The Vineyard, Lamberhurst

We met our lovely friends, Wendy and James, for lunch at this pub restaurant in Lamberhurst.  What a find!  A gorgeous dark panelled dining room, a lovely spot right on the green, great beer (Doombar), beautiful wine (for the ladies!) and some really yummy food.

I had the chicken liver salad starter.  Perfectly pink livers in a well-dressed salad with grapes and walnuts.  It was delicious.  For the main both The Woo and I had a lovely ribeye steak with a blue cheese sauce.  This came with a mushroom and cherry tomato garnish and brilliantly crispy chips that must have been properly twice (or maybe even thrice!) cooked.

The other starters were James' fish platter which, he said, included probably the best prawns he had ever tasted…and this is a bloke who knows and likes his food!  My Woo's and his Woo's pigeon and wild mushroom terrine and spicy parsnip soup were both worth a mention too.

James' main was their burger.  Particularly meaty and with more of those lovely chips.  Wendy had the supreme of chicken with roast veg.  This was done specially for her as the chicken roast wasn't on the menu but it's the only meat she eats.  Kudos to The Vineyard…a proper customer focused restaurant!

On to the puds.  My Woo had the cheeseboard and this was the one disappointment of the meal.  Nice cheese but fairly bulk standard crackers with just a few grapes and none of the celery mentioned in the menu.  Mine and the other Woo's sticky toffee puddings with butterscotch sauce and ginger ice cream were lovely and James seemed very content with his chocolate and orange torte.

A long, long chat over the coffees and it was already dark by the time we left.  Time certainly flies in the right company.  We hadn't seen each other for ages and resolved to meet early in the New Year for a long dog walk and are planning a summer picnic in Kylie Campervan.

Well done The Vineyard for a great meal in a great setting and thank you Wendy and James for a lovely afternoon!