The Sportsman

If you find yourself down Whitstable way, and you want to have a fantastic meal (Michelin starred no less) in a very relaxed environment (run-down looking pub) off the beaten track (in the middle of nowhere), then I can highly recommend The Sportsman.

This pub is located in Seasalter, a couple of miles from Whitstable in Kent. We trekked down from London one Friday specifically for lunch at The Sportsman, as the reviews were good, and the menu sounded even better. Make sure you pre-book. When we arrived, several groups of people were being turned away as they were fully booked.

We were given a very warm welcome and allocated a huge table for the four of us, in the main bar area. The menu was blackboard style, and the emphasis was on seafood. Service was relaxed and incredibly friendly - just place your order at the counter and your meals will be delivered when ready.

The meal started with the appearance of a large bread board with some warm foccacia and sour dough, and some tasty little olives, all complimentary. For our first course we chose the Mussel & Bacon Chowder; the Lobster Raviolo with Lobster Bisque; and the Smoked Mackerel, Bramley Apple jelly & Soda bread. The chowder was good, but the Lobster dish was amazing - so rich, creamy, delicious. Wow.

Main courses chosen were the Poached Duck Egg, new season asparagus & Seasalter ham salad (actually a starter); the Seared Thornback Ray with brown butter, split peas & sherry wine vinegar; and the Roast Monkshill Farm Pork Belly & apple sauce. The standout was the Pork Belly - the pork really melted in your mouth, and although the other dishes were excellent we all had pork-envy.

Pretty full by now, but wanting to enjoy all that The Sportsman had to offer, we shared a couple of desserts - the Warm Chocolate Mousse with salted caramel, and milk sorbet; and the Blood Orange Ice Lolly, cake-milk & Moscow Mule. The mousse was like a very thick hot chocolate and the salted caramel worked so well.

Absolutely loved our lunch at The Sportsman and have already put it back on the to-do list!