The best restaurants in Ashford South East

Great overall as a quick pit stop if visiting the store and certainly is nicer than queuing near the doorway for the takeaway coffee at the store entrance! It was surprisingly quiet here for approaching lunchtime and staff are very friendly and helpful which made the visit enjoyable. The pot of tea tasted good and I liked the China pot rather than a fiddly ugly metal one. I went for a Welsh rarebit toastie with the ham (it’s a shredded ham hock type) to go with it. Not sure what the other food is like but it’s typical café offerings eg quiche, various toasties and of course pastries & cakes. I can say that the cappuccino cake was nice and freshly made, nothing dry or tired tasting. The lady wrapped it so could take it home. I only knocked off a star as I would have liked to see ‘bowl type’ lunches here with added protein as it’s nice to not have a bread based snack or lunch.

Stopped in for a quick rest during our walk, lovely lady greeted us at the bar. Beautiful spacious garden and Cracker the dog made our visit even better ☺️☀️

Such a beautiful pub set in a beautiful village and surroundings. The staff were so friendly and welcoming, and our meals delicious. We sat in a very light and airy dining area and had an extremely relaxed and enjoyable afternoon. We would highly recommend.

Love this place man awesome food and sound geezers too. Proper nice place

We enjoyed a truly delicious meal at The Bowl Inn. The service was exceptional, and the setting was lovely. Would definitely recommend the restaurant, but can't say what the rooms are like as we didn't stay there.

This is *usually* my favourite fish and chip shop in ashford, we have been using them for years whenever we decide to get it. Wr heard there was new owners but hoped for the best anyway... My husband ordered a collection this evening, I'm so disappointed. The chips were so dark, dry and over cooked. All stuck together, the gyros was super dry, solid and lacked flavour. Absolutely gutted. Usually my favourite when we have it and now it's ruined my favourite treat dinner... Such a shame. Hopefully whoever the new owners are, they can try and work to the amazing quality it always has been...

Visited this chippy as it’s just opposite a decent pub we went to. Was a small queue so it looked promising. However, was honestly the worst chippy tea we’ve had in a long while. Ordered and paid extra for medium chips not small, a battered sausage and a fishcake. Chips were hardly enough for one person and cold, didn’t get a battered sausage but plain one and the fishcake was awful and went in the bin. Hope the chippy enjoys our tenner as it’s the only one they will ever get. Awful food. Shame as the staff serving were so nice and I cannot fathom how there’s a queue to this chippy?

We have just visited The Bell in Smarden for the first time since it changed hands last year ! We were met with a warm welcome and smile and showed to our table . We had a delicious Sunday Roast , I had the Lamb and my husband had the Beef . We had a great waiter called Grant and he couldn’t have been more helpful . The drinks were great too 🥂 I’m so glad we decided to go there and have the Sunday Roast . We will be back 😍 Many thanks Denise & Bill

Weekday visit for food with family was very disappointing. No heating on, waited ages to get food which wasn’t good considering we were the only table eating. Beetroot tart was a very poor standard and did not fit description on the menu, chicken & veg was overcooked with a measly portion of potato, burnt burger & overcooked fish & chips, only positive my daughter could have a choice of gluten free options & the waitress that served us was very pleasant. Such a shame as quaint surroundings, won’t be rushing back.

(Update May 2025 Their Pizzas are stunning, collected two yesterday and it was fantastic. Properly run place, thanks everyone.) Nice place, one of the few places that will deliver to us out in the sticks. Wife loves the fish, I loved the donner pizza.

Fantastic service and food. Always freshly cooked and staff are very friendly

Best Kebabs in town. If you go on a Saturday for takeaway as they're so busy with deliveries ect - you might get lucky and they'll just complete your order from what's currently cooking on the grill. I've been a couple of times and had no wait to get my order. Amazing!!. Recommend Lamb Kebab and Chicken kebab. Chips are pretty good too.

Had to leave a review as the roast pork Sunday lunch was just SO good. Have eaten many such meals at countless establishments in my time and have learned to be quite fussy - but the food here really does rank among the very best. Perfectly cooked meat and tasty vegetables with the cauliflower cheese especially good. Calamari starter with the lime and chilli sauce was beautiful too. All very reasonably priced and served up with a smile. Deserve to be very proud of The Blue Anchor, would def return. Thank you

In case you don’t know about this curry house. Check 👇🏼

Myself and 3 Biker mates visited yesterday and were impressed by the changes made to the place. Full of interesting Motoring memorabilia for all Petrolheads everywhere! The young staff were friendly and attentive as well as being highly efficient in their jobs. The breakfast is at the top of the price range at £11.95, but it was cooked beautifully and the ingredients top notch. Great Coffee too! We had a great time and will certainly return. An excellent Bikers retreat!