The Sportsman Seasalter Review % Hold The Anchovies Please

The Sportsman, Seasalter Review

The Sportsman Seasalter review: a Michelin-starred pub by the coast, exceptional local food, relaxed atmosphere, and why it’s worth the journey there.

This was our fourth visit to The Sportsman, and it remains one of those places worth planning a journey around. Living in west London, it’s a bit of a trek, which is why we usually book one of their charming on-site huts and stay overnight. Unfortunately, Valentine’s Day planning clearly isn’t our strong suit — they were fully booked months ago. So this time, we did the round trip: around an hour and forty minutes each way.

Book a table for about 6.45pm and you can be on the road by 10pm, making for a surprisingly painless, traffic-light drive back to London.

Location, Location

There isn’t much in the immediate vicinity. Whitstable is close by, now packed with ex-Londoners chasing sea air and a cleaner conscience. Faversham Road itself is a quiet stretch of houses overlooking Whitstable Bay, with this Michelin-starred pub anchoring one end and, at the other, one of Kent’s most desirable towns, backed by a nature reserve alive with birdlife.

The Sportsman has held a Michelin star since 2008, but that alone doesn’t explain the pull. It’s been crowned Restaurant of the Year and regularly appears on “best gastropub” lists, yet none of it feels stuffy. The food is exceptional, the atmosphere relaxed — the kind of place where lingering for hours feels entirely natural.

The Room

This time, we were seated at a square wooden table with wicker chairs — hardly classic Michelin territory. We usually manage to snag the hidden nook by the dartboard (also not textbook Michelin), but it had been laid for five — a rookie mistake on our part. If you have a favourite spot, it’s worth flagging it when booking; they’re often accommodating.

Valentine’s Day Drinks

As it was Valentine’s Day, Champagne felt obligatory. We chose a perfectly pink Charles Heidsieck Rosé NV (£89.95). I should probably mention here that we were dining with our best friends — not least because they had the car.

The wine list offers genuinely good value, which feels refreshing given the quality of the food. Despite its accolades, this remains a proper pub at heart. Mr opted for a half pint of the local IPA, which he declared very good.

Half pint of local IPA at The Sportsman — Local IPA — a proper pub offering alongside Michelin-starred dishes.

Snacks & Amuse-Bouche

Things kicked off with their bread and home-churned butter sprinkled with Seasalter salt. Here’s my unsolicited advice: resist. It’s dangerously good, deeply filling, and will absolutely betray you by course four. Even the staff admit this is where most diners come undone.

Bread and home-churned butter with Seasalter salt at The Sportsman — Dangerously delicious bread and butter with Seasalter salt — a Sportsman staple.

Homemade linguine with shaved black truffle — gorgeous but served lukewarm.

Linguine with shaved black truffle at The Sportsman — Homemade linguine with shaved black truffle — gorgeous but served lukewarm.

The amuse-bouche followed: a rough-hewn digestive biscuit topped with whipped cheese, shallot and chive, alongside a small tartlet.

Amuse-bouche at The Sportsman: biscuit with whipped cheese and tartlet — Amuse-bouche: a delicate start before the main tasting courses.

Poached rock oysters with pickled cucumber and Avruga caviar were available as extras (£4 each) and also included on the menu as a course option. New season olive oil with 20-year-old balsamic vinegar (£5) was another optional addition — tempting, but risky given the bread situation.

Poached rock oysters with pickled cucumber and caviar at The Sportsman — Poached rock oysters with pickled cucumber and Avruga caviar — a taste of the sea.

First Courses

The rock oysters slipped down easily for everyone else. Oysters aren’t my thing — but judging by the reports they tasted like a clean sea breeze rather than a mouthful of saltwater, capturing a sense of place rather than just “oyster”. The cucumber cut neatly through the richness of the sauce.

An unexpected extra arrived in the form of a half egg with hollandaise, parsley and egg — a pleasing little interlude.

Half poached egg with hollandaise, parsley, and egg at The Sportsman Michelin-starred gastropub — Half poached egg with silky hollandaise and fresh parsley, served as a delicate interlude on the tasting menu at The Sportsman. The creamy yolk pairs perfectly with the subtle herb garnish, offering a light, flavorful bite that prepares the palate for the courses to come.

The poached salmon fillet with dill and pickled vegetables was a delight. Slightly warm sous-vide salmon sat alongside pickled radish, pickled romanesco, a light herb sauce and delicate dill tops.

Poached salmon fillet with dill and pickled vegetables at The Sportsman — Poached salmon with dill and pickled vegetables — delicate, perfectly cooked

The standout of the first courses was a pressed ham hock and parsley terrine with pickled walnut ketchup. A simple plate with extraordinary depth of flavour. The rough cut allowed everything to shine, and paired with a slice of sourdough toast it was perfection. The ketchup had a good bite without tipping into acidity.

Pressed ham hock and parsley terrine with pickled walnut ketchup at The Sportsman — Pressed ham hock terrine with pickled walnut ketchup — simple, but extraordinary in flavour.

The alternative on the menu was mushroom soup, which we skipped — we’d had a homemade vegetable soup earlier that would have been hard to top (honestly delicious).

Mains

Next came a choice of roast monkfish, linguine with truffle, halibut fillet, and crab with carrot and hollandaise. The only dish we didn’t order was the halibut.

The roast monkfish was exceptional. The chorizo sauce was remarkably delicate, offering more tomato warmth than spicy sausage. This was the clear winner.

Roast monkfish with chorizo sauce at The Sportsman — Roast monkfish with delicate chorizo sauce — the standout main course.

The linguine with truffle divided opinion. Beautiful homemade pasta ribbons with shaved black truffle were undeniable, but the dish arrived lukewarm and quickly lost heat, which was disappointing.

The crab meat was deliciously sweet, though somewhat overshadowed by a mound of shredded carrot that added little to the generous amount of white crab meat and delicate hollandaise.

Crab with carrot and hollandaise sauce at The Sportsman Michelin-starred gastropub. — Generous crab with delicate hollandaise and shredded carrot — a refined main course at The Sportsman.

Roasts

The next course offered cheese soufflé with rarebit sauce, roast chicken with pork and apricot stuffing and truffle cream sauce, roast pork loin with crackling and mustard sauce, and pink roast lamb with roasting juices and mint sauce.

Two chose the pork loin. I went for the chicken, which arrived as a very generous plate — not helped by the fact that I’d sampled all three breads (soda, sourdough and focaccia).

Roast pork loin with crackling and mustard sauce at The Sportsman Michelin-starred gastropub — Roast pork loin with crackling and mustard sauce — a classic, flavorful main at The Sportsman.

The poached chicken was paired with flavourful pork and apricot stuffing and, without exaggeration, the best roast potato I’ve had in years: crisp on the outside, fluffy and full of flavour within.

Roast chicken with pork and apricot stuffing at The Sportsman — Roast chicken with pork and apricot stuffing — paired with the best roast potatoes in years.

Mr opted for the lamb, perfectly pink and eaten properly with the fat, alongside a spear of broccoli. The mint sauce was the perfect finishing touch to each forkful.

Pink roast lamb with mint sauce at The Sportsman — Perfectly pink roast lamb with mint sauce — a highlight of the mains.

Pre-Dessert & Dessert

Before dessert, a pre-dessert arrived: a panacotta no bigger than a ten-pence piece. Wobbly, creamy and with the texture of a crème caramel, it was utterly divine.

Mini pannacotta pre-dessert at The Sportsman — Wobbly, creamy panacotta — the perfect prelude to dessert.

Desserts included Bramley apple soufflé with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel, passion fruit posset with Viennese whirl, dark chocolate tart with crème fraîche, and three unpasteurised cheeses (£5 supplement).

Three of us chose the apple soufflé. It was beautifully risen, though I didn’t pick up strong apple notes. The homemade vanilla ice cream was excellent, and the sweet-salty caramel sauce brought everything together.

Bramley apple soufflé with vanilla ice cream at The Sportsman — Bramley apple soufflé with vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce.

Mr chose the cheeses. Colston Bassett Stilton was definitely among them (the others escaped him), served with oatcakes and homemade malt loaf.

Cheese board with Colston Bassett Stilton, oatcakes, and malt loaf at The Sportsman. — Cheese board featuring Colston Bassett Stilton, oatcakes, and homemade malt loaf.

The Bill

Extra glasses of wine (three), half an IPA and bottled sparkling water brought the total to £534.30 for four.

The menu is a five-course tasting at £85 per person, with a discretionary 10% service charge.

Worth the journey — even without the overnight stay.

Did you read my review of Fallow?

The Sportsman Seasalter Review