For food lovers, there is certainly no shortage of places to visit around Kent.

A host of new places in the county have recently opened or are set to swing open their doors in the near future - offering all sorts of different cuisine.

Some big brands are opening up too, including German Doner Kebab, which recently appointed Daniel Bunce as a new global chief operating officer, which is due to open a chain on Grovesnor Road, Tunbridge Wells. It will replace former electronics store Maplin.

The restaurant is scheduled to open this month, although an exact opening date has not been confirmed, and will create in the region of 40 new jobs.

Mr Bunce said: “We’re delighted to officially announce plans to bring the German Doner Kebab experience to Tunbridge Wells.

“Our game-changing kebabs are revolutionising the kebab in the UK and we are excited to be bringing a new fast-casual experience to the area, offering great tasting fresh food in a relaxed and modern setting.”

Once opened, German Doner Kebab, which already has chains in Maidstone and Canterbury, will offer a full dine-in experience, as well as takeaway and click and collect services.

Plans have also been approved for a KOKORO sushi and hot food cafe in Tunbridge Wells.

The Korean-Japanese restaurant chain plans to open at the Tech Experts phone repair shop in Calverley Road, near to the main entrance of the Royal Victoria Place shopping centre.

A spokesman said the lease contract is due to be completed on March 17, adding: “We will be able to get back to you once we confirm the above as to when the opening date (estimated) would be along with other details.”

Fast-food burger chain Five Guys is also expected to open in Mount Pleasant, Tunbridge Wells, soon.

Works look to be under way on the restaurant which joins four others in the county.

American fast-food giant Taco Bell has launched a bid to open a drive-thru on the site of a former sewage-treatment facility in Canterbury.

Firm Glenbeigh Development has struck a deal with Taco Bell for it to move onto its 3.5-acre plot off Sturry Road – little more than a stone’s throw away from rivals McDonald’s and KFC.

Bosses from the construction firm predict the Mexican-inspired restaurant could open before the end of the year, having lodged plans.

Glenbeigh director Colin Whelan thinks it will prove a hit with customers.

He said: “It’s a completely different offer, isn’t it?

“It’s not KFC, it’s not McDonald’s - Taco Bell is probably in line with the changing tastes that the public are looking for.”

Other Taco Bell chains are already open in Chatham and in Crayford, near Dartford, where Italian restaurant Bennella opened on the High Street last year.

In Rochester, swish new fish eatery Fish and Sakana at 55 is now open - and bosses have been encouraged by the initial response.

Alan Brett, who runs the restaurant where Simply Italian formerly was on the High Street, is working alongside business partner Steve Pennington after a series of lockdown setbacks delayed its opening.

He said: “It’s been very, very good. We have gone for a soft opening. That way, we are doing a smaller amount of covers and, each day, building it up. We have got a staff of over 50, we are building slowly.”

At present, it is doing around 40 covers per session, which equates to around 120 per day, with the first floor of the historic grade-II listed three-floor building set to be opened this weekend.

“We’re really pleased with the staff we have taken on,” added Mr Brett.

The partners also run Oliver's Bar and Restaurant at the Star Hill end of the High Street, Brettington's Steak and Lobster House and the Rochester Coffee Shop.

Afro-Caribbean restaurant Jays Soul Food is now available for takeaways in Ashford town centre, although the opening of the site has been pushed back slightly.

Mum-of-three Janet Odeyale, known as Lady Jay, said: “We are getting there, we are almost there.

“We are on Just East and doing takeaways on Fridays and Saturdays. We wanted to open in February or March, but I think we will wait a bit.

“We have got a couple of works to finish off, I think we are nearly ready.”

Ms Odeyale hopes to employ up to 20 staff.

She says the Patties have proved a big hit, with takeaways open from 4pm on Fridays and all day on Saturdays.

Further details have been provided on when Thai restaurant The Giggling Squid will open in Maidstone - almost seven years after the idea was first scrapped.

The Giggling Squid, which already operates from several venues across the county - including in Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells - had hoped to open on Earl Street in the latter stages of 2021.

But a spokesman said: “The new Maidstone restaurant will provide approximately 40 jobs to the local community.

“The exact opening date is subject to change, however it will be at the end of April.”

It had initially been due to open in June 2015 but, instead, the site was sold to ASK.

But the Italian eatery announced it had closed for good amid the coronavirus crisis in 2020, leaving the building vacant.

The Rainbow Skull vegan grill in Maidstone has been on the move, too.

Following the success of its burger stand by The White Horse pub, it has moved into its new location on the Royal Star Arcade, opening on February 16.

“Farewell little ‘Traily’ the trailer, you have done us so proud for the last year,” a statement on social media said the day before The Rainbow Skull’s new launch.

Owners of Ashford’s smoking hot barbecue stand, Street Kings Smoke Shack, have opened a second finger-licking location.

The new table service restaurant, located on Oxford Street in Whitstable, fuses slow-cooked barbecued meats with authentic Caribbean flavours for a unique dining experience.

Founders Tony and Makalla de Sousa introduced the first Street Kings Smoke Shack location as a street food stand at the Coachworks in Ashford.

Their success since opening in 2020 has now seen the husband-and-wife team, who moved to Whitstable from west London in 2017, follow their dream to open a full restaurant closer to home.

In Sittingbourne, Murston Fish and Chips has gone down a treat on Canterbury Road since opening this year. It is open every day of the week, except for Sundays.

Meanwhile the Playa, one of the Isle of Sheppey's most popular venues as a pub and restaurant, is reopening.

Within weeks of Neil Moran and his sister Laura I’Anson closing the Playa at The Leas, Minster new landlady Nicola Smith has taken over the lease.

She has been busy recruiting staff and interviewing chefs and has already started taking bookings for Mother's Day lunch on Sunday, March 27.

She said on Facebook: "We are overwhelmed with the support we have received already and cannot wait until we reopen."

No official date has been given but staff are hoping to reopen its doors on Friday, March 18.

Ambient, which serves traditional Romanian cuisine, opened in Gravesend town centre last December - and has already proved to be a hit.

At the time, Vasile Conduraru said: "I'm really happy to be open after waiting for one year. We are a new team and are using this time to get to know each other.

"It's really exciting. I could not have opened the restaurant without my wife (Corina), she is leading the kitchen, the boss."

Husband-and-wife team Stuart and Cecilia Gillies are welcoming bookings ahead of the launch of their new restaurant.

Known simply as No 8, it will be based at No 8 London Road in Sevenoaks.

Other new sites in the county include Strood-based Veganly Convenient and Pad Thai Live on St Mary’s Island, near Chatham.