Updown

Hotels don’t come any more laid-back than this. Considered by many a ‘gorgeous place’ with its ‘magical garden’ used for drinks in fine weather, Ruth Leigh and Oliver Brown’s charmingly updated 17th-century farmhouse not far from Deal is popular for its delightful rural location and decor pitched agreeably somewhere between rusticity and an upper-crust restaurant with rooms. The dining room is separate from the main house, found across the lawn in a converted conservatory – unfussy, unpretentious and, we’re happy to report, now fully winterised. The kitchen offers a gently updated version of Italian-accented cooking which, for one mid-winter visitor, meant the richness of chicken liver pâté was beautifully matched by the sweet-sour caramelised notes of agrodolce onions, while a huge, shared T-bone steak (served with ‘immaculate’ béarnaise), was perfectly cooked ‘with just the right funk of a well-aged beast’. Other well reported meals have produced turbot with white asparagus and a silky, buttery blood-orange sauce, roast chicken with morels, and a perfect bread and butter pudding (blowtorched crust, rich custard). Sunday roasts get the highest praise – ‘almost like home-cooked’ and come with ‘sharing dishes of beautiful vegetables and a jug of gravy’. The wine choices fully live up to the ethos of the cooking, strong on Italy but not exclusively so, opening with a Sicilian red and white by the glass, carafe or bottle.

Owners Ruth Leigh and Oliver Brown lovingly converted a grade ll listed building over a number of years to create restaurant with rooms Updown Farmhouse, and their efforts have paid off. The bucolic setting of a 17th century farmhouse, set within seven and a half acres of Kent countryside, lends itself to Updown’s hyper seasonal approach to cooking with a covered outside dining area that provides visitors with an idyllic location for a long lazy lunch or intimate dinner. If the Leigh name sounds familiar it’s because Ruth is the daughter of celebrated chef and restaurateur Rowley Leigh. Alongside Brown, who founded London restaurant Duck Duck Goose, the pair have tried to keep things as simple as possible but still provide the wow factor. Everything is cooked over wood in the open kitchen with the Italian-leaning menu kept relatively tight to keep quality high. As the environment dictates, dishes are more on the rustic than refined side, with starters that could include a plate of pasta or veal carpaccio and main such as roast squab pigeon with peas and lardo; or grilled leeks with pepperonata and polenta. For those who prefer to share a larger, daily changing dish is also available. Updown’s concise Italian-focused wine list takes an equally laissez-fair approach, comprising a mix of winemakers the pair have loved for years and newer finds from smaller producers, including some local vineyards.