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For residents of Oare, this restaurant is a favoured dining spot for its delicious home cooked food, friendly atmosphere and a menu that has something for everyone. The garden terrace at The Three Mariners looks out over the Oare marshes and the smiling service staff offers a warm welcome to all their customers. Local produce stars in almost all the dishes with comforting regularity and the relaxed ambience, large garden with playing area for children and plenty of parking makes this a fantastic venue.

Begin with starters of skate cheeks with lemon, garlic and parsley, followed by oxtail braised with cep mushrooms and red wine, served with champ or maybe the fillet of wild sea bass, fennel, broad beans and rosemary. Puddings include a Valrhona chocolate, prune and Armagnac cake with espresso ice cream while the cheese platter is also promising. The drinks list comprises of a good compilation of beers, bottled and draught, ales, ciders and wines.

A delightfully cosy little pub, in the best sense, very much the centre of the community but at the same time serving a wider public, and a jolly good thing too. There is a good selection of snacks and light meals at lunchtimes with more choice in the evenings. Everything is very traditional and there is a pleasing veering towards fish. For those who like their Shepherd Neame, here it is, supported by a brief wine list, from £12.00 upwards.

For some time I made the mistake of thinking that no group of restaurants in the region of 200 locations could hope to maintain the quality for which I was looking.

Then one day I decided to put my prejudices to the test, walked into Oxford Ask! and discovered that I could not have been more mistaken. Their claim to serve freshly prepared quality food in stylish and comfortable surroundings with friendly and efficient service proved to be absolutely spot on.

Since then I have also discovered that a degree of consistency seems to operate throughout their restaurants, and that certainly does take some achieving, implying a degree of management that is enviable. They are perfect places for an impromptu snack, a bit of culinary grazing, or the full works, and families are catered for particularly well.

Their trendy décor usually comprises tiled floors and black furniture with well set tables that sparkle with glass, silver and spotless linen. Ten starters include crostini and bruschetta, followed by a range of salads, pasta and al forno, oven baked pasta, some with chicken.

The pizzas are stone baked in the oven, creating a crisp, authentic and delicious flavour, and they all come topped with mozzarella and tomato. Calzone introduce a touch of opulence with a folded pizza baked in the oven and topped with garlic butter and melted grana padano, whilst inside expect to find chicken or a vegetarian mix.

Amongst the specials may I warmly, in every sense, recommend the polpette al forno, a popular Milanese dish of beef meatballs sautéed in garlic with fire roasted peppers, caramelised onions, chilli and pomodoro sauce, with penne pasta, topped with cheese and oven baked.

An enticing selection of desserts list banoffee pie and tiramisu amongst them, and the coffee tastes like coffee, which may sound banal, but I guess you know what I mean.

Thanks to a well selected wine list speculative drinking can offer handsome dividends, even with prices rarely crossing the £20 barrier.

Conveniently located in Faversham's high street, Prince of India offers a relaxed and artistic atmosphere to enjoy a romantic meal, a work party, or an evening out with the family. The restaurant opened in late 2006 and has since become a favoured destination for both traditional and innovative Indian cuisine.

Starters of salmon tikka, sheek kebab and tandoori king prawns lead to a main course of curries such as the balti, Persian or passanda, the flavoursome rice dish of biryani, or all-in-one thalis. Chef Shahjahan Ahmed's best creations comprise lau tarkari, chicken or lamb cooked with red pumpkin in a rich sauce blended with coriander, onions, and capsicum; modhucash murgh, aromatic and mildly spiced chicken cooked with cashew nuts and honey, and delightful pan-fried Bangladeshi fish called roopchanda ocean.

Vegetarian sides embrace the popular palak paneer of spinach and Indian cottage cheese, and tangy Bombay potatoes among other choices. Pilau rice, assorted nan bread, chutneys, and raitha accompany the food.

A cup of tea, coffee or Indian desserts help end the meal perfectly.

Owned by David and Rona Pitchford, with David in charge of the kitchen, Read's, formerly at Painter's Forstal, has reinvented itself at a pleasant Georgian manor house. There is a productive herb and vegetable garden and local produce is still called heavily into use.

The imaginative food makes the menu a delight to read, you might start with a hot soufflé of mature Montgomery cheddar cheese set on a bed of glazed smoked haddock in a creamed sauce or a terrine of foie gras with a peppered pineapple relish, lambs lettuce salad and toasted home made brioche.

Then for your second course how about a saddle of Kentish lamb roasted pink with wild morel mushrooms, globe artichokes, fresh asparagus and dauphinoise potatoes; a teriyaki marinaded fillet of Scottish salmon on a bed of oriental cabbage with sesame potatoes or roasted breast of local pheasant with braised red cabbage, prune and bacon rolls and game chips.

Desserts are almost irresistible, like the rice pudding crème brûlée with a fine crisp topping, accompanied by a sherry and sultana ice cream; warm hazelnut frangipane with roasted organic pears in hot butterscotch sauce with home made vanilla ice cream or Read's lemon tart with their own blackcurrant sorbet.

There is a very comprehensive wine list, with ten pages of 'best buys' - it is worth going to Read's for that alone. To cap it all, cheese is not an afterthought but is treated with the loving care that such a commodity should always enjoy.

In 2003 Read's and the Pitchfords were awarded the prestigious Independent Restaurateur of the Year Catey by Caterer and Hotelkeeper, judge Stephen Moss, Vice President of the Restaurant Association, commented, "David has created a wonderfully consistent restaurant business that has evolved and grown over the years, but he has also put a lot into the industry. He's hugely respected by his peers."

The charming village of Eastling is situated in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the slope of the North Downs, and The Carpenters Arms is located in a lovely red brick and timbered building that faces the village church and dates back to 1380.

The blackboard features favourites like bacon and bone marrow pie, slow cooked pork, and potted crab and pigeon terrine. From bread to bacon and cold smoked fish, most dishes are prepared in-house. The salt beef and horseradish coleslaw or roast saddle of hare with chestnuts, just the thing for two to enjoy, are other choices that never fail to delight.

Desserts appear in the form of blood orange jelly and burnt cream, praline ice cream with hot chocolate custard, and apple sorbet and calvados. With its idyllic location, rustic country food, collection of local memorabilia and two inglenook fireplaces, Carpenters encourages guests to relax and enjoy themselves amidst comfortable surroundings.