The Pig at Bridge Place

This collection of restaurants with rooms has a handful of locations dotted around the UK, and readers praise it’s “value for money” and “charming environment”. Each hotel is set inside a country manor house, and their accompanying restaurants are either deli-style joints serving up homemade snacks and sandwiches, or fully-functioning kitchens dishing out a daily-changing menu of farm-to-plate dishes.

Kick-start your meal with snacks from the ‘piggy bits’ and ‘forest bites’ sections of the menu, which could include cheese straws or honey and mustard chipolatas. From a selection of starters, you might find dishes such as lamb’s liver on toast, or perhaps smoked salmon served with pickled cucumber.

Hearty mains major in seasonal game, steaks and seafood, while puddings see modern takes on the classics – think an early grey scented chocolate torte, or lemon basil posset and shortbread. To drink, there’s a selection of wines (ask the sommelier for their recommendations) alongside Champagne, beers and gin-infused cocktails.

In 2010, the concept of The Pig began when Robin strolled into the kitchen garden of a somewhat neglected hotel near Brockenhurst in the New Forest. What caught Robin's eye was the beauty of this walled garden, even in its weedy state, standing out as a charming aspect of a place that had seen better days. It was this garden that sparked his vision for a new style of country hotel – one that embraced a homely, informal atmosphere, had a deep comfort without the pompousness of luxury, and took pride in serving unpretentious yet delicious home grown food. This vision was to be firmly rooted in the heart of the English countryside. And so, The Pig was made – a name chosen for its sociable, down-to-earth charm, perfectly aligning with a place that celebrated its ties to the countryside and the local farming communities. The Pig at Bridge Place is just under an hour away from London on the train, and found in the historic village of Bridge, a few miles south of Canterbury.

The menu starts with piggy bits, including the smoked vodka BBQ pork, smoked beetroot hummus and crispy oyster mushrooms. Starters range from the Paul's smoked cod's roe with fennel and celery sticks, and the confit bank farm chicken leg with saffron aioli and baby gem salad, to roasted boltardy beetroot with a rocket salsa and sourdough crumb. For your main, enjoy the chargrilled brogdale's pork loin with steamed greens and apple sauce, the fillet of gemini bream with lobster sauce, or the Crowborough Estate venison meatballs with Old Winchester polenta.
Clementine blancmange with preserved apricot compote, Kentish apple turnovers with Bird's custard, and The Pig's honey iced terrine with cinder toffee are included on the pudding menu, along with a trio of Kentish cheeses. If you want something to finish off, order the piggy fours and chocolarder 65% drinking chocolate.