New interior on the menu at Vinnies

The Strawberry parfait at Vinnies.

Geoff Scott doesn't muck around. The chef, formerly of White at the Hilton, has owned Vinnies in Herne Bay for barely four months and already he's given it a makeover and reopened with a new menu. "There's a contemporary colonial feel to the once-austere restaurant. It's like dining in the living room of my house."

The main dining room has sheer ceiling-to-floor silver curtains on two sides, toasted putty on the other walls and "enormous" gold, patterned satin light shades. Scott is adamant the effect is comfortable rather than pretentious.

The look is a collaboration between himself, artist Sarah Smuts-Kennedy - whose large cloud landscape take pride of place in the dining room - and Agnes Curran's Cameron Woodcock.

All the better to eat the new light spring/summer menu in. Scott's picks include a new salad featuring snapper smoked "just like my grandfather did with salt and brown sugar" served with kaffir lime creme fraiche.

As for dessert, well, the summer strawberry parfait is a hit, served with rosemary and rhubarb syrup.