Adorable Hideaway with log fire and incredible views

Nestled deep in the countryside is this 70-acre farm and wine estate with a shop, a café, a tasting room and stylish bedrooms in its former hop barn. The restaurant, occupying converted farm buildings, has a rustic, airy quality with large windows overlooking the vines – as it gets busier, a terrific buzz fills the room. The ingredient-driven cooking focuses on pure, fresh flavours, available from a fixed-price, three-course lunch menu or an à la carte of sharing plates at dinner. The wine list includes their own low-intervention selection.

With top hats as lampshades and tubas in the loos, quirky is this 16th-century coaching inn’s middle name. Its charm and character are only enhanced by its location within a picture-postcard village that makes you feel like you've stepped back in time. The pub itself offers appealing, boldly flavoured dishes – such as a lovely plum frangipane tart for dessert – and sourdough pizza is served from the outdoor Smithy Kitchen when the weather allows. The wine list features large-format magnums, jeroboams and imperials.

This rustic, modern restaurant sits above the shop in the Chapel Down vineyard and boasts a cosy lounge and a lovely rooftop terrace with views over the vines. It’s run by a friendly team and, naturally, wines from the vineyard play a big role. Each dish on the daily menu comes with a suggested pairing, while the full wine list shows off their impressive range of both still and sparkling options. In the kitchen, the chefs produce ambitious modern dishes with a British heart that push local ingredients to the fore.

There's a rustic, farmhouse-like feel to this former village pub run by two brothers. The team's focus is firmly on self-sufficiency, growing an array of fruit and vegetables on their own land, using no-dig and low-intervention methods. This seasonal produce heavily informs the monthly changing tasting menu, which blends British and Nordic culinary influences in dishes that have bold, well-balanced flavours and lots of personality. In summer, grab a seat on the terrace for an aperitif overlooking the garden.

The charming town of Rye is a destination in itself, and wandering through its steep cobbled streets, you will be happy to stumble upon this converted historic pub to recharge your batteries. Its refurbishment has left it more as a restaurant – one with a rustic, slightly bohemian style – but you can still smell the centuries of welcoming wood fires that have blazed in its antique fireplaces. The cooking casts an appealingly wide net, taking in influences from Cantonese (char siu monkfish skewers) to classical French (chocolate delice with boozy prunes).

Chef Jack Lury skilfully blends his British, European and Sri Lankan heritage at this personal little restaurant in the town centre. Look out for the discreet entrance, then head down to the relaxed dining room where Lury cooks alone for just 10 diners. His original tasting menu is filled with enticing, interesting dishes that enhance British ingredients with deft spicing. Stand-out dishes include the likes of puréed aubergine with mustard seeds, crunchy turnip and Brussels sprouts, or tender venison with a spiced garlic sauce.

One-time '80s rock drummer Graham Garrett has now been in the kitchen longer than he was on stage. His family run restaurant is in a great spot, located in a picturesque village and housed inside a 16th-century cottage with heavily timbered interiors. Graham's dishes are stripped down to show off his quality ingredients and years of technical experience; if you're lucky, you'll get the finely crafted parmesan churros as a snack. The wines are local, the service is as unfussy as the food and the bedrooms have stylish themes.