A work trip to Kent resulted in an impromptu visit to The Swan, located in the commuter-haven of West Malling. The other members of the party who took me there were familiar with the establishment and spoke highly of it.
Cooper’s Arms Dining Room (September 2013)
The Fishes (August 2013)
The Well: Not without its faults (April 2013)
The Garrison: It works (September 2012)
It works for me. Many try but few succeed with the (albeit highly over-used) gastro-pub concept. It's hard to say where specifically the Garrison excels, but it is probably most strongly in that ineffable idea of ambience, captured by the decor, noise level (well-balanced), attitude of the staff (very clearly going out of their way to be friendly) and of the other diners.