Top 10 Restaurants in Orpington Kent

Best Places to Eat in Orpington

Welcome to our new blog, which is about all things to do with Kent. Places to visit, things to do, what's going on... and in this very first blog post, we've decided to to go with the Best Places to Eat in Orpington.

Hang on a minute I hear you say...Orpington is not in Kent! It may not be officially in Kent, it is in the London Borough of Bromley, but if you ask anyone who lives in Orpington and ask where they live or ask them for their address, they WILL say Kent. Also, we are from Kent, and we are writting this post ;0)

Orpington's Top Restaurants

It's the weekend, and you don't fancy cooking and have decided that you want to go out to eat in Orpington, but are not sure where to go. So, with a little help from TripAdvisor, we have put together a list of the top 10 places to eat in Orpington.

1. The Orpington

Style: British, International, Vegetarian Friendly

161 High Street, Orpington, Bromley BR6 0LW

Tel : 01689 666900

Website : https://theorpington.co.uk/

The Orpington is a little different to most restaurants in that it is a family run restaurant, but also a record store... how cool is that! They are open 7 days a week for breakfast, brunch, locally roasted coffee & lunch. There dinner menu is available Tuesday to Saturday evenings alongside their wine, beer & cocktail list. They also have a private guest room for events, parties & business meetings.

Anne from Orpington gives her review and experience at eating at The Orpington

Up market cafe now in Orpington! I've been here so many times I can almost call it my 2nd home! You always feel welcomed from the moment you step through the door. Very relaxed atmosphere comfortable seating and pleasant background music. Scott and his staff are very friendly and attentive and the café is spotlessly clean. Food is superb with good portions freshly cooked well presented. . Anything you have there you will never be disappointed. Desserts are not to be missed they are delicious. Coffee is full of flavor. Prices are very competitive. During December came here twice with friends for Christmas lunch we all were very happy and contented. Overall Scott and his team deserved being the winner of the Best New Business 2019.

2. BR6

Style : European, British, Vegetarian Friendly

The Walnuts, Bromley College, Orpington Campus, Orpington, Bromley BR6 0TE

Tel: 020 8295 7096

Website: http://br6-restaurant.co.uk/

Style: British, International, Vegetarian Friendly

BR6 Restaurant, is a Modern British Bistro based in Orpington.. Opened in 2015, BR6 is the centrepiece of London South East Colleges’ Hospitality, Food and Enterprise Career College. It offers 16+ year olds work experience in a real restaurant where they will gain all the necessary skills to work in the catering industry.

They have won numerous awards including best hospitality business in Orpington, People 1st Gold Accreditation and being the first college restaurant in London to be awarded a Highly Commended AA Rosette.

The following review comes way of Christine from Welling:

Lovely Lunch! My partner and I had lunch here yesterday and was very impressed

The restaurant is very light and welcoming. The Trainer /Front of house was very efficient and very supportive to his students.

The food was very good. I had the fish Cake starter followed by the stuffed Chicken supreme and my partner had the Smoked Duck with Steak as his Main course.We had a bottle of the Cote du Rhone.

The Student was shown how to present it to us and how to open the bottle and what to do with regards the tasting of the Wine. This I thought was most impressive and will stand him in great stead as he goes on in his career.

The only small criticism I might have was the long wait between having our starter and receiving our Main course but we took in account the Bakehouse which was very busy and the food was coming from the same kitchen.

We will definitely return and lovely to support these up and coming students.

3. Masala Dabbas

Style: Indian, Asian, Vegetarian Friendly

Orpington 294 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0NF

Tel: 01689 601429

Website: http://www.masaladabbas.co.uk

Massala Dabbas came to by a group of friends who have a passion for authentic Indian food. The restaurant offers authentic regional Indian cuisine.

The following review comes way from SirCLondon of London:

Authentic Indian food! Early evening on a Thursday and we were glad we had booked, it was busier than you'd expect. Soon found out why - great chaat, a fantastic dal makhani, an interesting and delicious lamb dish I'd never heard of before. An extremely good vegan and vegetarian selection. Charming staff, a decent and reasonably priced wine list and a most pleasant chat with the owner; one can't ask for more. I can see us becoming regulars here. Highly recommended.

4. Fiesta Mexicana

Style: Mexican, Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options

99-100 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0LG

Tel: 01689 823334

Website: http://www.fiestamexicana.co.uk/

The clue is in their name... Fiesta Mexicana is a Mexican and Cuban restaurant. Offering dishes that are fresh and healthy, utilising local produce from local farms.

Julia of Orpington gives her thoughts about her eating experience at Fiesta Mexicana:

Great atmosphere! Friendly staff and plenty of them. Great atmosphere Best margaritas Really enjoyed the food. Would recommend Have visited before but was a few years ago. Had forgotten how much I enjoyed it.

5. Xian

Style:  Chinese, Asian, Vegetarian Friendly

324 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0NG

Tel: 01689 871881

Website : NONE

David from West Wickham passes on his thoughts about his first visit to Xian in Orpington.

Our first time at XIAN, and very good, restored my love of Chinese food, after some bad experiences at other places. The food was superb, and each dish came up well presented and at a good pace so we were not rushed over the courses. Staff very attentive, friendly service and good atmosphere. No hesitation to recommend this restaurant, and look forward to going again and enjoying another great meal. I would suggest that you book to avoid disappointment as restaurant very busy, and I can see why.

6. Hisar Meze Bar

Style: Mediterranean, Turkish, Middle Eastern

105 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0LG

Tel: 01689 898000

Website: https://www.hisarmezebar.com/

This review about the Hisar Meze Bar comes from Jean of Orpington:

Great Fun with Dancing! Wether you want to dance or simply enjoy watching this is the place to be on a Friday or Saturday night. So lively, all the standard songs to sing along to and plenty of up to date ones as well. Belly dancer always an added bonusrded as one of the world’s great cuisines. Today, travellers are discovering Turkey, and dining well.

The Mediterranean diet, which includes Turkey’s, is considered a healthy diet to follow. “Everyone loves Turkish food,”a ceramics dealer confided in Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. The Success of the Turkish Cuisine Today

7. Ephesus Mediterranean Grill & Meze Bar

Style:  Mediterranean, European, Turkish

243 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0NY

Tel: 01689 832444

Website: https://www.ephesusrestaurant.co.uk/

Here are the thoughts from Alec of Orpington about his eating experience at Ephesus Mediterranean Grill & Meze Bar:

Good quality food. The food here was great. We had mixed meze to start, which was very good. The meat we had after was beautifully cooked and very tasty. Staff were all friendly and attentive. Although it wasn't very busy, there was still live music - a solo guitarist, which was just right. Would visit again.

8. Chapter One

Style: European, British, Contemporary

Locksbottom, Orpington, Kent BR6 8NF

Tel: 01689 854848

Website: https://www.chapteronerestaurant.co.uk/

Chapter One is a fine dining restaurant offering an extensive list of carefully selected wines and fabulous cocktails, with contemporary inspired modern European cuisine.

This review come from KentShopper of Halstead:

Good food and huge portions! Visited on a Sunday evening just before Christmas. There was a good atmosphere, warm and friendly. The menu had plenty of choice and there was a small vegetarians menu as well. Service was generally good although we ordered too many side dishes and were not advised that this was not needed as the main meals came with vegetables. Felt a bit rushed in that the main meal came very quickly after the starters. The food was really tasty and the portions were much larger than expected so felt uncomfortably full (didn’t want to leave any though as it was delicious). Would go again.

9. Parkside Restaurant

Style: Chinese, Asian, Seafood

5-7 Chislehurst Road, Orpington, Kent BR6 0DF

Tel: 01689 822033

Website: https://parksiderestaurant.co.uk/

Parkside Restaurant is a Chinese restaurant providing high quality traditional, regional food from Cantonese, Peking and Sichuan, together with an excellent service.

Steve of Orpington his thoughts and review about eating at Parkside Restaurant:

A Huge Improvement! I used to visit this restaurant when it was called the New World. I wnt often and enjoyed my visits. But then the standards slipped and, after discovering one lunch time, that all the tables were horribly sticky, I stopped going there.

It now appears to be under new ownership. The name has changed, it's much cleaner and has a top level hygiene rating. I thought I'd give it another try and I'm so glad I did. The place wasn't busy on the Monday evening I visited and I was quickly greeted and shown to a table laid with a spotless white cloth - as were all the others. I was given a complimentary plate of prawn crackers and my order was taken and the food served quickly.

The food was excellent and I enjoyed soup, rice and two meat dishes, with ice cream to follow. The service was fast friendly and all you'd wish it to be.

My one suggestion to the management is that the food should be served on heated dishes and that hotplates should be placed on the table to help keep the food hot, as I found that, by the time I was serving myself with the last of the food in the dishes, it had considerably cooled.
I found the prices a little on the high side but you do get a good meal for your money.

10. Scala Bar & Grill

Style: Mediterranean, Italian, European

132 High Street, Orpington, Kent BR6 0JS

Tel: 01689 871111

Website: https://www.scalarestaurant.com/

With its stunning interior, Scala Bar and Grill was launches in 2017 by Salvatore Palazzo bringing Mediterranean cuisine to Orpington.

This particular review about Scala Bar & Grill comes from Rob of Sevenoaks:

Excellent.... First time we have visited the restaurant and it exceeded our expectations. Service was great, food excellent and piping hot. We shall return...

You can learn more about businesses in Orpington here

Want to find the best Chinesese restaurant in Orpington? Take a look here.