Westerham, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

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.

“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: This September 2019 yearling in the heart of the town (occupying a former NatWest bank, hence the name) is notable for its owner: Stuart Gillies is the former CEO of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant group, and has launched this venture with the help of wife Cecilia. Previously a chef, Gillies has devised a ‘European small plates’ menu for the two-floor wine bar.

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 “lovely food-led pub” – a carefully modernised beauty from 1854 on Crystal Palace’s thriving ‘Triangle’ – showcases chef David Yorkiston’s “really great cooking – way, way above typical gastroboozer fare”. “Controversially, it has banned kids under 10” but not everyone objects (“we think the atmosphere is all the better for it, even if it means we can’t go there as often as we’d like)”.

2023 Review: A welcome 2021 relaunch after being closed for years – this roadhouse on the South Circular between Sydenham and Catford serves “generous” dishes that “elevate it beyond pub grub, but without pretending to be a gastropub”. The food comes courtesy of Jamie Younger, who runs Peckham’s Begging Bowl and was formerly at the Palmerston in East Dulwich; his “smoked and slow-cooked options are a triumph (red chicken, short ribs)”. The “huge outdoor areas” make “weekend lunch en famille with toddlers a jolly affair” – a market sector enticed by a discount club for parents with young kids.

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”.

“For us, as garden lovers, a magical place” – this Elizabethan country house in the Sussex countryside sits in grounds laid out in the 1880s by the famous landscape gardener who then owned the property (and has been a hotel since 1958). “It‘s probably best to enjoy Gravetye in the summer when it is delightful to wander round the beautiful gardens with an aperitif” and to get the most out of “the modern, conservatory-style dining room, which is simply dazzling in design, creating a feeling of almost being in the garden”. Since its 2019 relaunch, there has been a major upgrade to the cuisine here, with chef George Blogg preparing “beautifully balanced dishes with assured use of ingredients”: “seasonal produce is allowed to shine and sing”. (The food would score even higher if the odd reporter did not find it “a bit safe”). Staff generally “can’t do enough for you” but ratings slipped slightly this year on one or two “hit ’n’ miss” experiences in this regard. No complaints of any significance were highlighted, and the general impression is that a meal here is “so smart, and of such quality”.

“Brilliant pub grub” wins a nod at this Victorian former coaching inn in West Dulwich, with plenty of outdoor space that is covered and heated in winter. It’s family-friendly, so gets “a bit noisy” at times.

This “extremely popular” 16th-century free house with four bedrooms, in a hilltop village in the Sussex Weald, has everything you want in a country pub, from “very good cooking” and beamed interiors to “a lovely pint of Harvey’s”.

This “real local favourite” in East Dulwich from Rod Franklin and Tim Sheehan has served seasonal British cooking for more than 25 years, and is “famed for its Sunday roasts for carnivores” (but there’s more to it than meat, and “the varied menu always has an excellent selection of veggie/vegan dishes”). To the odd sceptic, it’s “OK, but really no more than that”.

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.

This classy venue opposite Herne Hill station is a “favourite local” – there’s a “superb buzz” about the place (although for some reporters that translates as “a heavy decibel level”) thanks to its “consistently good”, contemporary cuisine and “charming service”. An “interesting and reasonably priced wine list” seals the deal.

A sibling to Birch in Cheshunt, set in a very large, 18th-century mansion in 200 acres which follows a similar formula combining hotel, club and co-working space. The top culinary attraction is this dining room in the heart of the old property offering foraged fine dining from ex-Typing Room chef, Lee Westcott. It opened in August 2023 (after our annual diners’ poll had concluded) and offers a five-course tasting menu for £69 per person (with a wine pairing at £49 per person). There is also Vervain: an all-day brasserie (plus three bars, a spa, and Lido).

“A super addition to Bromley” – the borough’s old Town Hall has had £20m spent on a refit as a boutique hotel, complete with this new landmark dining room which launched in late 2022: an imposing chamber, with a soaring vaulted ceiling, wood-panelled walls and clerestory windows. It serves a menu of British classics, and is aiming to be a linchpin of the area. Our early feedback (and press reports) are up-and-down: one reporter liked the “very friendly staff and great building”, but thought “the menu needs to be a little more adventurous”. Another was “slightly disappointed all round, but went shortly after it opened and they were obviously still ironing out stuff”. (Both comments have echoes of Grace Dent’s review in The Guardian: “a gorgeous space…with a brief menu… service is delightful… prompt and friendly, but it’s hard to regard the place as much more than a cafe”).

“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.