The story
The West House is a Modern British restaurant with rooms at 28 High Street, Biddenden, and it holds Three AA Rosettes for 2026. Chef/patron Graham Garrett has run the kitchen since opening it with his partner Jackie in 2002.
Garrett swapped drumming in 1980s bands for professional kitchens at 31, and later worked alongside Richard Corrigan. In Kent he built his style around local farms and the shoreline, with the occasional Italian olive oil where it earns its place. The aim is depth and purity of flavour, delivered without fuss, and the menu changes every week.
Guests choose a short or long set menu, four courses at lunch and five in the evening, according to The Good Food Guide, which rates the restaurant Very Good for 2026. Past dishes include crisp-skinned wild sea bass with caramelised endive, and acorn-fed Ibérico pork presa with celeriac purée and pickled quince. The Bakewell tart with fig and almond has been singled out as a standout dessert. Dishes shift with availability, so treat these as examples.
The dining room is beamed and timbered, with an open fire, inside a 16th-century weaver's cottage. Four rooms allow a night away after dinner. The wine list carries an AA Notable Wine List Award and sorts bottles into categories such as "natural", "classic" and "wilfully obscure". Around two dozen wines are poured by the glass or carafe.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
History
Graham Garrett’s delightfully laid-back restaurant with rooms certainly has formidable staying power – it celebrated its 20th birthday in 2022. The 16th-century weaver’s cottage is fittingly discreet from the outside, warm, understated and beautifully timbered within, with affable service and a choice of fixed-price menus: diners can go ‘short’ at lunchtime (four courses) or ‘full' in the evening (five courses, plus cheese as an extra). Either way, the kitchen sets high standards with seasonally aware dishes demonstrating a solid understanding of classic techniques and enlivened by vibrant contemporary flavours. Garrett’s fish supplies are spot-on for freshness and his timing is true – as in crisp-skinned wild sea bass offset by bittersweet caramelised endive and a ‘really savoury’ chicken sauce or skrei cod fillet with grilled baby gem and brown shrimp butter. As for meat, acorn-fed Ibérico pork ‘presa’ (a shoulder cut) is a favourite with the kitchen, perhaps served with celeriac purée and a slice of pickled quince. Following a palate cleanser, dessert proper might be baked rhubarb cheesecake with rhubarb sorbet and gingerbread crisp, although Garrett’s take on Bakewell tart is a ‘knockout’, with the thinnest, crispest pastry and a fig/almond filling. The serious-minded wine list packs in a host of dependable producers, with plenty for the traditionalists while lifting the lid on a smattering of off-piste labels. Two dozen choices by the glass or carafe offer a tempting way in.
Location
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