11th June 2024
The Tunbridge Wells Mummy's Guide to the TN card: Havet Tonbridge
Address: 150-152 High Street, Tonbridge TN9 1BB
Member reward: Complimentary Prosecco or a soft drink with your meal
Opening times: 12pm - 11pm every day
Location: 10/10. Tonbridge Castle and Havet – there you have it! This is all you need to have on your agenda when visiting Tonbridge. It makes a nice day out especially as the mini railway is also there and the little (and not so little) ones absolutely love the riding the miniature trains! Situated on Tonbridge High street, Havet is a family-owned Turkish restaurant with the perfect location. It’s near enough to many of the attractions Tonbridge has on offer – the castle, the miniature railway and walks along the river Medway.
Menu: 10/10. The menu is extensive. If you like meat, this is your place. You can either mix and match mezes or go with the traditional route and order a succulent skewer of meat with a choice of rice, salad or a potato variant for an easy option. If meat is not your thing, they also have yummy vegetarian options such as vegetarian moussaka, vegetarian tagine and helim salad. Our family likes to mix and match the mezes but we always include the following: helim, kalamar, kyma borek, dolma and soslu patlican. All the food comes with baskets of traditional bread so you will have more than enough. We are usually stuffed afterwards…but somehow always find room for the delicious desserts. In terms of desserts - you can’t go wrong with any of them but my favourite was the katmer, which is pistachio and kaymak, a Turkish ‘clotted cream’, encased in wafer thin filo pastry and drizzled in sugar syrup, served warm with vanilla ice cream. Drinks wise, I am a cocktail girl and I particularly love Havet’s cocktails. This time around I tried the watermelon martini (screams summer doesn’t it?) which was very refreshing and served with watermelon sour sweetswhich I had to share with the toddler (the sweets, not the cocktail!). I also had a complimentary Prosecco thanks to my membership - thanks the TN card!
Kids menu: 8/10. The kids menu is for kids 12 and under which is actually quite good if you have older kids who can eat. You get a drink, main and 2 sides for £8.50 OR add a dessert for £10. We went for the second option for V1 and he had an apple juice that literally disappeared in seconds, fish goujons, chips, peas and carrots and two scoops of ice-cream. (V1 chose a mixture of mango sorbet and chocolate ice cream, which was delicious as mummy had to do the quality control and try it!) Obviously knowing that the ice cream was coming, it was a real struggle to get V1 to eat any of the actual food. I’d probably just get him a bowl of chips next time and not stress it too much.
Space: 10/10. The restaurant is specious and airy. What I really like about Havet is that the tables have a decent distance between them and you are not going to (accidently or not) drop an ear on next table’s conversation. Our table had enough space for a high chair and a buggy which was great. This is probably the time to mention that there are two steps when you are going to the loos. They are quite easy to miss especially if you’ve had a few drinks or you are carrying a little one with you.
Kids Facilities: 8/10. Lots of high chairs (I counted at least 6) and a separate loo with a changing table in. I’d recommend to bring your own kids entertainment as the restaurant doesn’t provide colouring sheets or pens. I volunteered my phone which was connected to the complimentary Wifi and V1 was happy watching Paw Patrol while we were sipping on cocktails.
Parking 9/10: You’d probably guess that there is no free parking around, especially as Havet is on Tonbridge high street. We parked at Lower Castle Field carpark a which is paid parking (£3.50 for 3 hours) and just a few minutes away from the restaurant anyway.
TN card reward: 10/10: Havet are really generous and give a complimentary glass of fizz or a soft drink to members when they dine in. It is always served with a smile and it's such a wonderful way to start the meal! A welcome treat for a busy mum, thank you Havet!
Written by Geri Argirova @thetunbridgewellsmummy exclusively for the TN card ©