British, Modern Restaurants in Rye
1. The Crown Hastings
British, Modern restaurant in Hastings
64 - 66 All Saints Street - TN34
“A tasty range of dishes” made from “simple ingredients treated with respect and creativity” is the recipe for happy dining at this “busy” and well commented-on pub in Hastings Old Town. Tess & Andrew Swan celebrate 10 years as owners this year, having created “a very pleasant environment” – they’re “really trying to push things, and succeeding”.
2. The Garden Room Restaurant & Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Hythe
Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve, Aldington Road - CT21
The Garden Room Restaurant & Bar is nestled within 15 acres of landscaped gardens at the historic Port Lympne Hotel, and surrounded by 600 acres of wilderness, dotted with some of the world’s most rare and endangered animals.Originally the stable yar...
3. Mermaid
British, Modern restaurant in Rye
Mermaid St - TN31
The “historic location” (a 600-year-old building with mullioned windows and many a beam) certainly adds to the charms of this old smugglers’ inn – “a little old-school, but that’s all part of the experience”. It’s been under the same owners for three decades, and while it’s not the main draw, the “lovely food” also has its fans.
4. Landgate Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Rye
5 - 6 Landgate - TN31
This “really lovely small restaurant”, housed in interlinked Georgian shops, has “been excellent for years” owing to its “short, interesting menu” of locally sourced British food (some foraged) and its “charming and efficient service” too.
5. The Globe Inn Marsh
British, Modern restaurant in Rye
10 Military Road - TN31
2023 Review: “If only every pub was like this!” – “a quirky place” a short walk from the town centre which makes the most of its olde-worlde decor. The food is “competent and innovative”, and there’s a “good range of drinks”.
6. The Gallivant
British, Modern restaurant in Camber
New Lydd Rd - TN31
“You wonder what’s in store when you driving up to The Gallivant” – built in the 1960s as a beachfront motel by Camber Sands – but “you enter an oasis of calm, with a light and airy restaurant” serving “outstanding and interesting food” from MasterChef contestant Nico Fitzgerald. The venue operates as a wellness retreat, whose “friendly and knowledgeable team” provide a “truly relaxed environment”.
7. Tillingham
British, Modern restaurant in Peasmarsh
Dew Farm, Dew Lane - TN31
On a 70-acre estate with views to Rye and the Romney salt marshes, Gusbourne CEO Ben Walgate’s farmhouse winery-with-rooms (and tents in the grounds if preferred) enjoys a “superb setting” and “the space itself is fabulous”. New chef Brendan Eades worked at zero-waste pioneer Silo, so a field-to-fork ethos prevails (already winning them a Green Michelin star); despite limited opening hours (lunch Fri-Sun, a 6-course tasting menu by night) it garners a large volume of positive reports – as does the “perfectly good” sourdough pizzeria in the barn opposite.
8. The Wild Mushroom
British, Modern restaurant in Westfield
Woodgate House, Westfield Lane - TN35
This “pleasantly traditional and old-fashioned restaurant” “has been a favourite for years” – and is these days “serving a more modern style of food” without losing any of its attractions. It was chef-patron Paul Webbe’s first opening more than 25 years ago, and has been followed by his fish specialist venues in Hastings and Rye.
9. Rock a Nore Kitchen
British, Modern restaurant in Hastings
23a Rock-A-Nore Rd - TN34
This “tiny converted fisherman’s hut by the harbour” serves “amazing fish, straight off the beach-launched day boats, so it couldn’t be fresher”. “Exceptional cooking” is backed up by a “delightful owner”, “brilliant service” and a “very good wine list”. Not surprisingly, it’s “essential to book”.
10. The Royal
British, Modern restaurant in St Leonards-on-Sea
1 Saint Johns Road - TN37
This “beautifully presented pub” – a run-down 1860s hotel until a renovation five years ago – offers “great service” and a “hearty menu with generous portions”. “The choice of dishes at lunch seems more limited in recent months” – “sign of the times?”
11. St Clement’s
British, Modern restaurant in St Leonards-on-Sea
3 Mercatoria - TN38
“On top form” since the pandemic, this low-key spot in a townhouse away from the seafront, founded by former Le Caprice chef Nick Hales almost 20 years ago, does not generate a huge volume of feedback in our annual survey, but what we do receive is uniformly positive. The menu favours locally caught fish and seafood.
12. The West House Restaurant with Rooms
British, Modern restaurant in Biddenden
28 High St - TN27
Former rock drummer Graham Garrett’s quirky 16th century restaurant-with-rooms in a “lovely village” in the Kent Weald has been beating off the competition since back in 2002. The set menus showcase some “very good cooking” based on “top-quality ingredients” – and while “just a few tables can mean there is a certain formality to it all”, it’s “none the worse for that”.
13. The Three Chimneys
British, Modern restaurant in Biddenden
Hareplain Rd - TN27
This “delightful country pub” has a characterful fifteenth-century setting and five modern bedrooms in a converted nuttery above the gardens; it won praise this year for its “interesting and well-executed” locally sourced cuisine – served across five different dining areas – and even one reporter who had an off-visit rated it “very good”.
14. The Cove
British, Modern restaurant in Fairlight
53 Waites Lane - TN35
Opened on April Fool’s Day 2022, but set on a site which has seen many incarnations (it was converted into a hotel from a cowshed back in the 1920s), this “wonderful” new arrival from husband-and-wife team Olivia and Henry is already a local hit. Chef Nick Hales oversees the “unfussy and well-executed” menu – “defo more restaurant than pub” in quality – with the “catch of the day supplied by a local fishmonger” and greens grown 400 yards away. Bonus points for the staff (“nothing was too much trouble”).
15. Water Lane
British, Modern restaurant in Hawkhurst
Water Lane - TN18
2023 Review: “A super-charming setting for some imaginative cooking” – this funky project on the Kent/Sussex borders combines the restoration of a bucolic walled garden with vinery, Victorian glasshouses, restaurant and shop. Eat from breakfast onwards, either outside in summer or under the tented awning, or in the glasshouses during the winter.
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