Deal Restaurant Guide

“Lovely food in a very relaxed environment” has earned a glowing reputation for Chris Hicks & Alex Bagner’s revamped boozer. “Service is informal but professional”, and “the dishes well executed, with touches of originality in flavour combinations made for taste rather than curiosity”. Top Menu Tip – “desserts of freshly made light olive cake with poached apple and blackberry and raspberry millefeuille with very light pastry and creme anglaise, both to a high standard”.

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.

Simply the “best place to eat breakfast or brunch (the latter fuelled by limitless Aperol) at the end of a pier, with the waves all around and fabulous views of Deal”; “surf and turf menus are also available on weekend evenings” and offer a “good standard in a stunning setting, especially in summer” (but if you visit in season do “be prepared to queue”).

2022 Review: In a “great” harbourside setting, chef Craig Mather’s collaboration with hotelier James Thomas namechecks the heroic homespun flotilla of the Dunkirk evacuation, also echoed in the decor. The food, mostly sourced within 30 miles of the restaurant, is reliably “solid”, not least the “lovely fresh catch of the day with interesting saucing”.

“Definitely worth the drive… always delicious and great to stay over afterwards” – The Bridgen family’s pub with rooms sits in a “lovely village” halfway between Canterbury and Sandwich and wins very consistent praise as “a favorite Kent bolt hole”. There’s a variety of eating options, from à la carte – which incorporates pub classics but where the focus is on more interesting fare – to an eight-course tasting menu for £75 per person – all “innovative dishes, well-prepared and served by the efficient service”. Top Tip – “Their £200 DB&B for two midweek special is exceptional value – as are their Monthly Celebration Dinners”.

2023 Review: “Spanish-influenced small plates” – “especially delicious fish dishes” – dominate at this well-established venue under the historic York Gate, while “in winter, their Sunday lunch is epic”. “The outlook over Broadstairs beach to the sea is spectacular and sitting at the bar is simply divine”. Next door, the new Flotsam & Jetsam has been split off from the original site, serving “super-creative fish ’n’ chips”.

This “lovely gastropub in a pretty Kent village” with “well-kept beer and very good food” – including “unusual dishes such as a celeriac and truffle tart” – is part of Saga heir Josh De Haan’s Pickled Egg group. Top Tip – “enjoyed a drink in front of the log fire while looking at the menu”.

“I absolutely adore this place and have been eating here for years” – “it’s perfect for a date night or to catch up with friends”, agree fans of this pizza independent with a sharp focus on toppings made from local Kentish ingredients. Founded in 2012, it has bounced back after being gutted in an arson attack two years ago.

“Super-fresh seafood” comes with “a great view of the bay” (“the outside terrace is epic”) at Nadine & Simon Morriss’s “delightful and friendly” beachside venue, now into its second decade. “Now also serving locally produced meat”, including Sunday roasts, plus afternoon teas. The couple also run a nearby chippy called Beach Buoys.

“Our go-to for a tasty bite in Margate”; the “fun” younger sibling of restaurant-with-rooms Angela’s, round the corner, “punches above its weight” by all accounts, turning out “excellent” small-ish plates based on the day’s catch (often delivered raw, cured or pickled) plus vegetables from their co-op (they also have a shop stocking biodynamic wines).

“Top-notch fish” has created a firm local following for this low-key bistro-with-rooms, whose “small” but “perfectly executed” menu eschews meat for plenty of “wonderful” vegetables and herbs. The venture has a strong ethical remit that extends to using mycelium-grown lamps, re-dyed waste wool rugs and bio-plastic furniture, as well as running their own co-op farm. There’s a younger sibling, seafood bar and bottle shop Dory’s, overlooking Margate main sands.

2024 Review: Herald of the new, cool, foodie-friendly Margate scene, this Old Town venue (Grace Dent is a fan) showcases the produce of Foglianise, where co-owner Simona Di Dio’s family runs a farm; the food (meatballs, caponata, gnocchi, etc.) is “delicious as are the wines” – and if you want to learn to pimp your pasta, they also run the next-door Margate Cookery School.

This “atmospheric” former coaching inn just south of Canterbury changed hands after our annual diners’ poll was completed in summer 2025, with chef-owners Dan & Tasha Smith of the Fordwich Arms passing the lease to their friend Elliot Hewitt (a former Fordwich manager). He promised to take the menu in a more ‘casual’ direction, but with ex-Sportsman chef David Gadd running the kitchen the cooking standard should remain high.

This manor house link in the Pig chain, three miles south of Canterbury, continues to elicit notably solid feedback; the dining room (which has the airs of a potting shed, courtesy of its preserve-lined walls) follows the locally sourced ‘25-mile’ menu of the rest of the litter, making the most of the Kentish produce; there were reports this year of some “exceptional” dishes which were also “very good value”. It’s possible to opt for more casual wood-fired snacks in the Garden Oven, while there’s more foodie goodness on offer if you stay overnight in one of their idiosyncratic rooms (“dunno where they get their breakfast pastries from, but wow!”).

A “beautiful old pub on the river” which boasts a large “wisteria-clad” terrace by the water and big garden. Daniel (chef) & Natasha (pastry chef) Smith have run it since 2017 and successfully established it as one of the culinary beacons in the locality: a haven of “all round loveliness, with cosy surroundings, warm staff and delivering excellence on the plate”. (The Smiths also used to run the nearby Bridge Arms, but stepped back from it this year in order to focus their energies here). Numerous best meals of the year were reported here by its dedicated fan club: “it’s on the pricey side but worth it to taste such flavours. While not an extensve menu, every dish is well presented and well thought out. Gripes? From a good number of reports, all acknowledge exemplary cuisine, and the most critical feedback says: “the food, what there is of it, is fantastic. But we found the portions ridiculously small”. Top Menu Tip – “Trout and quail starters, pork and venison main courses”.

“Great seafood (much of it local)” and “an ideal position overlooking Folkestone’s old harbour" make this sleek glass-fronted restaurant “a perfect spot for lunch by the sea” (“the upstairs wine terrace is lovely when the sun is out”). Launched 15 years ago as part of Saga billionaire Sir Roger De Haan’s regeneration of Folkestone, it enjoys a “loyal following” under head chef Akos Mate.

“Lovely coffee in a series of book-lined rooms” makes this brightly painted venue “a real social hub” of Folkestone’s ‘Creative Quarter’. Inspired by the book cafés of Paris, it offers a ‘no-menu’ spread of freshly baked goodies, including its well-known cakes, and guests are encouraged to browse the shelves while they graze – with the option to buy the second-hand books.

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).

“Trendy meals for university students impressing their visiting parents” are praised at this “fun” contemporary operation. The clue is in the name, when it comes to the menu-focus – “the meaty platters are huge, so come with a healthy appetite as portions are hearty”. On the downside, some see it as “good all-round but overpriced”.