On Sunday, I combined three of my favourite things, brunch, animals and family. Not only did I finally get to see my mum, in person for the first time in 18-months, but I also got to eat at the new restaurant at Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve, The Garden Room, and wander around the park afterwards to see the animals and gorgeous gardens.
The Garden Room, next door to the Port Lympne Hotel, is the first restaurant within the main reserve open to guests not visiting the park or staying in its accommodation. It is open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner daily, and brunch on Sunday. Plus, what’s amazing if you go for Sunday bunch or afternoon tea, you also have complimentary access to the animal park.
It was hard to choose to be honest between brunch and afternoon tea, you guys know how much I love finger sandwiches, tiny cakes and scones – but as it was a family get-together I thought brunch worked better. I can always do afternoon tea another time.
The Sunday brunch is a set menu, one house aperitif or smoothie, one savoury plate and one sweet plate to create the perfect brunch for £35 per person, plus don’t forget free entry into the reserve.
I was already convinced before we ate, the menu looked amazing and I loved the setting, an airy, bright and beautiful stable with a vaulted glass ceiling, mirrored walls, elegant chandeliers and cosy cushions. The only thing I wasn’t too keen on was all the fake flowers and foliage, I get it with a glass ceiling it gets pretty hot, but I just think it would have worked better with real plants to give it a true Mediterranean garden feel.
Sunday Brunch at The Garden Room, Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve
First up – house aperitif or a smoothie. You can choose between bellini, bloody mary, virgin mary or fresh juice – orange, apple or cranberry, or a carrot, orange and ginger or beetroot, kale and apple smoothie. We all went for something different, I opted for the beetroot smoothie, I know right a very healthy choice, while Paul went for a bloody mary, which he said was “really nice,” which is high praise, and my mum had a bellini that she also enjoyed.
Next picking a savoury plate. So, the savoury menu doesn’t offer much for vegetarians, which is surprising as the restaurant states that all vegetables come from its own kitchen garden. But for me, anything that has halloumi, avocado and spinach gets my vote. Plus, to be honest, I totally came for the sweet menu!!!
The Garden Room – Sunday Brunch Menu
Full savoury list to make you hungry:
Glazed pork belly, English muffin, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce
Grilled halloumi, avocado, spinach, English muffin, poached eggs
Smoked salmon, scrambled eggs, grilled focaccia
Brixham crab, avocado, butter lettuce, Walmestone tomatoes, grilled sourdough
Chicken Milanese, parsley and caper butter, Walmestone tomatoes, chips
Grilled king prawns, Cafe de Paris butter, Walmestone leaves, chips
Flat iron steak, pink peppercorn butter, chips
So, what would you go for? My mum and I went for the halloumi, I just switched out the poached eggs for scrambled and they were happy to oblige. It was a great sized portion, beautifully seasoned, just the right amount of avocado and spinach, plus the muffin was so nice. The only thing missing for me – a tomato. I love tomatoes with eggs, but I suppose this dish was supposed to have a poached egg on – so probably wouldn’t have worked as well with that.
My husband was really spoilt for choice as the only meat and seafood eater at the table. In the end, he decided on the chicken dish, which was a great sized serving and as it was with chips I think he felt it was more suitable for our 1pm sitting. What he did say was how surprised he was by the portions, he really wasn’t left hungry, and he enjoyed every last crumb.
Looking around at what everyone else in the restaurant was going for – the king prawns seemed to be a winner as did the pork belly.
Brunch should always include pancakes
The final course, the sweets, my favourite part of the whole meal – actually that’s probably true of any meal I have. It was hard to choose from the three options – buttermilk pancakes with spiced plums and maple syrup, French toast with orange marmalade and vanilla ice cream, and the chocolate brownie sundae with salted caramel.
In the end, my mum and I decided to share the pancakes and the French toast and it was a great shout as both dishes were amazing. The pancakes narrowly were my favourite, and that’s because of the delicious plums, perfectly spiced and juicy, but the orange marmalade on the French toast was spectacular and perfectly finished with the ice cream. I actually could have done two sweet courses.
Overall, I had a lovely time. I loved the setting, the service was amazing, and the food was delicious and surprisingly great portions for a set menu. We didn’t feel rushed and we all said that we returned. The afternoon tea is next on my list to try, but we looked at the dinner menu and was impressed, it has a nice mix of seafood, meat and vegetarian dishes. According to the head waiter, executive head chef Lee Edney has created a menu to celebrate the best of British cuisine using lots of local Kent produce, highlights include slow-cooked Romney Marsh lamb shoulder and glazed scallops.
After brunch go for a walk to see the Port Lympne animals
After brunch we wandered around the reserve, laughed at the antics of the gorillas, the little baby was so adorable, and then one of my favourites the lions, who of course, were snoozing in the sunshine – just like any other cat, and the black rhinos were on a stroll which was nice to see. Sadly we didn’t get to do the safari that I love at Port Lympne as that needs to be booked separately, which I didn’t know. It is an additional £6 and I will certainly add it next time to see the giraffes and zebras.
I think because you can’t easily book a table online there is no way to add on extras like a safari or any of the other experiences. To book you need to fill out the ‘request a table’ form online (scroll to the bottom of the linked page) and then someone gives you a call back to finish the booking, or try and give them a call on 01303 234 173. Be aware I had to pay upfront.
If you are looking for something to do for a birthday, anniversary, or just love brunch, then do give it a try, great value, an amazing setting, and I promise you will have an amazing day seeing the animals after you’ve eaten.
