Check in at the Chequers for breakfast

Continuing their quest for the perfect breakfast, father and son team, Paul and Matthew ventured along to one of the oldest parts of Tonbridge High Street, this morning and really came up trumps. 

I’m not talking about the orange idiot in the White House, but instead I’m referring to us unearthing one of the best breakfasts, both in terms of quality and value for money, that we’ve had in a long time.

We discovered our breakfast "Shangri-La" at the Chequers, which is one of the oldest buildings in Tonbridge. Situated near the “Big Bridge” over the River  Medway, in the shadow of Tonbridge’s ancient castle, the Chequers has quite rightly been described as "one of the finest examples of a Kentish timber-framed building that can be found today.”

It is certainly a very attractive building and its photogenic qualities mean that, after the castle, it is one of the most photographed buildings in Tonbridge. I wrote an article here, back in August 2018, so I won’t repeat it all here, but what I will say it was purely by chance that father and son ended up there on Saturday morning.

We’d walked past the Chequers on Friday evening, on our way to Tonbridge Juddians Rugby Club, for their annual winter beer and cider festival. We noticed an “A” board on the pavement outside advertising a what looked like a substantial breakfast for the principal sum of £5.95. There was also a large breakfast available for a couple of quid more.

We normally reserve our breakfast outings for Sunday mornings, but with Storm Ciara due to batter the country tomorrow, we decided to bring it forward a day. Matthew was not working this weekend, so a fairly early start saw us walking into the Chequers at around 9.30am.

We were the first people in, but the friendly landlady soon appeared to take our order and to tell us we could sit where we liked. We opted for a table to the far left of the “L” shaped bar, and before long our host re-appeared with a mug of tea for each of us, and some toast. This was Matthew’s first visit to the Chequers, so I told him a little more about the place. See previous post for details.

It wasn’t long before the chef appeared with our food, warning us the plates were very hot – always a good sign as far as I am concerned. So with three rashers of bacon, two tasty farmhouse sausages, a fried egg, tomato, hash browns, toast and black pudding, this was definitely a breakfast to keep me, at least, going until tea time.

While we were getting stuck into our breakfast, several other people came in. We noticed at least four more breakfasts being served; understandable given the keen pricing and the quality of the offering. From the questions being asked and the responses given, I had the distinct impression they were regulars at the pub.

To finish, I’ve included a photo of the pumps – this is a blog about beer after all. I wouldn’t mind betting that three is one pump too many, especially as the Chequers has never struck me as much of an ale drinkers’ pub. If I was in charge, I’d knock the Tribute on the head, leaving just the Harvey’s Best and the Proper Job to satisfy the cask crowd.

Given the pub’s proximity to home I can see the Chequers becoming a regular breakfast haunt amongst the male members of the Bailey household.  And seeing as they’ve got St Austell Proper Job on tap, I might also be tempted to pop in one evening – as long as it’s not karaoke night!