There is something wonderfully indulgent about vineyard dining, and with so many of our Sussex vineyards majoring on using local ingredients, it’s a great way to “taste local”. And the good news is that while it’s wet and wintery outside, the Rows and Vine restaurant at Ridgeview near Ditchling now has a new indoor winter dining area that looks out over the vines and the South Downs.
Ridgeview opened their Rows and Vine outdoor dining area last year, with its fabulous roof top terrace and al fresco seating, but this new space is open through the winter and provides an answer to those soggy, windswept days when no amount of adventurous spirit will convince you to eat outside.
What’s on the menu?
The menu is made up of Tapas style sharing plates, and for those of us who haven’t quite got our heads around this as a concept, there’s someone on hand to advise and make recommendations. We started with a selection of bread with verjuice, mainly because I had not tried verjuice before.
If you haven’t come across verjuice, it’s a a mildly acidic, non alcoholic grape juice, made with grapes picked during “veraison” (the period just before they ripen). It’s a little like a mild vinegar or lemon juice substitute and it’s a great dipping sauce. The one used at Rows and Vine is made locally in Ditchling and apparently you can also use it in cocktails!
For our main course (and acting on advice) we opted for two main dishes and three sides or smalls. I am not a massive fan of either potatoes or macaroni cheese but their crispy crushed potatoes have made me a convert and their “truffle mac and Sussex cheese” is possibly the best thing I have eaten all year! Subtle tones of truffle that beautifully complements the cheese is an absolutely sublime marriage. I could eat it every single day.
Other dishes we chose included crispy fried calamari, risotto, and crab thermidor from the specials board. There was nothing that we didn’t love about this menu, which we washed down with a glass or two of the Ridgeview Cavendish sparkling wine (recommended as a good food wine).
Having been invited as guests (and because I am a little obsessed with local ingredients), I took the opportunity to grill the team about their Sussex suppliers. I’m happy to report their ice-cream is from Brighton, they use meat from Trenchmore (Cowfold) and have a number of local cheeses on the menu. Head chef, Neill Kefford, who created the menu explained that it’s been designed with the connection between winemaking and food in mind.
Neill said, “The UK, and Sussex in particular, has some of the best ingredients in the world. Ridgeview wines are a perfect example of what can be created with these ingredients, and by showcasing the wine alongside our fresh, seasonal dishes, we really think we are delivering an exceptional experience for our visitors”.
He’s right. This is really good food and we thought it was right up there as one of the best Sussex foodie experiences. And yes of course, we had dessert. It would have been rude not to.
What do you want to drink?
Don’t worry if you’re not a sparkling wine fan (what?), they also have still wines (with one from Sussex – Albourne Estate) and plenty of other Sussex drinks which include Brighton Gin, Goldstone Rum (Henfield), Silly Moo Cider (Horsham) and a number of Brighton and Lewes beers. As a B-Corp organisation they also stock drinks from other B-Corps.
Good news…20% off!
Enjoy 20% off your entire bill when dining with at Row and Vine before 31 March 2024. Simply reference ‘RV24’ when making your booking. (Please note – offer only to reservations made from Thursday to Sunday and cannot be redeemed in conjunction with any other offers or events.)
If you’ve enjoyed this post about Rows and Vine at Ridgeview, you may also like:
A Walk on Ditchling Common
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Sussex Vineyard Experiences: Rathfinny
