Lunch at The Ole Rochester, A Wonderful Latin and Spanish Dining Experience

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”

Virginia Wolf, British writer, Essayist, and Literary pioneer Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941

I had another delightful dining experience with my daughter-in-law and granddaughter at The Ole Rochester, last week. The quaint, colorful, and inviting decor, along with the spaciousness, gave me a sense of 'home-coming' as soon as I entered. This was my second visit to Ole Rochester, and I found myself even more enamored with it this time. I love to eat in restaurants that are spacious, it offers a sense of freedom to enjoy food well. It always helps my food to digest better, without worrying about someone in close proximity, looking down my tonsils as I open my mouth to eat.

Entrance to Ole Rochester

Inside The Ole Rochester Restaurant

Inside the Ole Rochester

A fantastic playlist featuring mellow soulful tunes blended with Latin vibes provided a stunning backdrop to the experience. Music is such a wonderful energy to have around , because captures and inspires mood and emotion.

Champinones Al Ajillo.

We were shown to our seats by Dayana who looked after us on our visit. Eager to get started, as we were all incredibly hungry, we ordered drinks. I choose the traditional sangria, my daughter-in-law did as well and my grand-daughter the lemonade. I'm not very good with alcohol, so I had to make sure I sipped it slowly, trying to act gracious, prim and proper rather than downing it in one gulp and then realising that I would need a good sleep. So I sipped it for the duration of our stay. We then chose our starters Champinones Al Ajillo. Mushrooms sauteed with garlic in olive oil, white wine and fine herbs. Deee...licious. The mushrooms were almost meaty, yet tender and the white wine with fine herbs added a mouth watering savour. I had to restrain myself from asking for a slice of bread to wipe around the dish when we finished, as there was still some of the juice left, that was how yummy the dish was.

SeaFood Paella

Then for our mains my grand -daughter chose chicken nuggets and chips, very original I thought, and I was fervently praying that she would not be interested in the Seafood Paella, myself and her mother ordered, as I was very hungry and was not in the mood to share. How wrong I was about that. Even though we had to wait around 20 minutes for it to be cooked from fresh, it was so worth the wait. The Paella came, we dived in, it was just right. I've had Paella before at other restaurants and sometimes it was either not savoury enough, other times the sea food was dry, but this one was a nice balanced mix of savoury (not just salty) with a fusion of herbs, spices - the flavours worked really well. I enjoyed it so much and even though I was quite full, I challenged my greedy self to finish the whole lot off, which I did. Greed indeed is a delightful thing when you are enjoying a good dish. I could barely sit up straight afterwards, the inclination of wanting to fall facedown on the dining table was tempting, but then I had to remember, I was in Rochester and not South East London and things were done differently this side of town. And my grand-daughter true to her lingering eye on our Paella, dipped in as if she had been invited to this party. She had gulped down her chips and nuggets and then decided to help us devour our dish. Nana was not a happy Nanny.

Creme Catalana

Then Dayana asked whether we wanted desert. I smiled, or maybe it was a grimace. Could my stomach tackle any more food? Especially desert. I saw the glint in my Daughter-in-laws eye, we silently acknowledged that desert was a weak spot, but we were not prepared to acknowledge that out loud. We just nodded, like two silent ninjas on a mission, knowing that desert would be ordered and eaten before our stomachs could protest. I tried to be demure about the whole process. Casting my eye over the menu, and sighing, as if trying to convince myself that there was nothing there that I liked. I was thinking about the extra pounds I would be lugging around with my tripple belly, however, I was being a hypocrite and easily relinquished. We had a choice out of Churros, which are traditional Spanish doughnuts with chocolate sauce, Ice Cream or Sorbet, Creme Catalana - Spanish Custard flavoured with citrus and cinnamon, finished with caramelised sugar OR Tara De Queso Vasca a creamy Basque-style cheesecake served with vibrant raspberry coulis.

Tara De Queso Vasca

I was having trouble breathing by now, the choice was overwhelming. I really wanted the Churros, but my waistline kept floating across my vision. And then Dayana, looked me directly in my one good eye, and simply stated 'I think you should go for the Cheesecake because it's home made and its really very nice'. By now I was reciting part of the Lord's prayer - 'and lead me not into temptation' but Dayana and her wonderful insightfulness (NOT) and with a knowing smile (SHE KNEW SHE HAD ENTICED ME) took my order as I sheepishly looked up and said 'OKAY'.

Churros with Chocolate

My grand-daughter ordered the Churros and daughter-in-law the Creme Catalana. We all dipped into each other's desert, but I knew that I had made the best choice. After the first taste my grand-daughter fixed her greedy little stare on my Cheesecake, offering - 'Nana do you want to taste some more of my Churros? Can we do a swap'. I wanted to swipe the smile off her face, my Cheesecake meant so much to me, I wanted to eat it very, very slowly, to savour all the beautiful flavours. Call me Mean Nanny, but you have to understand, this was a cheesecake without the biscuit base but one that melted in my mouth, and then there was a a fusion of flavours, and it was creamy. I had to close my eyes as I swallowed, it was that good. The Churros too were really good, nice to the bite, not dry, not oily just right and dipped into the chocolate, heavenly. But I still didn't want to share my Cheesecake and started to feel a little pressurised, but I decided to give in and offered her a slither more, to which she sweetly smiled, stating...'if you don't want the rest....!!' I had to cut the conversation off there and then, in case I got violent, at the Ole Rochester, in Rochester. I had to keep reminding myself, I was not in South East London, and therefore not to retaliate to a 10 year old. The Cheesecake was mine, and I was not sharing anymore. The Creme Catalana, was nice with gentle yet subtle flavours, however, today I wanted to real desert, and that's what I got with my Cheesecake - the 'Tara De Queso Vasca'. I want you, the reader, to say this word out loud, to let your tongue roll over the words, 'Tara De Queso Vasca' because that is the experience I had. All in all we had a lovely time with lunch at The Ole Rochester. The atmosphere, the service, the food all created a lovely family time out. As myself and daughter-in-law waddled out of Ole Rochester, I had already imprinted on my mind, that for my next visit, I would try something different. A different main dish but for desert, it would still by my Tara De Queso Vasca cheesecake. If you are looking for a day out, with good food, in a nice environment, head to The Ole Rochester.

Traditional Sangria and Lemonade

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Juan Carlos, the Owner, for his generous hospitality. I had the honor of meeting Juan two years ago, and his hospitality and the way we were cared for then were equally outstanding.

You can also read review in the latest issue of our Music and Lifestyle Magazine, TurningPoint: Music and Lifestyle at: https://turningpointmagazine.online/summer-edition-final-2025-greatness The Ole Rocheter 47, 49 High St, The Precinct, Rochester ME1 1LP https://olerochester.com/