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Tallow in Kent triumphs in the Good Food Guide’s annual celebration of cockle-warming community favourites
When Donna and Rob Taylor opened their restaurant Tallow in Southborough, a village halfway between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells in Kent, they wanted a new challenge. The couple had previously run the Compasses Inn in Crundale, Canterbury – a spot that boasted a Michelin Bib Gourmand (for good value) and was regarded as one of the country’s best gastropubs.
Yet they craved something more intimate. Running front of house, Donna often wouldn’t have time to speak to some tables and she wanted to chat to her customers, to know them by name. In lockdown they downsized and set up shop in a quintessential English village; idyllically, opposite a cricket green. The Taylors hoped Tallow would be the sort of neighbourhood restaurant they’d visit on their days off, for a midweek meal or a special occasion, and which would hold the same appeal for their customers.
Their plan worked. Today, Tallow has been named Britain’s Best Local Restaurant by the prestigious Good Food Guide. “Tallow stood out, head and shoulders above what is a very strong list,” says the guide’s editor, Elizabeth Carter. “For a chef of this quality to be so happily focused on running a neighbourhood restaurant is extraordinary. There’s a level of commitment here that would sit happily in many top restaurants.”
Chef Rob admits he “was gobsmacked, and excited” when he heard the news. “It’s a really nice thing to be part of, cementing what we intended to be when we opened Tallow,” he says. The prize is one of few in the industry voted for by the public, unlike Michelin stars, the World’s 50 Best or the National Restaurant Awards, which are compiled by chefs and industry bigwigs. In total, over 36,000 nominations were received for 2,000-odd restaurants, with the Good Food Guide releasing a list of its top 100 (verified by its inspectors) for the first time since the pandemic.