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If you're in a seaside town, look for that great British staple, fish-and-chips. Perhaps "look" isn't the word—just follow your nose. On the coast, seafood, much of it locally caught, is a specialty. Try local smoked fish (haddock and mackerel) or the succulent local oysters. Inland, sample fresh local lamb and beef. In cities such as Brighton and Tunbridge Wells there are numerous restaurants and cafés, but out in the countryside the best options are often pubs.
One of the finest dining options on Brighton's seafront, Due South draws young professionals who also appreciate its celebratory atmosphere. The menu changes monthly and showcases clever takes on classic seafood dishes. You'll find everything from cured wild bass with wasabi crème fraîche to saffron monkfish with rock samphire, all fresh off the boat. Even the vegetables are sourced locally. Desserts are decadent. Big windows overlook the sea and let in plenty of light.
White tiles, bare metal tables, and sparkling chandeliers set the tone as soon as you walk through the door of this casually elegant restaurant. The house specialty is oysters, fresh and sustainably sourced, served with or without a foaming tankard of black velvet (Champagne and Guinness) on the side. Other options include squid and shellfish risotto and Sri Lankan monkfish and prawn curry. The restaurant doesn't take reservations, so come early or be prepared to wait. However, you can reserve a table at their sister restaurant, Riddle & Finns The Beach overlooking the sea. The menu is largely the same, with a few meaty options thrown into the mix.
Set just outside the medieval city walls, this historic pub turned restaurant serves locally sourced British produce with creative culinary twists. Mains include confit pork belly with burnt-ends croquettes and cod loin with creamed bacon and leak, but it's the "nibbles" (snacks) that are really inventive—try the sausage roll, served as three thick slices with housemade mushroom ketchup. It's a little pricey, but the food is excellent and the portions are very generous. There are also five appealing bedrooms available upstairs, with prices starting from £100, including breakfast.
This excellent Greek restaurant is set within a gorgeous space in the city center, with brick walls and high ceilings. The à la carte menu features delicious Mediterranean dishes including fried zucchini "cakes" with fresh Greek yogurt, veal cheeks with potato purée, and roasted octopus with caramelized onions. Save space for a traditional Greek dessert.
One of Rye's most popular restaurants, where most of the seafood is freshly caught nearby, occupies a brick building that dates to 1907, but the interior has been redone in a sleek, modern style. Sample the cuttlefish and noodle salad with fennel and orange or the pan-fried Rye Bay scallops with pancetta and chive vermouth sauce. The ground-floor café has a relaxed atmosphere and upstairs is a more formal dining room.
This inspiring vegetarian restaurant is incredibly popular, so come early for a light lunch or later for a more sophisticated evening meal. The food here has a pan-Asian influence, with dishes such as Korean fried cauliflower with kicking kimchi and steamed buns stuffed with ginger-braised halloumi. There's also an excellent collection of wines from around the globe.
Next to Canterbury West Station, this farmers' market restaurant with wooden tables is well known for offering fresh, seasonal Kentish food—think spring lamb leg with lemon and mint or wild bass with a crab and tarragon broth. Whatever is freshest that day appears on the menu, whether it's quail eggs, trout, or duck breast. The vaulted wooden space with stone-and-brick walls was a storage shed in Victorian times (hence the name); today the restaurant has huge arched windows overlooking the market and a butchers' stall.
Located eight miles southwest of Guildford, just a short hop down the road from Waverley Abbey and roughly halfway between the Sculpture Park and Watts Gallery, this unusually handsome country pub is in an old watermill; you can still see the working water wheel in the lobby. The menu nicely balances British pub classics and more ambitious restaurant fare; expect to find fish-and-chips and burgers alongside pan-roasted sea bass and Devonshire crab on toast. The huge beer garden is an extremely popular spot when the weather's nice, and it's also the venue for occasional open-air theater performances by local groups. Look out for the cute (but slightly intimidating) flock of ducks who are not only well practiced at begging for crumbs but will immediately pounce on any unattended meals.
Owned by talented graphic designers and photo artists, the Witchez Photo Design Restaurant is certainly a unique concept: delicious German- and Polish-influenced comfort food served in the middle of a design studio (which means you can have your passport photo taken while you wait). Never mind the weirdness of the concept; this place is a whole lot of fun, and the food is good to boot—schnitzel, pierogi, German sausage, potato dumplings, and pizzas. It's only open in the evening (from 5 pm Wednesday through Friday and from 4 pm on Saturday).
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