Tonbridge, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

“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: “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”.

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.

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.

“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.

2022 Review: They “recently extended the outdoor space and garden” at this imposing wattle-and-daub Elizabethan inn, built for the Keeper of the Privy Purse to Elizabeth I, no less. Together with a “new menu” of snacks and heartier grub it now makes a “great eating place” by all accounts.

2023 Review: This “lovely” mid-Victorian boozer (believed to be the only ‘Haycutter’ in the country) earns solid ratings for its “good old-fashioned pub grub” and “brilliant” all-round performance. It is now part of the Brunning & Price group.

“Very interesting flavours and excellent cooking” lead to an “excellent-quality” experience at Rob & Donna Taylor’s “lovely” venue: a small room in a converted townhouse in Southborough, which burst onto the local dining scene in 2021 and was instantly fêted with awards and boosts from ‘big name’ restaurant critics in the press. Service is “incredibly friendly and knowledgeable” and serves a focused à la carte menu that changes on the first of every month: some of the same dishes are available in a five course tasting format for £85 per person. A typical autumnal meal might start with Roast Pigeon with Pickled Kentish Cherries, then proceed via Roasted Monkfish with Celeriac and Apple puree to Warm Ginger Parkin with burnt Honey and Thyme ice cream.

2023 Review: This tiny Tunbridge Wells restaurant has just 5 tables, serving 12-14 covers, and offers a six-course menu. The work of a self-taught chef, Rob Marshall, it has yet to generate feedback in our annual diners’ poll, but looks worth a go.

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”.

Named after the coppiced woodland upon which it sits – Flimwell Park, an über-modern 46-acre sustainable community – this three-year-old is the third venture for Will Devlin, whose nearby The Small Holding holds a Michelin Green Star. “The standard bearer for excellent, locally sourced food” – small and large plates served in the “well-designed but canteen-style” interior or (preferably) on the stunning terrace overlooking the forest – it’s “pretty unbeatable for a fixed-price lunch”, though they’re also now open until 20.00 on Friday and Saturday night.

“Home-grown seasonal produce” means meals “as fresh as food can get” at this daytime café-restaurant (plus dinner on Friday & Saturday) at a long-term project, the restoration of a Victorian walled garden in the High Weald using organic no-dig methods. It makes a “super setting” for lunch or a “slice of lovely cake”.