8 Restaurants Near London For A Laid-Back Lunch
The Blue Pelican
Kent
The husband and wife behind The Rose in Deal have opened The Blue Pelican, a Japanese-inspired restaurant and natural wine bar in a seafront townhouse with views over Deal Pier. The restaurant is based on a Japanese izakaya, featuring expertly crafted small plates. Head chef Luke Green, who led the kitchen at The Rose under the mentorship of Nuno Mendes, has developed an intimate knowledge of local seafood and suppliers. Having also spent five years in Tokyo, Luke combines his mastery of Kent’s coastal produce with his passion for Japanese food and techniques. Highlights include homemade sesame tofu with daikon tops; smoked eel with tamagoyaki and sansho pepper; dry-aged rump cap with Tokyo turnips; and pork katsu with Castelfranco and sesame dressing. The wine list, curated by Tim Toovey of Uncharted Wines, focuses on low-intervention English and European vineyards. Designed in collaboration with Michelle Kelly, the interior features a blue woodwork theme, hand-painted chequered floor, and bespoke artwork in the dining room by local artist Tom Mariniyak.
Visit TheBluePelican.co.uk
Tillingham
East Sussex
A farm dating back to the 13th century, Tillingham is first and foremost a biodynamic vineyard, which is surrounded by 70 acres of rolling hills and woodlands with far-reaching views towards Rye and the Romney salt marshes beyond. After a tour of the winery, hit the restaurant, where head chef Brendan Eades uses the best local and seasonal produce to create five-course tasting menus of inventive dishes – as you’d expect, these change from day to day. Vegetables are sourced from the on-site walled garden, meat is reared on Tillingham pastures, and fish arrives daily from Rye Harbour. At lunchtime, there’s a wine bar with a wood-fired pizza oven. and bar snacks are always available. The wine list, of course, is stellar and the knowledgeable staff are on hand to help you should you wish to go for wine pairing. The lovely accommodation consists of 11 pared-back rooms in what used to be a hop barn. For breakfast, which is included, you’ll get soft-yolk boiled eggs with soldiers, local apple juice, and granola with raw yoghurt and fresh fruit.
Visit Tillingham.com
Chalk
East Sussex
On the Wiston Estate’s North Farm winery site, Chalk opened in 2021, drawing its name from the soft white limestone the vineyard sits on, and which gives its award-winning wines their distinctive, terroir-driven profile. Chalk offers a regularly changing menu that highlights the best seasonal and hyperlocal produce, with the majority of ingredients sourced from the estate and local Sussex farms and suppliers. Considered yet approachable, the Chalk menu celebrates the nature, heritage and community of the estate, using ingredients from the estate’s allotment-styled walled garden and neighbouring artisan suppliers. Menu highlights include Sussex Charmer cheese, roasted onion tart and waldorf salad; juniper smoked salmon with salt-baked beetroot, pine and horseradish; corn-fed chicken breast with charred hispi cabbage, shiitake mushroom and XO sauce; and poached south-coast cod with shellfish boulangère potato and creamed spinach. In the summer, a beautiful al fresco courtyard hosts 60 guests.
Visit WistonEstate.com
Boys Hall
Kent
Brad and Kristie Lomas bought Boys Hall in 2019 and set about transforming the 17th-century, Grade II-listed Jacobean manor into Kent’s latest hot-property restaurant with rooms. This is a place full of warmth and character, done up with rich fabrics, Farrow & Ball paints, antique portraits and vintage furniture. The menu showcases the best that Kent has to offer. Many of the dishes, like the butterflied sea bream and steak, are cooked over flame and coal using an Asado-style grill. Starters might include coal-roasted beetroot tart with white onion cream, fennel and apple relish; or white crab with devilled egg, cucumber, apple, dill, crumpet and thermidor sauce. For mains, expect dishes like black miso cod with kimchi sushi rice, bok choy, avocado, pickled ginger and cucumber; or Marsh Farm lamb cutlets with cavolo nero, lamb bacon, shallots and cream sauce. For overnighters, there are nine bedrooms, ranging in size and character from small and cosy to large and spacious. Each is individually designed, though all have super king beds, Egyptian cotton bedlinen, fluffy towels, drench showers, rolltop baths, and views over the wild gardens.
Visit Boys-Hall.com
Dilsk
East Sussex
Brighton newcomer Dilsk is an elegant yet relaxed fine-dining restaurant with a focus on sustainable food. It’s found beneath Drake’s, one of Brighton’s loveliest hotels, right on the seafront. Dilsk is the first joint venture from chef Tom Stephens and front-of-house manager Madeleine Riches, who met at Great British Menu winner Michael Bremner’s 64 Degrees, also in Brighton. You might be sensing a theme here and, indeed, all ingredients are meticulously sourced from ethical growers and local producers in and around East Sussex. These are all put to good use in two chef's tasting menus, which take inspiration from the South Downs to the Sussex coast. Running alongside the tasting menu is an optional wine pairing created by Maddy. Menu highlights from our visit include laminated brioche with Three Corner leek butter; south coast halibut with white asparagus, burnt onion, whey, pine, langoustine and Exmoor caviar; and an inventive pudding of Sussex Tenor chocolate with smoked rapeseed, almond and cherry vinegar.
Visit Dilsk.co.uk
Marle
Hampshire
Eco-friendly estate Heckfield Place is one of the UK’s top hotels for a reason – excellent facilities, enviable interiors and flawless service make it a favourite among those in the know. Just 75 minutes from London by car, the hotel is set on a 400-acre estate with walled gardens, forests, meadows, lakes you can swim in and a biodynamic farm. The 18th-century building has been carefully restored with modern luxuries, including a state-of-the-art spa that offers endless wellness classes, treatments and staycations, and six room types, all elegantly decorated. Guests have a choice to dine at two restaurants, both overseen by chef Skye Gyngell: Hearth serves simple but delicious seasonal dishes, or there’s Marle which was recently awarded a Michelin Green Star. The menu at Marle proves that the best food is locally and responsibly grown. Current highlights include tortellini of farm potato and porcini mushrooms with sage butter; Home Farm lamb with cime di rapa and anchovy cream; and estate rhubarb tart with Heckfield cream.
Visit HeckfieldPlace.com
Updown Farmhouse
Kent
This beautifully renovated 17th-century farmhouse is a ten-minute drive inland from the charming town of Deal. The Grade ll-listed property features a lovely, welcoming restaurant with rooms. The restaurant is in a conservatory in the centre of Updown’s rambling grounds. Inside, guests dine beneath hanging vines and wisteria surrounded by original brickwork and antique mirrors. The set-up is simple – picture sculptural black dining chairs, white tablecloths, minimalist floral arrangements on each table, and huge plant pots filled with foliage. Diners can watch the chefs in the open, semi-alfresco kitchen, which is built into the old stable wall, as they tend to the wood-fired grill and original farmhouse bread oven. In the summer months, tables spill out onto a pretty terrace overlooking the main house and gardens. The menu choice is pleasingly concise, and the food is Italian influenced and seasonal, using the best regional ingredients available on the day. You might eat the likes of fazzoletti with morels and wild garlic, or raw sea bass with almonds and cherries, then tuck into baked saffron rice with gurnard, mussels and aioli, or grilled lamb chump with broad beans, artichokes and bagna cauda. The team’s focus on ingredients shines through – even at breakfast – and there’s a lovely kitchen garden. Tended to by gardener Rachel, it’s open for guests to explore and even enjoy a drink among the beds in the evening sun when the sunnier months return. If you can, book an overnight stay to soak up the sense of relaxation and peacefulness the restaurant inspires.
Visit UpdownFarmhouse.com
Sorrel
Surrey
Since opening the doors to Sorrel in October 2017, Steve Drake and his team have been serving modern dishes in a striking 300-year-old building in Dorking – winning a Michelin star along the way. Alongside Steve, head chef Matt is the backbone of the kitchen. Matt takes charge of the day-to-day running of the kitchen, allowing Steve the creative freedom to create the interesting menus that see locals return time and again. In the Surrey Hills, the 28-cover restaurant offers fine dining in a relaxed atmosphere, drawing for inspiration on quality local ingredients. Look out for the likes of buckwheat with 24-hour pork, tamarind and scallop roe; Orkney scallops with apple, pumpkin, parmesan and paprika; and camomile with white chocolate, cucumber and caramelised pineapple.
Visit SorrelRestaurant.co.uk
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