Dover Restaurant Guide

2021 Review: “Great food” and “a beautiful setting with stunning views” are found at this 200-year-old former village pub, converted 10 years ago into a boutique hotel. Now under the same ownership as the nearby Hythe Imperial, it has reverted to its original name – and “the food and service have got better”.

This stunning curved modern restaurant was opened in 2011 by Saga billionaire Sir Roger De Haan and his son Josh, and won widespread acclaim for its seafood under founding chef Mark Sargeant. But since Mark’s departure in late 2021, ratings have softened a little – “the food is a bit up and down and on the pricey side to cater for the London crowd, but it has an ideal position overlooking the water and the harbour arm”.

“Great coffee and a small and interesting lunch menu” keep customers coming back to this “super coffee shop complete with library in Old Folkestone High Street”, a key component of the town’s ‘Creative Quarter’. Owners Alice Larkin and Stephen Brothwell were inspired by the literary cafés of Paris, and host writers’ events.

2022 Review: Former Sportsman chef David Hart earns rave reviews from reporters who ‘get’ his modest 26-seater with a simple menu and an enthusiast’s list of wines (fans include the Guardian’s Grace Dent).

“You deserve a break after the pier walk” to reach this four-year-old establishment which, though technically not afloat, “makes you feel like you’re on a boat”; watch out for their “surf ’n’ turf weekend evenings”, and “healthy” bottomless brunch (if your idea of healthy is unlimited prosecco, Bellinis and Bloody Marys!).

This “lovely little pub” on the high street has had quite the history: it was long under John Matthews, owner of Thompson & Son brewery; in 2016, his great-grandson Christopher Hicks took over, and has transformed it into a very stylish hotel replete with Emin artworks and a tandem bicycle for guests. The “really good, mostly local produce” is “beautifully done” and features an “excellent value lunch” as well as popular Scandi-style breakfasts.

2023 Review: This “fantastic little bistro hidden away in Deal” is “well worth trying” for the “very high standard of its classic French cooking” – although there is some pushback against its “London prices”. Owner-operators Benoit & Sarah (respectively the Frog and the Scot) also run Le Pinardier wine shop and bar a few doors away.

“A real treat of a place” – this stylish restaurant was opened five years ago by a talented pair, Kent-born chef Allister Barsby (head chef at Gidleigh Park on Dartmoor at 24) and Italian Alice Bussi (food & beverage manager of the year in the 2018 Catey awards). The praise is unanimous: “we go when there’s something to celebrate. We’ve been three times over the last few years and it has never failed to be a joy – the food is fabulous and the service and front of house exceptional”. “One of the most amazing dinners I have had, in a very serene environment with exceptional service”.

Four miles from Canterbury, this much-commented-on manor house is part of the now ten-strong Pig litter (the latest porcine offering, in Stratford-upon-Avon, is due in 2024) and “does not disappoint”. The “buzzy” dining room – “like a large potting shed, its walls lined with preserved vegetables and pulses” – backdrops “lovely” gastrofare, and “in summer you can eat casually and drink in the garden” at their new ‘Garden Oven’, focusing on wood-fired snacks. On the downside, as at others in the chain, a minority of reports characterise its cooking as “pleasant, but nothing special”.

This old drovers’ inn just outside Canterbury is “very atmospheric and comfortable, but the food is truly the star” – “really well executed but not overly fussy” and “a real dining treat”. Former Clove Club chef Daniel Smith and his wife Tasha, herself a pastry chef, have settled in the village and created a “chilled pub with food that surprises” with its excellence. They also run the nearby Fordwich Arms. Top Menu Tip – “best lobster and chips ever”.

This “lovely gastropub in a pretty Kent village” wins praise for its “good menu selection, including unusual dishes like homity pie” alongside the more standard burgers, steak and fish ’n’ chips. It is part of Saga heir Josh De Haan’s Pickled Egg pub group.

“Each time we come we are impressed by the attention to detail and outstanding quality of the food at this well-regarded gastropub” – Daniel & Natasha Smith purchased this “beautiful old pub on the River Stour” in 2017 and has become one of the most commented-on venues outside the capital in our annual diners’ poll. “The style of cuisine is that of fine dining with locally sourced produce and the flavours bring out the best in the ingredients”. “Tables are well-spaced and the staff certainly know their stuff” – “incredible value”. Top Tip – “Lovely wisteria-covered terrace by the river on a sunny day”.

2021 Review: “Quirky – but does it for us”, this atmospheric cellar close to the cathedral has long been popular for its “good quality, authentic Moroccan food” and Moorish décor, complemented by Andalusian tapas (classified as ‘light’, ‘medium’ or ‘rich’) and paella.

“Back to its very best since chef-owner Dev Biswas closed his other venues in Rye and Margate” (and “changed the name of this venue from Ambrette to The Cook’s Tale”, in homage to Chaucer). The “busy” and well commented-on fine diner offers an “alternative take on Indian cuisine” (albeit now also featuring that popular staple, curry, for the first time) and the results are “exceptional” and “good value”, whether you opt for the tasting menu or “adventurous” sets, both of which boast hyper-local sourcing and “Kentish touches”.

A “real bright light in an otherwise scrappy pedestrian high street”, this polished and “very well-run” hotel dining room takes the original name of the hotel that stood here back in 1892 and brings a rare fine dining option to the centre of Canterbury; add in “wonderful” cocktails, and it’s “a treat” for its many local fans.

Ignore the Gallic name – this “busy, bustling and friendly” outfit in Westgate in fact deals in “excellent” Mexican fare and is “just such a happy place” where “the atmosphere sizzles” as much as the fajitas; the “long-established” venture (“it’s been going since 1987 and hasn’t lost its spark…in fact it just gets better and better”) has a namesake sibling in Paia, Hawaii, and is also related to Canterbury’s Café du Soleil.

2021 Review: With its “deep red walls, low lighting and candles”, this “romantic” basement dining room has a “lovely, old-fashioned and cosy ambience, and is decorated with framed covers of old editions of Empire magazine”. Craig Mather’s modern British menu focuses on “unfussy dishes, where the local seasonal ingredients are the star”, in particular “fish that comes straight from the small boats which ply the harbour”.