West Malling Restaurant Guide

This modernised village inn “never fails to please” with an attractive brasserie-style menu that’s “great for a casual lunch”. A covered garden adds to the package.

2021 Review: “Huge portions” of “good wholesome food” make this “cheap and cheerful” Gallic outfit serving bistro classics “amazing value for money”. There’s a good selection of “fine wines”, but the place is “very noisy indeed”.

2023 Review: 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).

You couldn’t ask for a much better location than this characterful Victorian pump house attached to Chatham dockyard, whose outside terrace enjoys fine views of the Medway. Converted into a distillery seven years ago by the Russell family, it has relatively recently added a restaurant and cocktail lounge serving “interesting” cooking.

“The service and food are simply sublime” at this “lovely pub” – named in honour of the First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon, who lived nearby – which has served “the most accomplished food” for some years. South African-born chef-patron Petrus Madutlela, who has masterminded the venue’s gastronomic rise since 2015, departed in early 2023 and is replaced by Lee Adams, who worked for the late Gary Rhodes and returns to his native Kent after a decade running kitchens in Dubai and Hong Kong. Early reports suggest standards remain very high under the new regime, although consistency may be an issue.

This sixteenth-century pub, complete with beams, log fires and an updated interior, has a “great small menu which changes constantly”. A “lovely spot” for a meal, “whether inside in the winter or in the garden in the summer”.

In a “pretty village setting” (“what’s not to like about sitting under a pergola in the Kent countryside?”), seasoned restaurateurs the Tanner brothers run this much-garlanded gastroboozer. The food choices are “simply cooked” but “not mundane like you could do yourself” (indeed, “to call this pub food would be truly a disservice”).

2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.

“Perhaps the most luxurious restaurant in Tunbridge Wells” – this “very smart Regency villa where [W.M.] Thackeray lived” provides a “very attractive” location for a meal; and is also praised for its “lovely, finely pitched service”. But while Patrick Hill’s well-regarded cuisine continues to win praise, there was also the odd reporter this year who felt it was “technically fine but with some over-fussy dishes that didn’t let the good-quality ingredients fully shine”.

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”.

A visit to this “lovely restaurant way out in the country” is “like a trip to the theatre only better – with amazing cooking” on “a top-value tasting menu”. “Dishes are often surprising – I love that much of the produce is from the garden or nearby”, in line with Kent-born chef-patron Will Devlin’s ultra-local and sustainable ethos. He also runs Birchwood, a daytime venue in the nearby Flimwell Park sustainable woodland development, but was forced to close The Curlew in Bodiam due to rising costs in late 2022.

This “smart and trendy location” from the ‘I’ll Be Mother’ group, set in an Arts & Crafts house with “lovely views” over Happy Valley, offers “high-quality food, attentive service and great surroundings”. There’s also “a nice terrace for meals, if the weather permits”. Not surprisingly, it’s “popular and often hard to book”.

2023 Review: 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”.

“Still hitting the mark” – this family-run Cantonese flies more under the radar than once it did, but inspires nothing but positive reports from its loyal fan club (“consistently good… never had a bad meal here”).

This “delightful country pub” has a characterful fifteenth-century setting and five modern bedrooms in a converted nuttery above the gardens; it won praise this year for its “interesting and well-executed” locally sourced cuisine – served across five different dining areas – and even one reporter who had an off-visit rated it “very good”.

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!”