Wheelers Oyster Bar - Whitstable Restaurant Reviews

Harden's survey result

2020
2019
2018
2017

Summary

“With its unmissable, pink exterior, the original Wheelers” (est. 1856, and for a time the base of a now-defunct mini-chain) – this “tiny”, “snug” and “eccentric” oddity feels “a little like eating in the back room of a small house, decorated in a ‘domestic style’, with ornaments on the mantelpiece and patterned tablecloths, and with tables a little packed-close”. “But, it has a brilliant professional kitchen out back” and serves “exceptional” fish and “truly excellent seafood” (“so local oysters are a must-have”), while the ability to “BYO makes it very good value”. “You need to book well in advance”, although it’s “easier to get a table now the extension has been built” with the capacity recently doubled to about 30.

Price

£49

££

Food

Exceptional

Service

Very Good

Ambience

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“You could be forgiven if you thought you were eating in someone’s living room” at this “quirky”, “casual and basic” institution (est. 1856), where you eat “in a tiny back parlour that maybe seats 14-16 people”; and which “serves superbly fresh seafood” with “oysters a speciality”. “It’s not licensed, but there’s a good selection of wines offered in the off-licence opposite”.

Price

£48

££

Food

Exceptional

Service

Very Good

Ambience

Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“Revamped but still maintaining the original eating parlour” – this “quirky, mildly eccentric, and very English” institution (est. 1856) has survived enlargement largely unscathed, and still provides “a bizarre environment – like eating in someone’s front room” – that’s “as cosy as a teapot”. But “the modest frontage belies the superb cuisine inside”, where “sublime” yet “unfussy” seafood dishes are served at “fair prices”, and “BYO makes it a very good value experience” indeed. “I have had so much fun sitting in the ‘shop’ and falling into the most entertaining conversations with all types of people from a celebrated yet humble sax player, to a local plasterer, to a TV actor…”

Price

£48

££

Food

Exceptional

Service

Exceptional

Ambience

Very Good

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Summary

“Like eating in Granny’s parlour… if Granny cooked fish to perfection”; the town’s oldest restaurant (est. 1856) is “one of the funkiest places you can eat in” – “a tiny room with only 14–16 seats” serving an “interesting menu of excellent seafood”, and “BYO helps make it a very good-value experience”. Let’s hope they don’t wreck it with a mid-2016 refurbishment, bringing a cocktail bar and “allegedly even toilets on site”.

Price

£47

££

Food

Exceptional

Service

Exceptional

Ambience

Exceptional

* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

For 29 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. This year diners have submitted over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK.