Edenbridge Restaurant Guide

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.

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.

“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”.

“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”.

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”.

“The service just gets better every year” at Tony McDermott’s “ultra-reliable fish’n’chip restaurant in an unprepossessing suburb of Croydon”, where “high-quality fish, usually cod, haddock and plaice, supplemented by scampi and chicken dishes” have been enjoyed since 1987. Its “very personable ambience” and “great value” make it a “family favourite” that is “worthy of repeated visits”.

“Very good in all respects… and it’s NOT in London!” – Andrew McLeish is entering his 25th year of owning this “stylish” well-known destination a short drive from Bromley: “a welcome spot in a culinary desert thanks to its high standards” and a favourite for many occasions (including a “romantic” celebration among a widespread fan club that includes a huge number of reporters living in BR postcodes). “A consistent friend that never disappoints”, “service is professional and friendly”, the cuisine is of “high quality”, the setting is “comfortable” and “there’s a good choice of wines by the glass from the Coravin system”. There’s an à la carte menu and brasserie section as well as a fancier ‘Gourmet Menu’ at £125 per person.

“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.

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”.

“Ambience is not key when you just want to stuff your face!” – you “just get a great dirty burger” at these tongue-in-cheek diners, whose signature offering is the ‘Dead Hippie’. Founded 16 years ago from the back of a truck by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, at the time a technician with the English National Ballet, it now has 15 London outlets and a national delivery operation.

“In a delightful village”, this “scenic” gastroboozer-with-rooms continues to please, two years after longtime owners the Pullan family handed the keys to the Young’s group; the “best atmosphere is in the bar” (as opposed to the annexe), though the “great garden” remains the standout here, offering lovely views of the Ouse countryside.

“Thank goodness for Number Eight” – “a relatively new arrival” (est. 2022) from Stuart Gillies (ex-of illustrious haunts like Le Caprice and NYC’s Restaurant Daniel) and wife Cecilia, also behind Bank House in Chislehurst. In “a scene which primarily consists of chains”, the cosy corner bistro really stands out, turning out food with “individual flair” that ranges from small plates to a “99% perfect” Sunday roast and Wednesday steak and taco night.

“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.

“Ex Roux, Ladenis and Marco prodigy and former Firmdale Hotel Group exec chef, Robin Read, serves a variety of tasting menus showcasing local produce” at this new arrival, which opened just before our annual diners’ poll and which is rated from the rave reviews from a small number of impressed reporters. Another dazzled visitor was The Guardian’s Grace Dent, who – in her July 2024 review – hailed “a gorgeous room” that was “hard to fault… because this is precise, accomplished cooking that feeds you classily but plentifully, then aims to finish you off entirely with the dessert courses”. Top Menu Tips – “notable dishes included cured mackerel croustade; Birchen asparagus and seaweed; and cavolo nero cavatelli”.

In smart premises in the town centre, Lebanese chef Jad Youssef’s homage to Beirut soul food is “always buzzy and fun”, turning out “fantastic and flavourful” sharing plates with an accent on charcoal grills and some standout dishes including his ‘Sawda Djej’ (chicken liver in pomegranate molasses), which was voted one of ‘The Best 100 dishes in London’ by the Time Out crew.

“Top-notch pizzas” that are chewy, light and charred at the requisite 500 degrees have won a loyal following for this Neapolitan pie joint, which started life as a food truck at Redhill Market in 2017 and gained this standalone restaurant two years later. While brothers Luca & Paolo Malavasi, who run it, recently ended their collaboration with Pilgrim Brewery at the Hatch (the latter is transitioning to its own food offering), their mini-empire still includes a much bigger, 85-cover sibling in Horsham – and, in November 2024, they were due to open a third branch in Farnham, Surrey, one building over from Reel Cinema.

A “great little local fish place” on the Royal Parade co-owned by chef Richard Kirkwood and Andy Roberts, who met when Richard was helming the kitchen of iconic London fish haunt J. Sheekey (he also ran the Wright Brothers’ fleet of restaurants). One part “premium fishmonger’s”, and one part seafood and champagne bar, the newish arrival offers “delicious” and simply cooked catch (plus seafood platters and small plates), whose quality means that it “deserves to be more widely known”.

“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”.