St Martin's, British, Traditional Restaurant Guide

This “long-term favourite” in an old railway shed has “certainly put itself on the map” thanks to “solid cooking at reasonable prices using produce from the farmers‘ market with which it shares a home”. It’s a “buzzy” sort of place whose “tasty, wholesome dishes” can be “washed down with some excellent Kentish wine” – all backdropped by candlelight if you visit in the evening as the market winds down.

This “lovely gastropub in a pretty Kent village” with “well-kept beer and very good food” – including “unusual dishes such as a celeriac and truffle tart” – is part of Saga heir Josh De Haan’s Pickled Egg group. Top Tip – “enjoyed a drink in front of the log fire while looking at the menu”.

2023 Review: The dining room “upstairs in a rickety old pub, with wonderful views over Whitstable Bay”, offers a “good mix of innovative food” – including “beautifully cooked fish” – “and homemade pub classics, served by staff from the kitchen on the floor below”. “Eaten there many times: the ambience is excellent and always found the food good”.

2022 Review: Former Sportsman chef David Hart earns rave reviews from reporters who ‘get’ his modest 26-seater with a simple menu and an enthusiast’s list of wines (fans include the Guardian’s Grace Dent).

2021 Review: With its “deep red walls, low lighting and candles”, this “romantic” basement dining room has a “lovely, old-fashioned and cosy ambience, and is decorated with framed covers of old editions of Empire magazine”. Craig Mather’s modern British menu focuses on “unfussy dishes, where the local seasonal ingredients are the star”, in particular “fish that comes straight from the small boats which ply the harbour”.