Quex Park Cafe, Canterbury

A while ago I met up with John and Ellie for a brunch in town.  There are a number of wonderful little places to go to, but I needed somewhere with parking close by so I could get in and out as quickly as possible as I was on my lunch break from work.  John and Ellie, both being teachers, had a bit more time on their hands due to the holidays so could make it a much more leisurely pursuit and planned some shopping following our catch up.

Quex have opened their most recent venture on the north end of Canterbury high street.  Located near the City wall in the old pub/bar premises that has, in most recent years, housed a number of different ventures, the re-purposed building fits the rustic and local brand of Quex perfectly.

Exposed brick work and floor boards combined with sturdy, unpretentious furniture fill this surprisingly spacious cafe which is flooded with light throughout.  You get two stunning views of the Cathedral from inside, one of which is via a picture window.  Quex boasts that this is one of the best views of the Cathedral in Canterbury and it is pretty special.  If you can book this table, do so!  Speaking of booking, I would recommend you do so where possible.  We got there just in time; minutes after we took our seats at midday the cafe filled with tourists, business people and families.  It's not surprising; the menu is fresh, tempting and ridiculously reasonably priced.

Quex have always been about excellent food, locally sourced and sustainably produced and their Canterbury venue is no different.  You know that your sausages were provided by Nick in Sandwich, the eggs come from Simon and Austin in Birchington and Derek would have prepared your fish. Knowing the names of the people who are sourcing your food is strangely comforting and so much more preferably than an anonymous chain restaurant.

I had a perfectly cooked poached egg in hollandaise sauce on a salmon fish cake (thanks Simon, Austin and Derek!), with a side salad of Rosary goat's cheese, potato and pine nuts.  These items aren't advertised together (and are probably designed as two full meals...), but complimented each other perfectly.  This was not intentional I hasten to add, I was just craving poached egg and goats cheese and this was what I ordered to get both.  It was just completely fortuitous that it worked!  I normally require tabasco on a poached egg as well, but this one was divine, it needed nothing else at all.

With the addition of a fresh orange juice (driving + going back to the office after lunch meant no alcohol), the entire meal came to £15 for me.  I couldn't finish it and didn't have dinner that night either as I was still so full.  Quex has that effect on me - their sandwiches are enormous as well!

The others also ordered big portions as they didn't want to have to cook that night.  John went for the chicken and vegetable pie with a beautifully flaky puff pastry lid which came with fluffy mashed potatoes and steamed green vegetables and Ellie had one of their sandwiches. 

Food was delicious, service was attentive and the prices are extremely reasonable.  You also have the added benefit of the miniature farmers market in the building as well, including fresh produce as well as long life items - handy for when I don't have time to go out to Birchington to get to Quex for some of the other local items I love!

Quex are renowned for their breakfasts, which are enormous (just look at the one that Steve once got his hands on), and also do student nights on Monday's.  On Thursdays they have steak night and if you fancy something a bit lighter, on Friday's they put extra fish on.  There is a traditional Sunday roast and the menu changes on a regular basis.  There is even a micro-pub in the cafe which specialises in a varied selection from the local micro breweries, including bitters, Meade, fruit gins and local vodka's, something which will excite quite a few of my friends!

Finally, if you have a Tastecard, Quex also do 2 for 1 across all courses.  I need to get my hands on one!

I really, really love this place.  It's unpretentious, amazing quality and good value.  What more could you ask for?  If you have graduation coming up I would strongly recommend you consider bringing your nearest and dearest here for a pre or post-congregations meal, and possibly some Dutch courage if you are nervous about walking up to get your certificate!

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La Trappiste

It's been a week since I'd seen Ellie and Claire.  A week.  Now that may not sound like much to you but when you are used to seeing each other at least 3 times a week this feels like an absolute age.  I'm not being melodramatic when I say that a few more hours would have resulted in palpitations and profuse sweating.  This was a friendship medical emergency and we needed to get lunch together stat.

We organised the date, I promised to do a bit of online research into where we should go (too many choices), utterly failed to make good on that promise (too much to do at work) and in the end Ellie made the decision for us.

Photo courtesy of imagekind.com

Photo courtesy of www.geograph.org.uk

La Trappiste.  Or, in, Ellie's words, the Belgian place that does nice chips.  It's an olive green cafe shaped like an scalene triangle that is sandwiched right between Chambers and The Chocolate Cafe.

La Trappiste shouldn't really work.  It's a bar, restaurant, coffee house, bakery (including bespoke celebration cakes), patisserie, breakfast joint and baking school all under one roof.  By anyone's measure that's a lot going on, and yet, somehow, it all fits.  By their own admission they are 'not just a resturant' and I get the feeling that they might be a bit insulted if you were to describe them as such!

I've heard mixed things about La Trappiste.  Some reviews have absolutely raved about it; others have described the food as mediocre and the service as less than stellar.   I've never been before so it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I made my way up the soggy highstreet one Sunday afternoon, trying to keep my umbrella the right way round (umbrella's and Canterbury don't mix.  We always tell the students not to bother and just bring a hooded coat - I don't know why I don't listen to our own words of wisdom) and wondering where on earth everybody was.  It was the last weekend in January and the city appeared deserted.  This could have been the torrential rain or the fact that most people were waiting to be paid, but it was a little eerie how quiet everywhere was.

I got a text just as I was running up the highstreet to say that the girls were upstairs in the gallery.  This space is huge, with a glass floor that you can look through to see people below in the bar (don't stand on it wearing a skirt), a huge glass ceiling that just pours light in and a terrace that acts as a suntrap in the summertime overlooking the bustling highstreet.

Decor wise.  It's...eclectic.  The life size sculpture of Botticelli's Birth of Venus hanging on the wall complete with painted toe ring, with her modesty covered by what looks like a cheap nightie bought in a charity shop and painted, was just weird.  I'm not an artist but this was just baffling.

 

The rest of the decor was along similar lines and just made me a bit puzzled.  The murals crossed greco-roman mythology and attitudes with early Christian monastic engravings, all in a tribute to beer. Downstairs felt more in keeping with the continental feel of the restaurant, with mismatched booths padded in green leather and wood fixtures.  The decor does makes you smile which I like.  The longer I sat upstairs the more I loved it.  It's nice to see somewhere where there is a ton of personality and clearly a huge amount of effort has gone into hand painting the walls.

In the toilets (what is it about Canterbury's restaurant toilets that always have the interesting features?) there are stone carved murals which have the appearance of having been uncovered and preserved.  It would have been nice to have had a bit of background information to these but alas, I could find none.  As a side note in the toilets they also have a big bag of useful things for parents with babies when they need to change them, like wet wipes and spare nappies.  It's a really thoughtful little touch - I'm not sure if they have them in the men's as well, but I would hope so (is it obvious that I work in an equality field?).  In case you were wondering, I don't normally take my camera to the toilet.  I just came out to get it when I saw the wall murals.

So anyway, enough of what the place looked like, onto the food!  First up, the drinks menu, which also gave a little bit of background to La Trappiste.  I love the fact that you can get traditional drinks like dandelion and burdock or sarsaparilla here.  It makes it feel a bit more olde worlde. 

The menu is enormous, with oysters and pigeon breast to burgers and Belgian beef stew, fish and chips, steak frites, risotto, tarts and of course mussel pots in a variety of flavour options.  Claire went for the traditional moules frites with garlic, white wine and cream.

I went for the BBQ pulled pork and cheese roll with chips and jalapeno's.

While Ellie went for a burger in a foccacio bun.  All the meals were simple, straightforward and filling with good flavours.   My pork could have done with a little more heat and the jalapeno's a little more vinegar to cut through the sweetness of the BBQ pork but it was still tasty.  Claire's mussels were fresh, plump and tasted of the sea and Ellie's burger was cooked perfectly and clearly freshly made. 

After having our scraped clean plates cleared away we then moved onto dessert from the patisserie counter.  I can't exactly remember what Ellie had but there was chocolate and raspberry mousse involved.  It was nice but again I could have done with more fruit kick and a bit more bitterness in the chocolate (I pinched a couple of forkfuls off her). I'm a bit hard to please with regards to patisserie as, to be honest, I'm not that big a fan of it (I would much rather have a hot chocolate fudge brownie or a slice of lemon tart, hence the reason I didn't order dessert and just pinched a taste of the others to try it) so I'm probably being unfair here! Claire had Coffee Choux which, I must admit was divine, and just look at that delicate piping work.  Again I only had a taste as I don't normally like cream cakes but this was lovely.

We stayed and chatted all afternoon as the rain pounded down outside until the light started to fade slightly and we realised with shock we had been sat there for coming up to three hours.  All credit to the staff, they were attentive and ensured we weren't left waiting for service without crowding us or making us feel like we had to leave.  To be honest, there was barely anyone else there so I would have been irritated if we had been forced out!  It may be different when there is greater pressure on tables.

Overall, it's not the best lunch I have ever had in Canterbury but it was also certainly not the worst by a long stretch and it was reasonably priced.   I feel a bit of a soft spot for La Trappiste.  It is quirky and has character and I like that about it.  Would I come back again?  Absolutely - I want to road test the steak and that huge beer and ale selection I spied behind the bar as we left...

Marlowe's

A triple-header birthday celebration is always a giggle and I think it is fairer for friends who know you all not to have to fork out for three different celebrations within a couple of weeks, especially now that everyone is looking to keep their costs down as low as possible.

Steve and I have birthdays a month apart.  I had completely bypassed mine with regards to a night out with friends as I had been so busy while Steve has his in just over a week.  Another friend of ours had her birthday this week so we decided to roll the three into one and make it a joint celebration.

Marlowe's is a Tex-Mex restaurant on Canterbury High Street.  Immensely popular with students and residents it is a great place for a celebration with a large group of people. It is almost the definition of 'cosy dining'.

The upstairs room is available for private party bookings.  It's a bit of a tight squeeze (and decidedly easier to get into your chair before you have eaten than it is to get out after!). If you are not that close to the people you are dining with at the start of the night, odds are you will feel much closer to them by the end!

Reasonable food, cocktails and a option to bring your own booze make it a wallet friendly night out.

The decor is loud and in your face, with a definite old vintage movie theme.  At Christmas you can barely stand up as the decorations are everywhere!

This all comes wedged into an 18C building

Food comes in enormous portions.  I had ribs and onion rings. It is all good, not spectacular but by no means bad either. It's the atmosphere that makes this place.

Desserts are even bigger.

Steve ordered the Marlowe Challenge.  A monster of cream, chocolate brownies, hot fudge sauce, maltesers, flakes and lord only knows what else.

It came out.

There was a stunned silence.

Looking more than a bit overwhelmed Mr M bravely dug in.

He managed a third.  Which was pretty impressive!

There was a lot of present opening

 And a not so subtle hint that our friends want us to hurry up and hold our BBQ again this year.

Conversation and giggles flowed as freely as the wine.  The giggles increased as the wine decreased.

Then it was time to stagger down the very steep and narrow staircase and totter off down the high street in search of a suitable watering hole to continue our celebrations.