Rocksalt

It’s worth heading out to the seaside town of Folkestone for a trip to Rocksalt alone. This pared-down, comfortably stylish place is far more than just a gorgeous setting for harbourside dining – it’s a leading light among Kent’s new breed of excellent restaurants, serving super-fresh locally sourced food in creative, unfussy combinations. Sit outside on the deck, above the water and next to the fishing boats, or indoors in the airy, sympathetically modern glass-and-wood interior, and give yourself over to the impeccably composed, regularly changing menu. You're spoiled for choice when it comes to fresh fish and seafood, or indeed smoked fish (a typical day will see cockles, whelks, oysters and crab, Dungeness shrimp and Folkestone cod, along with dabs, monkfish and mussels). Carnivores will delight in the free-range local meat (including super-tasty local salt marsh lamb, and melt-in-the-mouth Monkshill pork), and there are creative veggie choices, too – Jerusalem artichoke couscous with spinach and wild mushrooms, say – with veg and salad grown on the restaurant’s own farm. The views across the harbour are stunning, with floor-to- ceiling windows that are flung open on sunny days. In addition to the a la carte menu are a number of good-value set lunch menus, and a weekend brunch (Sat & Sun 11am–4pm) that runs the gamut from dressed local crab with harissa and toast to a classic British fry up using the very best ingredients. The bar upstairs is a lovely place for a drink, with its own terrace and sweeping views over the water –  try one of their on-trend signature cocktails, like a Rocksalt Mary, made with home-infused samphire vodka. You can eat here, too, selecting from lots of tasty small plates – half a dozen oysters, mussels, marinated local whelks – and typically creative snacks including Yorkshire pudding with roast garlic or a posh, gluten-free, pork crackling.