Restaurant-Guide.com
hand picked restaurants

The Mount Edgcumbe Hotel and Restaurant stands out from the crowd as something slightly different, the lively Brasserie and Bar provide a warm, friendly ambiance, featuring an authentic 8th century candle lit cave, hollowed out from the historic sandstone rock, which provides the hotel with its foundation.

The brasserie menu features a broad range of international and English specialties with traditional roasts available on Sundays; their fixed price menus at lunchtime present good value, with a three courses on Sunday at only £14.95, during the week it is even cheaper.

The quaint bar, crafted out of weather-worn coastal oak offers a selection of varied libations from their Highland malts to locally brewed ale.

The garden, which the brasserie overlooks, merges subtly with the surrounding common land, you can sit and relax out there and sample one of the traditional English meals from their bar snack menu and enjoy this peaceful corner of Royal Tunbridge Wells so close to the centre of town.

The elegant Spa Hotel at Royal Tunbridge Wells is located in a delightful 18th century mansion, surrounded by verdant and picturesque grounds making it quite the perfect venue for special events and weddings. The gardens that overlook the Kentish countryside and lakes can accommodate up to thirty guests while the recently built orangery at the rear of the hotel is suitable for private functions. The Chandelier Restaurant offers a range of delicious modern English dishes, prepared from fresh, local ingredients and has consistently been awarded an AA rosette for the past five years.

Starters could include hot smoked salmon with saffron potato blinis with horseradish hollandaise, followed by baked heart of rump steak, parmesan soufflé topping, mushroom fritter and carrots. Delectable desserts include a sharp lemon tart, meringue and curd ice cream with citrus jelly and berries. The carefully selected wine list is extensive and features vintages as well as popular wines from the New and the Old world.

When Richard Phillips started Thackeray's, he chose Tunbridge Wells, home to well known author William Makepeace Thackeray. This distinguished restaurant's name is derived from the author as it is located in the very house where he lived in the 19th century. The grade II listed building is impressive with its low ceilings and ancient floorboards, but antiquity stops at the structure and there is nothing ancient about the food, which is fresh and procured from local suppliers!

The French cuisine offered there is modern chic and focuses a great deal on presentation. Watch out for the tasting menu where you could enjoy smaller portions of signature dishes. For a more elaborate meal, the ratatouille ravioli with gazpachio purée and black olive dressing makes a good starter. Move on to pan fried swordfish loin with niçoise salad and white wine butter sauce, and end with the delightfully flavoured crème brulee, strawberry and basil sorbet and balsamic jelly. The wine list is extensive and covers all the great wine producing areas, varieties, prices and styles, with a special selection available by the glass.

Ola! This Mexican diner in Tunbridge Wells is zesty and fun and with its quirky decor, Latin beats, warm tones and irresistible food, it's a popular dining choice amongst a variety of people. Zapata draws a young crowd as well as those just looking for a good time with friends and family. Located in the Union Square, they offer some remarkable views from their terrace and diners are often inclined to enjoy their meals from this beautiful vantage point.

Begin your foray into the refreshing menu with juicy tiger prawns grilled with cherry tomatoes and roasted sweet peppers and move on to their special paella, with chicken, chorizo, monkfish, mussels, calamari and salmon. If you're willing to let spice rule your taste buds, then try the sirloin steak smothered with a smoked Ancho chilli sauce, served with garlic sautéed potatoes. Favourites such as tortillas and fajitas create an unmistakable comfort level.

Sankey's approaches the presentation of fish from three angles. First the Oyster Bar where the emphasis is on drinking and eating in that order. Then the Cellar Wine Bar, which adopts much the same approach from a more subterranean viewpoint, and finally the Seafood Restaurant, which is their main concern.

There are langoustines from Loch Fyne, oysters from Whitstable, lobsters and crabs from Cornwall and the homemade fish soup would melt the heart of a nightclub bouncer. Local boats are used to catch fish such as lemon sole, Dover sole, plaice, black bream, wild bass, monkfish, halibut, haddock, pollack, turbot, brill, gurnard, witch sole and megrim sole to prepare dishes on the daily menu.

Game and other non-piscatorial dishes are also served but the fish predominates. The wine list is truly international and other than local ales, there is a good selection of continental beers that are bottled and on tap.

Signor Franco Restaurant is not the kind of place one would want to show up at, grab a bite and leave. It would be a downright injustice to the why-didn't-I-discover-this-earlier quality of food, the charming view of High Street through the huge glass window in its timber frame and the staff who deserve a mention for their ability to retain professionalism while always managing a friendly chat or sharing the odd joke with their customers. The place is a rare find in Turnbridge Wells and has a regular following for its ability to blend such things as sophistication and unpretentiousness and old world charm with contemporary style.

The food is qualified to assume the coveted title of 'the culinary benchmark' with such things as scaloppa alla Milanese - veal escalope in bread crumbs and spaghetti and bianchi and rossi - king prawns and scallops with wine, chilli and garlic. There's an impressive vegetarian menu and a long wine list as well. Fluffy strawberry mousse and meringue with chocolate sauce need no help wooing dessert lovers. Tip: Save the mousse for a special occasion.