Harden's says
A new village pub from the team behind the uber-successful Fordwich Arms. Formerly known as The White Horse Inn.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Top-end food in a pub setting” has won plaudits for ex-Clove Club chef Daniel Smith and his wife Tasha, a pastry chef, since they took over this 16th-century former coaching inn just south of Canterbury three years ago: “there’s a nice mix of people just having a drink and those out for a top-notch meal”. Its ratings declined this year, though, due to a couple of diners who feel “prices are ludicrous for good, but far from exceptional food”. The Smiths also run the nearby Fordwich Arms. Top Tip – “the set menu represents terrific value”.
Summary
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”.
Summary
“Top-quality Kentish ingredients prepared inventively and with great skill” are served in this “wonderful gastropub in a pretty village a couple of miles from Canterbury”. Launched in 2021 in their adopted home village by ambitious chef couple Daniel & Tasha Smith, of nearby big-hitter the Fordwich Arms, it focuses on cooking over locally produced charcoal on a Josper Grill – and is already “among the finest gastropubs anywhere”.
Summary
“Only just opened, after the 2021 lockdown, but clearly going to be a real winner” – this “great new village local” just outside Canterbury is “a less fancy venture by the people behind the much-praised Fordwich Arms on the other side of the city” and already seen as “a great asset to the area”. “It’s all the better for its simpler style”, in the opinion of some locals. The food (focused on cooking over charcoal in a Josper oven) “is still deft and adventurous, but not chasing a Michelin star means everyone can breathe easily… including guests. There’s a huge garden outside so kids can run around and they have live music some nights.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at The Bridge Arms?
53 High Street, Bridge, CT4 5LA
Restaurant details
The Bridge Arms Restaurant Diner Reviews
"Lovely food & fantastic atmosphere. Service a little hit & miss at times but staff are all very friendly"
"Very very close What a great place, needs shouting about as they need to attract more customers for the beautifully presented almost perfect food. Sadly it was a little underutilised when we ate there today. The waitress made my mocktail herself, her first ever, and did it superbly. I started off with a fabulous lobster starter with a lovely sauce, my friend loved her beef tartar but felt the pickles were a strong flavour for tartar. My cod dish was my highlight of the meal. The steak my friend had was very large with possibly slightly over seasoned sauce. Desserts we're both superb, the chocolate with mint was sensational my doughnuts were great. Nice clean toilets and staff delightful, attentive and efficient. We chatted to chef who was a nice but so young artist at his craft. Well worth a visit."
"Very atmospheric - and comfortable, but the food is truly the star. Locally-sourced: a trend I greatly approve of IF done well, and it certainly is done well at the Bridge! Fish & meat make up the bulk of the menu, and much of it is "high-end" and therefore expensive, but then you go to the Bridge expecting that, and the food is so good that the expense becomes a secondary consideration - IF you can afford it."
"We have wtached this pub go up and down over the years. Now very posh but food unremarkable but expensive. Also use useless starter bowls so you cannot actually eat soup except by drinking it and cutlery falls into the centre and gets dirty. Pork choop was well cooked but not exceptional, excellent soup, if you could get to it. Staff very good, efficient and friendly. Very bland decor, They could do better"
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lunch | £35.00 |  |
|
|
Traditional European menu
| Starter | Main | Pudding |
|---|---|---|
| £15.00 | £30.00 | £12.00 |
| Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £30.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £3.00 |
| Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
53 High Street, Bridge, CT4 5LA
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | CLOSED |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑2:30 pm, 6 pm‑9 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑5 pm |
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