Alkham 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”.

For “brilliant fish” in a “stunning setting by the harbour”, look no further than this curved modern restaurant – opened in 2011 by Sir Roger De Haan, Saga billionaire and Folkestone philanthropist – which has by all accounts recovered from a blip in standards when founding chef Mark Sargeant left a couple of year ago. New head chef Akos Mate’s “delicious” food makes it a “seaside restaurant to seal that deal – business conversations are not distracted but enhanced by the professionalism of the service”. There’s a new upstairs wine bar with its own menu, including a strong oyster selection.

This “great coffee shop on the Old High Street”, amid the galleries and antique shops of Folkestone’s ‘Creative Quarter’, combines yummy cakes with poetry, classics and local books to browse or buy – which “adds another dimension”.

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).

Close the harbour, a Victorian hotel dining room with a modern seafood-based menu and specials board which impressed critic Grace Dent of the Guardian.

2023 Review: This “very buzzy spot in a pink container on the harbour arm” serves “very fresh fish and seafood”, and is the “sister restaurant to Rocksalt”. “Spilling out onto a terrace, it makes a delightful spot for lunch in the sun, with engaging service and all that one wants from a decent fish restaurant”.