butter,  which I don’t really regard as a course in its own right. It was very welcome, none the less.

Fantastic rosemary and sea salt focaccia was the star of the show, closely followed by black treacle infused soda bread, with (as ever) the sourdough bringing up the rear (it was actually very nice, but bested by the other two).

On to the first course, I passed on the oysters (as after nigh on a week in Whitstable I was in danger of turning into one having gorged on them all week) and the piccalilli (as part of the ham hock terrine dish) really appealed.

I enjoyed the rustic courseness of the texture to the terrine, with big chunks of nicely cured ham, but the star of the show was the accompanying piccalilli. Lovely spicing here, which added a real zing to the proceedings. Crunchy cauliflower, courgettes and onion applied with the terrine to the buttered toast made for a simple yet highly effective dish.

Mrs. SF and my mum both had the oysters,

which they said were very nice with a subtle, yet very refreshing, briney flavour with the poaching adding a meatiness and touch of sweetness. 

A buttermilk dressing and pickled cucumber added a touch of tang. The only slight disappointment was the avruga (made from herring, but not the  actual roe so not sure how it is caviar to be honest) caviar which was a bit nothingy, lacking that intense saline pop you get from real caviar. Looked nice, but it didn’t add much to the equation was my mum’s opinion of the “caviar“.

On to the fish course, my mum and I went for the slip sole ( small Dover sole, I believe) grilled in seaweed butter (a somewhat signature dish of the place, as I understand it).

This was a superb bit of precise fish cookery. The fish had that sought after need of just a bit of a nudge to shift it clean off the bone and was lightly seasoned by the salinity of the seaweed  butter which complimented the delicate buttery sweetness of the fish. A seemingly simple, yet utterly compelling dish.

Mrs. SF decided on the steamed bass in a boulabasse and green olive tapanade sauce.

Again a lovely piece of fish treated with utmost respect and an absolutely dynamite sauce that was rich with favours of the sea and having just a touch of chilli heat and anis in the mix, as well as that subtle earthiness you get from saffron. The green olive tapenade added salty tang and a touch of umami. Whilst a very different kettle of fish/dish to the rather more subtle slip sole, this was an equally good dish.

On to the mains and we certainly couldn’t complain about the portion sizes, which were very robust for a tasting menu.

I had the lamb, which was cooked with a pink interior,

and the fat nicely rendered down. 

We passed sheep grazing close to the sea as we walked to the place and this meat had that slight herbal sweetness you get from salt marsh lamb

A potato galette (unadvertised) had a nicely caramelised exterior and a soft buttery interior.

I thought it would make the dish (as part of a taster) too hefty, but there was a surprising lightness of touch here.

A sauce made from black olive infused roasting juices added a pleasing salty tanginess, which made for a rather superior alternative to mint sauce.

The only slight disappointment was the puree, which was advertised as aubergine but the green hew suggested something else (asparagus, I think, given its preponderance elsewhere on the menu).

Regardless it was just a touch lacking in flavour, I thought.  The artichoke on the other hand was very good, with an appealing nuttiness

Mrs. SF and my mum had the duck breast

which again was a fulsome portion for a tasting menu.

Cooked nicely pink, from the bit Mrs. SF allowed me, it was beautifully tender with a slight gaminess to it. My only quibble was with the fresh raspberries that came with it. I get that fruit and duck are a good match, but I thought these (very tasty) raspberries rather dominated the duck  (both Mrs. SF and my Mum disagreed with me on this).

A pre dessert looked like a creme caramel, but we were advised it was a panna cotta.

Lovely wobble to the rich creamy panna cotta, which was nicely complimented by a positive slick of a buttery (with a touch of cinder toffee) caramel.

On to the main pud event, Mrs. SF and I went for the souffle (I was told the souffle was a must order here)

and it was an absolute triumph.

Beautifully light and airy it had ballooned out of the ramakin receptical it sat in and had a delightful balance of sweet and sour with a really intense hit of  blackcurrant flavour. 

The cream cheese ice-cream added a nice rich creamy tanginess to the processing.

My mum went for the elderflower posset,

which came with an elderflower fritter.

Lovely sharp posset, with the florality of the elderflower evident but not overpowering. The fritter itself was composed of a sprig of elderflower in a  tempura like batter and loaded with sugar.

A dessert that was rather reminiscent of a glorious summer day (hopefully many of those to come) or as the Met Office now calls them (as in any mildly warm day) “Armageddon/Ragnarok“.

We finished off preceeding with a good double espresso and some rather fine (crisp exterior and a chewy interior) dark chocolate and orange macaroons

On the booze front the list is not the massive tome you get in some starred establishments, but had a nice balance to it.

Pretty reasonably priced, I thought, with the most expensive offering (fizz aside) being Contino’s Vina del Olivo 2016/19 (a very good rioja) at £109.95 (it retails at at least £60+ so a very fair mark up).

With a tasting menu, I often find a riesling a good option and the Von Buhl “Bone Dry” riesling (£37.95 on the list as against a retail price of around the £16 mark) seemed to fit the bill nicely for the front end element of the menu.

Nice easy drinking (12° adv) number this, with citrus and a hint of herbs on the nose. True to its “bone dry” moniker it was searingly dry, with a citrus zestiness on the palate and a pleasing (just a touch of) prickle on the tongue.

With my lamb, I went with the classic pairing of Rioja and a glass of CVNE Reserva 2019 (£9.50 for a 175ml glass/£37.50 a bottle, with it retailing at around £15 mark).

Old school rioja this, with ripe red berries, vanilla and coconut (from American oak) all in the mix. Worked a treat with the lamb.

The verdict

Weirdly, based on the portion sizes, I left The Sportsman feeling very pleasantly sated rather than overly full and that is a neat trick I have to say.

The food is less of a chemistry lesson and more a lesson in how to showcase top notch local  ingredients simply (less – mucking about with stuff – is often more). I would say that the cooking here is much less showy/ostentatious than many a starred establishment I have been to, and to be honest it is none the worse for it.

Services was very good. Informed, but not intrusive, with the meal very nicely paced and no effort made to dislodge us even though we were in situ. for nigh on 3 hours.

It all made for a very pleasant afternoon, with even Dick the dog chilling out.

It is the only Mitchelin starred place that I have been to in the UK that tolerates dogs and Oscar was happy to deposit himself in the corner as we ate (dogs are only allowed in the veranda rather than in the main dining area, which is more than fair enough).

I thought the bill totalling £361 (for 3, including a fair few drinks and service) was excellent value

for the quality and quantity of what we had.

Definitely a contender for my meal of the year, I would say.

If you are in the Whitstable area  I think a meal at this place is an absolute must.

It is a delightful part of the country, with us having a fab week with the rather fine weather helping immeasurably and me eating my own (not inconsiderable) body weight in oysters.

The details

Address: Faversham Road, Seasalter, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 4BP

Website: http://www.thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk

I would strongly advise booking well in advance as it was packed on the Wednesday lunchtime of our visit.