The White Hart, Wadhurst

Sophisticated and sublime! Came here yesterday with my neighbour for lunch as we'd heard that the pub had an Italian chef. I've lived and worked in Italy and tend to find Anglicised Italian food rather bland and disappointing, but here is the real thing and it's delicious. To start with, we had a perfectly chilled Pinot Grigio with very good quality Sicilian olives which were a good omen. My neighbour had spaghetti carbonara, in the authentic Roman style, cooked without cream and using a fabulous parmesan. I had a parmigiana which melted in my mouth, accompanied by a crisp, salad of rocket and tomatoes. Our bread rolls were cooked with thyme and parmesan, warm and fresh and very tasty. My neighbour had a pudding called "sfinci" - sweet rice pudding balls cooked like little doughnuts served with a custard delicately flavoured with orange. When we enquired about the origin of this pudding, we were told it was a recipe handed down by the chef's Sicilian grandmother. My tiramisu reminded me of the good old days when I lived in Rome. Light, freshly made and sumptuous! Washed down with an espresso and so good that I think I'll come back here for my birthday!

3 Oct 2014 11:18