South East Restaurant Guide

Follow the signs to West Malling from J4 of the M20 to find The Swan, a radical conversion of a fifteenth-century coaching inn.

35 Swan Street, West Malling, Kent

The Dering Arms at Pluckley was built in the 1840's originally as the hunting lodge serving the Dering Estate, one of the largest estates in the area at the time.

Station Road, Pluckley, Kent

The Crab & Winkle Restaurant in Whitstable is named after the first steam passenger service in the country that linked Whitstable with Canterbury called the Crab and Winkle Line, and it's situated right above the fish market with royal-box views over the harbour, Whitstable yacht club and lifeboat station.

South Quay, Whitstable, Kent

Exotic Middle Eastern and Moorish flavours have taken Canterbury by storm, thanks to the colourful and atmospheric Café Mauresque. The location is one of the city's medieval streets (there are tables on the pavement for sun-lovers and people-watchers), and inside, the Alhambra of Granada has influenced the decor very strongly, it's a riot of exotic Arabic lamps, ornate mirrors, Moorish tiles and Middle Eastern artefacts.

8 Butchery Lane, Canterbury, Kent

Gerry and Anne Price run a highly enthusiastic and fired-up team at The Inn @ West End, a busy roadside pub at West End, a couple of miles from junction 3 of the M3.

42 Guildford Road, West End, Surrey

Dating from 1623, The Onslow Arms nestles in the tiny but affluent Surrey village of West Clandon, just outside Guildford.

The Street, West Clandon, Surrey

A blue-chip culinary CV plus a serious 'celeb chef' media profile put Toby Tobin's name on the map and since becoming joint owner of Reigate's The Dining Room in 2002 he has upped his game and can now offer (in his own words) 'many of the gastronomic luxuries of top London restaurants in the gentle, relaxed surroundings of a Surrey market town'.

59a High Street, Reigate, Surrey

Keep following the signs to Bodsham along the narrow country lanes of Kent and you will eventually find Froggies at the Timber Batts.

School Lane, Wye, Kent

The seventeenth-century Tiger Inn at Stowting is a country-pub success story that was saved from extinction by a syndicate of Stowting locals, who clubbed together and bought the place simply because they didn't want to lose their favourite watering hole.

Stowting, Ashford, Kent

Overlooking Bearsted Green and only a few minutes from the M20, The Soufflé restaurant is set in a delightful sixteenth-century Grade II-listed building.

31 The Green, Maidstone, Kent