A Spring Family Sunday Lunch at the Bridge Arms, Canterbury
There’s a particular alchemy required to create a new incarnation of a much-loved and acclaimed gastro pub, where you are trying to maintain award-winning standards and a staunch commitment to ingredient provenance while simultaneously providing an offering that feels like the sort of place you drop in for a Wednesday night pint and some excellent triple-cooked chips. The Bridge Arms, a 16th-century coaching inn in the village of Bridge in the rural outskirts of Canterbury that’s now under the capable stewardship of Elliot Hewitt, has, quite cleverly, mastered precisely that balance. BY SAMANTHA READY
Food imagery: Adam Ready, insideKENT
The building itself is everything one would hope for: low beams, roaring open fire and parquet floors that have witnessed centuries of Kent life. But, where previous incarnations might have leaned heavily into destination dining territory, Elliot’s approach feels deliberately more accessible – the same exceptional standards of food, the same slick service (aided by the retention of the front of house team), but with a warmth that makes you feel welcome whether you’re a regular at the bar, marking a special occasion or simply enjoying some relaxed yet refined dining with extended family.
The Readys arrived for Sunday lunch to find the dining room humming with that particular satisfying energy of a place that works for everyone: couples tucked into windowside nooks, families sprawled contently across larger tables and locals who’d clearly walked from the village. The mood was relaxed, convivial and (reassuringly) distinctly unpretentious.
Bread arrived first: Parmesan focaccia and soda bread with whipped onion butter, onion jam and crispy onions that was so good we had to restrain ourselves from filling up entirely before the meal had properly begun. Snacks of crisp hash browns followed – golden, properly seasoned; the sort of moreish dish that disappears almost immediately.
Not usually needing a starter before a Sunday roast, we were lured on this occasion by the promise of Josper-roasted scallops and rewarded with an impeccable dish of sweet yielding mollusc with that characteristic char only a Josper can achieve, all served with a bacon butter that brought savoury depth without overwhelming the scallop’s natural sweetness. We then promptly and unapologetically dunked every last morsel of bread (and the last of those divine hashbrowns) into that bacon butter such was its umami wonder.
Then came the main event. Sunday roasts here aren’t an afterthought, they’re taken seriously and are now proving so popular that the team are extending service to accommodate more diners later into the evening to cope with demand. The roast chicken with mushroom stuffing was beautifully executed, the meat still juicy beneath perfectly crisped skin. The 28-day dry-aged sirloin with horseradish cream was also a joy – perfectly medium-rare, packed with proper flavour and aged to that sweet spot where texture and taste both sing. But, it was the slow-roast pork belly with Kentish cider that stole the show: crackling that shattered satisfyingly and meat that glistened and yielded to the gentlest of pressure offset with delicious apple sauce.
All dishes arrived with the proper accompaniments – buttery swede, glossy greens, sweet carrots, roast potatoes with exteriors like shattered glass, a cauliflower cheese of dangerous richness and gravy that tied everything together with proper depth.
Dessert brought sticky toffee pudding that was properly indulgent, and a dark chocolate ganache with orange that was sophisticated without being fussy – rich and bittersweet, the citrus cut through the chocolate with beautiful freshness.
The sense here is a of a pub restaurant that knows exactly what it is: serious about provenance and technique – helmed with mastery by head chef David Gadd – but equally serious about being a place locals can actually use (and by local that catchment is actually huge – our own journey from the outskirts of Ashford was door-to-door in less than half an hour).
Perfect for cosy winter dining, the pub also shifts with the seasons. Summer will see a new terrace perfect for small plates and a crisp glass of something Kentish – Simpsons’ Wine Estate already features prominently on the list – while the plentiful garden space means children can play happily while parents linger over pudding. Additionally, with a three-course kid’s menu for only £12.95 and Howletts just five minutes away, it makes an ideal post-day out stop, too.
This new incarnation of the Bridge Arms is exactly the place Kent needs more of – it’s ambitious, accessible and unapologetically local. Acclaim is well earned, but it’s the fact you’d want to return next Sunday (and the one after that) that tells you everything you need to know.
