Off to the Counter, a new restaurant in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Britain’s most civilised, leafy postcode. This is the land of the white-linen-trousered lady of leisure, striding along the Pantiles, brunching at the Ivy, then heading off for a tootle around Fenwick followed by coffee at Basil, an independent cafe that serves the UK’s best brownies. My imaginary life as a better, glossier, more gentrified Tunbridge Wells woman would feature all of the above, perhaps even with a dachshund in my armpit, seeing as that seems obligatory round here, along with a car strewn with hair and hay.
The Counter by Robin Read recently entered this glorious fray with a tasting menu-only restaurant in an elegant, modernist, navy blue space. Gosh, this is a gorgeous room: rustic floorboards, high ceilings painted black, spotlights, peculiar art, fine cutlery and informal yet sleek, kind service. “Tasting menu-only?”, I hear you whimper. Is this one of those places where the chef keeps you hostage for hours and feeds you only small, tarted-up plates of their imagination, all hewn in heritage parsnip and hawthorn sap?
