Beeches Restaurant

Graham and Maxine Packham purchased Beeches in 2002 and during the intervening years have worked hard to make it into a real hotspot for the Mereworth area, and beyond.

This is built round four areas of activity, starting with lunchtimes when, from Tuesday to Saturday a light alternative to the a la carte menu, centred round traditional fish dishes and homemade pies keeps the local peckers up.

Thursdays features a twin feast of music and food, with an a la carte accompaniment to evenings that bring back to life such musical icons as Sinatra, The Carpenters, Abba, and the blessed Elvis.

On Sundays that most traditional of English meals, the roast lunch, is celebrated from noon until 6.30, wonderful value at which younger diners who can be guaranteed not to ruin everybody else's lunch are more than welcome.

But it is the classic dining experience offered every night of the week through the a la carte menu that is the lynch pin around which the undoubted success of this attractive and beautifully presented restaurant is centred.

If your heart sinks at the mention of home made soup, reconsider your concern with the aid of their cream of chestnut mushroom soup - it must be the stock, but this is different - very different. In season the dressed Cromer crab makes an excellent starter, or there's large freshwater prawns marinated with garlic, chilli and tomatoes.

Tagliatelle rusticana is another name for fresh strips of pasta tossed with chicken in a creamy ('dreamy' would be equally accurate) Dolcelatte sauce.

Amongst the main courses a 16oz grand butterflied Scottish sirloin topped with café de Paris butter, and served with sautéed flat mushrooms and onions will capture the attention of hearty eaters. A saltimbocca of veal presents lightly pan fried escalope of veal stuffed with Parma ham and sage, finished with a sherry cream sauce. That most satisfying of meats, roast fillet of venison is topped with a port and redcurrant sauce.

Have you ever noticed the affinity between duck and venison? It comes with the consistency and colour of each, and they bear further comparison when it comes to the presentation; think of the rich plum and ginger sauce, as served at Beeches with their breast of duck.

Amongst the deference paid to food from the sea (normally about ten choices on the a la carte) is the amusingly named Millionaire's fish supper - half a lobster, crab, smoked salmon, mussels, prawns, all on mixed leaves, though the classic sole Veronique when available is a dish fit for king, millionaire, deposed dictator, whatever. This is a restaurant where vegetarians are made welcome in deed as well as thought, and their fine herb and Parmesan risotto served with a green salad makes a tasty alternative to, shall we say the Mediterranean vegetable and goat's cheese tartlet dressed with a rich tomato sauce and drizzled with basil oil.

Desserts are homemade with all the skill and imagination that puts them apart from the poor mass produced substitutes too often employed elsewhere. A wine list of distinction strives successfully to keep pace with the skills deployed amongst the stoves.

Changes are afoot at Beeches, with the addition of 10 en suite bedrooms and a complete refurbishment of the main building in 2007. Click on their Website to find out about this, menu changes, and their availability for private functions.