Restaurant at The White Horse Inn

How often do you glimpse a pub or restaurant and instinctively know that it's going to be all right before you even go inside? Of such an ilk is The White Horse at Bridge, near Canterbury. So does that let me off the hook - no, it does not, because some places are a good deal more than 'alright', and yes, you've guessed. Walking into the main bar in itself induces a feeling of well-being, with the wood panelling, log burner, inglenook and cared-for atmosphere very much to the fore.

Food plays a great part in the life of The White Horse; gastropub, whatever that may mean, might not be too wide a term to use. Starters of smoked haddock and potato soup with poached egg and dill, Whitstable rock oysters served on ice with lemon and shallot vinegar, or pressed oxtail terrine with beetroot relish and mustard dressing are but three of the attractive starters that set the pace.

Loin of pork crusted with red onion marmalade on thyme roasted potatoes and mustard sauce, fillet of beef with a root vegetable puree, parsnip crisps, spinach and red wine and thyme gravy, or roast monkfish tail with lightly curried mussels, cumin-baked spinach and potatoes all afford ample evidence of the skill at work in the kitchen, where Ben Walton, formerly of the Sandgate Hotel near Folkestone, holds the fort.

For puddings a sophisticated array of real wickedness meets the eye, starting with plum and cinnamon crème brulee with a coconut crumble topping and honeyed crème fraiche, or melting chocolate parcel with a Kentish cobnut praline ice cream and vanilla caramel sauce, strongly supported by a first class choice of cheeses, supplied by Neal's Yard. Be sure to leave a corner for either some of the Late Bottled Vintage port or a glass of something from the impressive array of liqueurs and single malts. The White Horse is a place in which it is easy to be extremely comfortable.