The best restaurants in Cowden and Hever Sevenoaks South East

Great beer great atmosphere, really old fashioned pub.

This isn't a pub any more, they've changed it to a smart restaurant and B&B. We went for dinner and I had the salmon and prawn linguine and sticky toffee pudding. Both absolutely superb - this is not really gastropub food, it's more of a fancy restaurant vibe, and the food was delicious. Not an unreasonable price at all given the high quality. The restaurant has a quiet vibe and is beautifully decorated, but it's definitely not casual dining and it's not at all geared towards young children. The beer selection was small but perfectly good; I think it's far more focussed on wine. Good place for a special occasion. Service was really polite and friendly and attentive. Can highly recommend.

Fabulous Family Lunch. mark and Wayne couldn't have been friendlier or done more to make us feel welcome and at home. All our meals came in good sized portions (two of us had to take doggy bags home with us) and good value too. I chose the veggie chilli which was really tasty and they even adapted their offerings so that I could have mind with chips. An excellent decisions as the chips were amazing, large and chunky, crisp and golden on the outside fluffy on the inside. My son had the macaroni cheese which he said was the best he had ever had (apart from mine!). I tried some and agree, deliciously crispy cheesey topping! Will definitely be coming back.

The food at The Fountain is, for a pub, truly and consistently stunning. Everything home-made on a varied and changing menu (almost always with specials of the day, including a top-notch and generous sized Pie), the dishes reflect Chef Fern’s wide travels and culinary expertise, with ingredients carefully sourced. We’re not local to the area but the food is so good and it’s such a welcoming (and very dog-friendly) pub, courtesy of both co-owners, Fern and Toulah, the Fountain has become our (and our dog’s) lunchtime “local”. On our most recent visit, we had a starter of incredibly tender Octopus on a bed of puréed potato and leaves, followed by the Fish of the Day - perfectly-cooked Cod with a Chorizo crumb with perfectly-poached free-range Egg on top, with accompanying veg. DELICIOUS. Do yourself a favour and visit this gem of a pub in Cowden.

We had Christmas lunch here in 2018 and everything was ok so we booked again for 2019 only to have very disappointing experience. You would have thought that they would have gone out of their way to deliver a great lunch but sadly not. No welcome drink this year which was ok but for a special occasion I had expected one. The soup starter was cold and no bread was provided. The lunch was also cold, undercooked potatoes, plastic turkey and stone cold plates. We had to ask for vegetables and condiments as these were not offered. The fruit salad was certainly not fresh and over ripe, unfortunately the waitresses were not trained to deliver and there was certainly a lack of leadership. We all had empty glasses and no coffee was offered. Very disappointed with the entire experience and will not be returning, unfortunately they got it very wrong this year.

Beautiful Tudor pub in picturesque setting right next to Hever Castle. Staff were very helpful and the Sunday lunch was delicious. As well as the cosy pub they also have a pretty beer garden next to a duck pond. Truly delightful place definitely worth a visit.

As part of my birthday treat of visiting nearby Hever Castle, we booked to stay at The Greyhound at Hever restaurant with rooms for the night (September 2024). It’s a delightful little place, with just five bedrooms, a few minutes drive from Hever Castle and well placed for exploring this lovely part of Kent. Our room, number four, was a ground floor room that opened onto the garden where we sat and enjoyed a cup of coffee whilst listening to the sound of birds singing in the trees. The room had everything we needed for an overnight stay including the most important things - a comfortable bed and a very good shower. We ate dinner in the intimate restaurant where the tables were well spaced so we didn’t feel cramped or overheard by nearby diners. The food that we chose was delicious and reasonably priced, as was the wine list. The owner was friendly and welcoming and we felt at ease both at dinner and again at breakfast. Breakfast was another very good meal with a good range of choices. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing stay and if we return to that part of Kent again we’d definitely return to The Greyhound.

Lovely meal. Staff so friendly. Food simple and homemade. Good choice. Had the quiche Lorraine which was very good. Desserts were all homemade as well and delicious. Big car park and the children loved the play area.

Great food delivered in a fine dining room, Breakfast menu was a little light on the number of dishes and to be honest paying £15 for an English breakfast was very expensive. We therefore expected a breakfast of high quality so we wouldn't feel hungry. Sadly the food was lovely but wasn't enough to salve our appetite. Very disappointed.

Visited on a Friday morning and was struck by the friendliness of the team. Great location with lovely view across countryside.

Ended up sharing 3 finger sandwiches and a sausage roll (split into 3) between the two of us. This trip and afternoon tea was booked as a special treat but left me feeling embarrassed as we were dividing miniature cakes into two! The castle and gardens are indeed amazing but the afternoon tea was massive disappointment. For about £45 for two people this was a waste of money and should have asked for a refund. I would suggest going to the coffee shop instead.