Kent Restaurant Guide

A “great selection of well-presented fish” is the reason to visit this seafood restaurant on the village green (originally part of the neighbouring inn, which houses their sister restaurant, Oak on the Green).

This “fine-dining manor house” in north Kent, run by chef-patron David Pitchford and his wife Rona as a “family business for 40 years plus”, is “consistently wonderful in all aspects” and “always a real treat”. “Although the food may be considered a little safe, its quality does not drop”, while the “range of smaller dining rooms” makes it “the go-to restaurant for special family occasions” – “even teenage grandchildren love the style and ambience”. Top Tip – “amazing soufflés”.

This low-key daytime-only wholefood eco-store and café (with Thursday evening ‘supperclub socials’) started out 10 years ago as a pop-up street stall and now occupies a century-old joinery workshop in a mews. The “hearty” breakfasts, light bites and lunches win consistently good ratings.

“Fantastic fresh daily fish, well-cooked, no-nonsense food and the best pint of Shepherd Neame ever” sums up the appeal of this classic boozer near Faversham, dating from 1787.

A happy crowd of regulars have beaten a path to the “delicious, inventive food and wine” served by rock drummer-turned-chef Graham Garrett at his sixteenth-century village weaver’s cottage for 21 years now. Returnees are “not disappointed” – “the tasting menu took us on a wonderful journey with excellent stop-off points to taste the marvellous and beautifully presented food en route”.

This “lovely traditional Kentish pub” – timber-framed and full of nooks and crannies that include five dining areas – offers “imaginative dishes together with classics” on a menu that’s “a cut above good pub food”. “We love taking visitors there to impress”.

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”.

“Yes, it is a long drive and the surroundings are simple, but the food makes the journey worthwhile…” – Stephen Harris’s “unpretentious and cherished” estuary-side destination set on the marshes near Whitstable “looks just like an old seaside pub from the outside” but is one of the most famous eateries in the country (and in the top-10 most commented-on destinations outside London in our annual diners’ poll). It can seem “a bizarre location”, but “the situation of the pub is very evocative which helps give the place its charm” and – however you view it – it’s so popular “you must book way ahead to secure a table”. “The decor may be ‘old pub’ but the food is fine dining” with “so much taste on the plate”. Given the locale, “oysters are always a must!” and the signature slip soles are star features on an “interesting” menu whose “fabulous seafood” and salt-marsh lamb showcase the local larder: “excellent ingredients all served with integrity and expertise”. “A superb, generously priced wine list completes a sublime gastronomic experience.” To complete the trip, there’s “nothing better than a good walk on the beach”. Or, alternatively, you can now stay and many of the most enthusiastic reports this year are from those who “chose to stay in one of their wildflower meadow cabins – charming and very comfortable, with everything you need to make yourself a great breakfast (they have little kitchens). Highly recommended”.

A “huge” Victorian pumphouse that pumped water in and out of the dry dock at Chatham dockyard, with “views across the Medway to Upnor Castle”, hosts this impressive yearling, which is praised for its “amazing food from a very talented young chef”, Will Freeman, who is creating “ambitious menus in this stunning venue”. Owners Bob Russell and his sons Matthew and Stephen opened their Copper River distillery here six years ago.

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”.

“The best crab cakes in the UK and other great fresh seafood” – including oysters, obvs – win nothing but affection and acclaim for this “splendid” ancient venue (est. 1856): “a tiny back parlour that only seats 14-16”. “There’s no wine licence, but you can BYO”, which “makes it a very-good-value experience”. But despite consistently good feedback in recent times, the full-on raves of yesteryear were absent and a number of long-term fans now rate it as good rather than exceptional. Some regulars also suggest you “stick to the basic dishes: it doesn't work as well when they go more complicated or ambitious”.

“Fresh seafood as it should be” (most notably “marvellous native oysters”) served in a “fantastic location on the beach at Whitstable” make this “lively and atmospheric” venue “worth the slightly higher prices”. “It’s not inventive cooking”, but it doesn’t need to be.

A fixture of the Westgate for 35 years, this “colourful and very popular” spot serves “good portions of fairly priced and fresh-tasting Mexican food”, “with lots of choices for non-meat eaters”. The “good staff” ensure a “fun, buzzing atmosphere”, and it “always seems to be busy, so best to book”. Well-travelled owners Bill & Emmanuelle Betham have another Café des Amis in Hawaii, and a Café du Soleil serving Mediterranean food in Canterbury.

“Standards are high” at this “in-house restaurant in Canterbury’s permanent Farmers’ Market”. “Quality ingredients are sourced from the stalls”, and “the dishes have recently been more imaginative” – even if “prices have crept up”.

Well-known Kent restaurateur, Dev Biswal has refocused his local business empire on this converted backstreet pub which he renamed from ‘The Ambrette’ in mid 2022. All ingredients are now sourced within 30 minutes of the restaurant and he has put curry on the menu (always previously excluded). The move continues a direction of travel begun under his business’s former brand, and we have rated it as for the Ambrette, and assumed a continuing of his “delicious cuisine that isn’t from your run-of-the-mill Indian menu” – a “fantastic combination of English and Indian food”.