Ringlestone Restaurant Guide

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.

This 16th-century weaver’s cottage in the Weald was opened by former rocker Graham Garrett and wife Jackie in 2002. The “warm and cosy, ancient beamed dining room” turns out set menus that are “quite expensive but worth it” and are accompanied by “professional and charming” service from “members of the chef’s family and others”; stay in one of their “very quiet and comfortable rooms” and there’s an “excellent breakfast hamper” as a bonus. Top Menu Tip – “lovely amuse-bouches (brick tube stuffed with chicken parfait, Parmesan churros). Standout dishes include ‘Egg and Bacon’ (leek ballotine, quail’s egg, smoked eel and crispy pancetta), and a slice of braised and grilled Wagyu beef cheek with anchoïade”.

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.

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 “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.

“Bravo!” – “Everything always seems to work so well at Stephen Harris’s exceptionally popular spot in the north Kent marshes”. It’s one of the top-20 most commented-on destinations in our annual diners’ poll and also one of the best liked, inspiring nothing but the most enthusiastic comments from diners. “The ideal thing to do is take a good walk along the beach beforehand to get the appetite brimming with anticipation”. Thereafter, “it’s the combination of relaxed atmosphere and stellar cooking that makes for an unforgettable visit”. It helps that “nowhere in London can get close to the sort of quality vs price ratio here”, even though there’s no longer an à la carte option and the only choice now is the “memorable five-course tasting menu” for “£80 per person”: “food that’s exquisite and beautifully presented, not at all ostentatious”. “You really feel that everything is thoughtfully and lovingly prepared and the service is always with a smile”. “The rooms are pretty excellent too”. Top Menu Top – “superb local produce – Whitstable oysters, saltmarsh lamb, seaweed buttered slip sole – are cleverly accompanied by delicacies from further afield, such as Lobster, Old Winchester cheese, or Avruga Caviar. The wine list, personally selected by the host, is composed of classic quality wines, so generously priced, they constitute the best quality to value ratio I have seen in a British restaurant”. (“It’s been my favourite restaurant anywhere in the UK, and even further afield, for the past 20 years and I feel blessed that it is only a few miles along the coast from where I live”).