West Malling Restaurant Guide

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.

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 well-established dining pub – named after war poet Siegfried Sassoon, who lived nearby – “still maintains a high standard of unpretentious cooking in relaxed surroundings” under the new leadership of “top chef” Lee Adams, originally from Kent, who spent 10 years working in Dubai and Hong Kong. Ratings were slightly dented, though, by the account of one long-term fan who feels it “used to be a go-to but has lost it”.

This cute 16th-century village pub offers a far-from-standard menu which changes monthly to reflect seasonal local produce, with a notably “solid Sunday lunch” among the highlights.

“Straightforward and generous Sunday lunch in a very nice village pub” is a regular occasion for many fans of this “thoroughly enjoyable” local pub in the Kent countryside, which numerous reports attest is particularly “good for families and family occasions”. Its “quality food in a lovely environment” also wins praise, though, from a much wider audience too.

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.

“Probably the most luxurious restaurant in the Tunbridge Wells area” – “Richard Phillips’s modern French gourmet flagship is still popular with the area’s well-heeled consumers of fine dining” and – though arguably “not as high-profile as it once was” – remains one of the top-100 most commented-on restaurants in our annual diners’ poll. All reports attest to its “lovely location in a very attractive Regency villa” and “lovely, finely pitched service”. On the downside, the food can be “a bit hit ’n’ miss”: mostly it’s to a “good standard”, but there is also the odd report suggesting it’s “technically fine but with some over-fussy, confused elements”, notwithstanding the “beautiful presentation”. (A romantic and business recommendation, no-one claimed it as providing their top gastronomic experience of the year). Top Tip – “exceptional-value set lunch”.

2021 Review: “For a thoroughly enjoyable traditional afternoon tea (HdV certainly make an occasion of this British tradition)”, or “a very good full English”, this fine-looking mansion still wins praise. However, more serious dining from its French bistro menu, as supported by its trademark wine list, attracted too little commentary for a rating last year.

2023 Review: A “family favourite” for its “lovely atmosphere and brasserie food” – and handily close to Tunbridge Wells station – this spin-off from the ever-expanding Ivy operation is well regarded by most reporters, but also suffers from the complaints commonly levelled against its Identikit siblings: most especially indifferent cooking that’s “poor value for money”.

“Hyper-local and hyper-seasonal set menus, with a lot of the produce coming from their own farm”, is the ethos behind chef-patron Will Devlin’s engaging venture – “the result is delicious food and friendly service, which makes for an enjoyable evening”. He also runs Birchwood at the nearby sustainable development Flimwell Park, but closed The Curlew in Bodiam in the face of rising costs two years ago.

Recently relaunched, this hotel dining room set in an Arts & Crafts boutique hotel and wedding venue with “excellent views” over Happy Valley is a “real treat”. The original interior includes a stained-glass window and a fireplace, and chef Scott Goss makes best use of locally sourced ingredients.

2023 Review: This former coaching inn “offers a good range of well-cooked dishes in its small dining room” – “pre-booking is advisable as it’s close to Sissinghurst Castle and Gardens”. In the summer, “a pop-up pizza hut is open in the garden for a more casual dining experience”.

“Still hitting the mark”, according to one diehard long-term fan: this family-run Cantonese fixture on the high street once had a national reputation as a favourite of the late Gary Rhodes; and although it doesn’t inspire the huge volume of feedback it once did, is still said to be “consistently good” by all who opine on it.

A “great” 15th-century pub (with four rooms set atop the nuttery in the garden) that’s situated in the heart of the Weald, and just a short stroll from Sissinghurst Castle, the old home of Virginia Woolf’s beloved, Vita Sackville-West, and whose gardens are run by the National Trust. “They always have good beer on” and, having extended over the years, there are five different dining areas in which to enjoy the “typical” but very sound gastropub fare, much sourced from the local area.

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!”