Rochester Restaurant Guide

A “seriously dramatic room” plays host to meals in the restored 1873 pump house at Chatham’s historic dockyard on the Medway, which has been converted into a distillery and restaurant by Bob Russell and his sons Matthew & Stephen. Top Menu Tip – “amazing roasts on Sundays”.

This “independently owned and managed” old village inn “in a lovely setting” has been thoroughly stripped out and modernised, providing a comfortable venue for an upbeat menu that features oysters, Cornish caviar and a 500kg Chateaubriand steak to share.

2021 Review: “Huge portions” of “good wholesome food” make this “cheap and cheerful” Gallic outfit serving bistro classics “amazing value for money”. There’s a good selection of “fine wines”, but the place is “very noisy indeed”.

A “small but perfectly formed” converted stable block that was initially part of the adjoining inn. It is all “about fish”, of which they have a “lovely selection”, best rounded off with one of the “excellent” puds.

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

Focused on sustainability (and to a certain extent on veganism), John Lawson’s small spot has won attention (including a recent visit with a TV crew and Michel Roux) for his “amazing” cooking, served in a tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings (with lunch service also available on those days and Thursday). One local fan approves “many delicious meals eaten here”.

Sawdust floors and shelves of wine for sale add to the atmosphere of this ‘Wine Merchant & Dining Rooms’ – a Dickensian-style space that’s been a linchpin of the town’s eateries since 1976. It continues to win consistent support for its traditional fare, and is well-suited to business lunches.

2022 Review: Darren Bennett’s stalwart, serving up creative modern British cooking (including a well-regarded afternoon tea) “continues to be reliable in all respects”, whether you stop to take advantage of the set menus or its popular side act as a wedding and events venue.

2023 Review: “Very busy steak-centric restaurant” (part of a chain owned by pub giant Mitchells & Butlers) that is one of the more commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll in the poorly served ’burbs to the south east of the metropolis. The food is “reliable”, “without being exceptional” and – notwithstanding some blips regarding service and management generally – this can be a “reasonable” destination in the locale.

2023 Review: An “excellent find” – this “friendly and professional” yearling boutique hotel/restaurant serves a short menu of “delicious and well-presented food”. There’s good generosity of spirit here: “we were given turbot when they ran out of cod!”

“Notably creative dishes chosen for flavour not curiosity” are the hallmark of this community-owned village pub operated by a remarkably young team headed by ex-Goring Hotel chef Alex Yates, 25, and his younger sister Grace, who runs the “engaged and well- informed” front of house (their father, David, is an ex-Balls Bros wine merchant). “The room is a traditional old pub bar smartened without changing its character”. This “good neighbourhood community venture deserves to succeed and is trying very hard”; and “well done them for retaining à la carte as well as tasting menus in the evenings”.