If you’re anywhere near the Channel Tunnel this summer, or fancy a day out in northern Kent, I can heartily recommend Read’s of Faversham. The restaurant with rooms is now installed in a handsome manor house on the eastern fringes of this small town just off the M2 near Canterbury with its extraordinarily beautiful, and historic, cathedral (once you fight your way through the usual British bog standard retail maze to get there).
Nick will be reporting on Read’s extremely capable kitchen, and exciting kitchen garden, in the next few weeks but I thought you wine lovers might be interested in the wine list. David and Rona Pitchford have put together a very kindly priced wine list majoring on the French classics but with many a well chosen bottle from elsewhere (Tenuta Marchese Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva 2001 at £32, for example).
The claret list is long on second wines from the ripe 2000 and 2003 vintages, which should be drinking particularly well now. Ségla 2003 (second wine of Ch Rauzan Ségla) is only £32 (as I said on Time to drink up Bordeaux 2003s? on members’ forum recently), La Croix de Beaucaillou 2003 (Ducru Beaucaillou’s second wine) is £35 and Petite Eglise 2000 (second wine of Ch L’Eglise Clinet) is £40 – given away by the standards of London restaurant pricing.
I was looking at wine prices for Le Bernardin in New York recently and couldn’t help noticing the disparity between them and Read’s. I accept that this is an unfair comparison. Le Bernardin is a Michelin three-star establishment and has to pay Manhattan rents and salaries, but Read’s has held on to its Michelin star since 1992 and is now an extremely comfortable restaurant with rooms. Dom Leflaive, Clavoillon Premier Cru 2002 Puligny- Montrachet is £95 at Read’s whereas Leflaive’s Combottes and Pucelles 2002s are $600 (about £300) on the Bernardin list. Or take Trimbach, Clos Ste Hune Alsace Riesling. The 2001 (which has just taken over from the 1997) is £80 at Read’s while the 2000 is $300, or about £150 at Le Bernardin.
All of this is not to decry the Bernardin, just to encourage you to take advantage of Read’s seriously good food and wine. You can see the Read’s list in total and select your virtual lunch or dinner from www.reads.com.
Read’s Canterbury Road, Faversham ME13 8XE tel 01795 535344
Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday–Saturday inclusive.