Deal Restaurant Guide

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.

“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!).

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”.

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”.

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”.

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 “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.

2022 Review: “The best pizzas by far with wafer-thin crusts and interesting toppings” are the draw to this seafront venture whose “set-up is pretty basic but the friendly staff compensate” – “oh and a lovely view of the beach (especially at sunset)” also helps.

This “lovely seafood restaurant” is a “good find in Margate”, with an “extensive and varied menu” that features fresh oysters and “delicious seafood platters” but also “includes local meat and vegetarian options”. “Staff couldn’t be friendlier” and “the whole experience is very enjoyable”.

The “little sister to Angela’s”, a seafood restaurant-with-rooms round the corner, “never fails to satisfy” with its menu of “creative, unique fishy small plates” that are raw, pickled, cured or smoked. The owners run a co-op producing their own fruit and veg, and this site also has a wine shop stocking bottles from England and beyond.

“Stunning seafood within walking distance of the Turner Contemporary gallery and Margate seafront” has won fame for Lee Coad’s “tiny” sibling venue to Dory, that he opened in 2017 with his wife Charlotte Forsdike and chef Rob Cooper. “Gorgeous fresh fish is served in a very relaxed dining space”: “a café-like setting that’s enjoyable if not special”. “Service is fabulous too”, helping to account for why this is nowadays the most commented-on venue in town in our annual diners’ poll and “booking is essential” (“having finally landed a table, the memory of the roasted turbot skin will remain with me for a very long time!”)

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 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”.

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”.

“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”.

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.