If you’re a fan of Charles Dickens, you’ll probably know that this restaurant occupies the ancient crooked building that served as Mr Tope’s house in The Mystery of Edwin Drood. It still bears all the hallmarks of history (wonky timbers, blackened beams, narrow stairs) and the dining room has a “really intimate” Dickensian feel – although the cooking is a world away from Victorian victuals. British and European ideas are tangled up together and the results on the plate are “top-notch” – from poached duck egg with bacon, black pudding and wasabi vinaigrette to roast rump of lamb with braised belly, faggot, carrot purée and pea. The chef also cures his own fish (try his hot-smoked mackerel with celeriac rémoulade, beetroot and pickled red cabbage), while desserts leap from sticky date pudding to lemon brioche with poached pear and stem-ginger ice cream. Afternoon tea is an added treat (with gin and Champagne options), and a menu of burgers and sandwiches is offered on the terrace overlooking Rochester Castle.