Old Dining Room at The Bell, The

The Bell Hotel is one of those features in the life of a community that defines its character and fills a significant niche in its history, in this case since Tudor times when the Bell Inn, alongside the Barbican Gate and Toll was a respected place of refreshment at the hub of the port's maritime activity.

Some 700 years later its stands proudly still, grown in stature and respect, overlooking the River Stour and serving a community that extends well beyond the thriving town of Sandwich. With 34 en-suite bedrooms, the Georgian Regency Room that will comfortably accommodate up to 100 guests, and the Stour Conference suite it is the place to which to turn when important events, be they personal or commercial, are afoot.

There is a choice of refurbished bedrooms consisting of single, twin, double rooms and suites. Some bedrooms have balconies and river views with others overlooking the roofscape of Sandwich. All have en-suite bathrooms, bespoke toiletries, hair dryers, coffee and tea-making facilities, digital radios and remote controlled televisions and telephones. There is Wi-Fi access throughout the hotel.

If the day ever comes that plaques are placed on the accommodations recommended by Paddy Burt, the Daily Telegraph's much respected hotel reviewer over 18 years, The Bell will have one! The menus look both to the sea and inland. Starters of carpaccio of Sussex venison, pressed terrine of mackerel and beetroot, or seared Rye Bay scallops with shaved fennel set the scene and vegetarians will approve of the warm salad of chargrilled baby leeks with quail's egg and grilled goat's cheese.

Roast rump of Romney Marsh lamb is a signature dish in everything but name, but there's plenty of choice, with a delice of lemon sole, that most favoured of fish, or a 28 day hung chargrilled sirloin steak with fat chips and Béarnaise sauce commanding a steady demand. Pursuing the classical trend a lemon tart with lemon confit and clotted cream pops up for attention, but for sheer artistry I commend the rose water sponge, orange curd with ginger ice cream, and rose water cream. There's a trend these days for cheese selections to become more than a little pricey, but here at The Bell a selection of artisan made cheeses accompanied by Kentish orchard fruit chutney and oat biscuits is commendable in every way, not least as value for money.

A prix fixe lunch menu offers the sort of choices - 3 per course - that you know betokens culinary spontaneity. A three course lunch could consist of doubled baked blue cheese soufflé, a wild sea bass fillet with saffron linguine, followed by millefeuille milk chocolate with orange and whisky confit, all at a price that, along with everything else, would justify the trip from the Midlands to Kent alone.

A wine list of over 50 bins amply provides for the needs of anyone but the most pedantic of oenophiles, with a sensible selection by the glass including a Sicilian chardonnay house wine that is crying out for you to cast care aside and buy the bottle.

The Bell at Sandwich is one of those places that should be enshrined in our native consciousness, but having survived all those years I doubt if it needs such protection. Their Website, dignified, clear and friendly, like everything else about them, will keep you up to speed on what else they can offer, menu changes and the like.