The Inn has a separate dining area although you can eat in the bar and beautiful garden when the weather is warm. 

It's a lovely place to visit all the year round, in the summer you can eat and drink in the cool interior or enjoy the good sized terraced garden with ample seating and water feature. Cooler weather allows visitor to sample the atmosphere created in the ancient building by flagstone floors, low beams and roaring, welcoming fires.

The general standard of the food is very good and the location is second to none but the restaurant is a victim of it's own success. At busy times the quality and quantity isn't consistently what I'd expect given the prices. I recently had a meal there with three friends, we ate in the garden and had just a main course each. The vegetable portions were almost negligible, three of the main courses were acceptable but the fish in elderflower pie was poor with little fish in a sauce that was very watery. To the credit of the staff they offered a full refund or alternative meal when a complaint was made.

An attractive menu is on offer in the evenings, with prices for starters of  £4 to £6.50 and £11 to £16 for most main courses.

Some of the options for starters were Coarse Liver & Apple Pate, Garlic Prawns or Local Trout Pate. Main course choices include Ringlestone Pies, which are homemade and usually very good, Turkey, Bacon & Walnut, Chicken & Asparagus in Cowslip Wine, and Duck & Damson Wine. There is also a selection of Stove and Snack dishes such as Pastry Baked Fillet of beef or Garlic Chicken.

The Ringlestone also offers a help yourself hot & cold buffet lunch between 12:00 and 14:00 Monday to Saturday, roast lunch between 12:00 and 14:30 on Sundays. In the evening you can order from either bar or restaurant menu and sit wherever you like; either in the candlelit dining room or by a roaring log fire in one of the bars.

The restaurant's good reputation means that there is good evening trade so you should phone to check the availability of tables.

Ringlestone hamlet is off the beaten track in the North Downs, but is only 5 minutes drive from Leeds Castle in Kent and junction 8 of the M20 motorway. The restaurant is located in Ringlestone Hamlet, Near Harrietsham, Maidstone. Telephone 01622 859900.

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