The Fig
★★★★ 4.6 / 5
“Small plates, big impression”
The review
Tucked away on a side street in Rye, The Fig feels like exactly the sort of place you could walk straight past without realising quite how good the food coming out of the kitchen is.
The menu is built around small plates, with influences coming from all over the place rather than sticking rigidly to one cuisine. We ordered five dishes between two, and at these prices you can comfortably get enough on the table to properly explore the menu without the bill getting silly.
The crab crumpet (£12.25) was the standout. Brown crab butter and white crab sat on a toasted crumpet with apple, chives, dill and pickled shallots. The apple brought sweetness without pushing it anywhere near dessert territory, while the pickled shallots gave it enough acidity to cut through the richness. And the crumpet was the perfect base — soaking everything up while still holding its own. 9/10.
The squash & tahini (£10.25) came ridiculously close. Roasted squash brought that deep autumn sweetness, with tahini giving the whole thing richness and roundness. Sumac pulled it back towards the savoury side, while pomegranate gave little bursts of sweetness and acidity that kept waking everything up. One of those dishes where every component seemed to have an actual reason for being there. 8.9/10.
I wasn’t expecting the beetroot & figs (£11.75) to be one of my favourites, largely because I’ve never particularly enjoyed beetroot. Apparently I just needed someone to serve it properly. Roasted rather than pickled, it had a much deeper, sweeter flavour, paired brilliantly with figs, lentils, spinach, za’atar and whipped feta. The feta was yoghurt-like enough to feel light but still carried plenty of saltiness, balancing the earthy beetroot and sweet fruit beautifully. 8/10 — and the first beetroot dish I’ve actually enjoyed.
The tuna ceviche (£13.50) was incredibly fresh and clean, with cucumber, chilli, red onion, sesame, radish, coriander and a ginger-and-lime dressing. For me, though, the acidity was just a little too dominant and the tuna became slightly lost amongst everything else. A touch more sweetness — orange immediately came to mind — could have rounded it out. I’d also love to see those flavours piled onto a crisp tostada with the tuna pushed further forward. Still very enjoyable, just not quite as balanced as the best dishes of the night. 7/10.
Finally, the harissa prawns (£13.50) were the one dish that didn’t really land for me. They were hotter than I personally enjoy, which made it difficult to pick apart much beyond prawn and harissa. That’s as much about my tolerance for chilli as the cooking, but compared with the layers of flavour elsewhere on the table, these felt comparatively straightforward. 5/10.
What really elevates The Fig, though, is everything surrounding the food. Service was impeccable — attentive and polished without becoming intrusive — and the restaurant itself has that relaxed, intimate feel that makes you want to hang around.
Then there’s the price.
Five plates and two lemonades came to £77.34 including service. Considering the quality of what arrived, that’s exceptional value. There are dishes here I’d happily have paid considerably more for without questioning it.
The Fig isn’t trying to be an elaborate special-occasion restaurant. It’s a lovely little spot serving thoughtful, genuinely interesting food at prices that make ordering half the menu dangerously easy.
And somehow, the dish that nearly stole the night was a plate of squash.
Food: 7.6/10
Service: 9.5/10
Value: 10/10
★★★★ 4.6/5
Order again? In a heartbeat, preferably with enough people to order the whole menu.