We were a party of seven on Christmas Day . The food was mediocre and the portions were not large. There was no effort in the part of the staff to make it a special occasion for guests despite the meal costing £100 per head.... What was most off-putting was the way the waiting staff expected us to pass our used plates to them when they came to clear the table in between courses . Whilst I have no objection to assisting with this , the staff acted almost as if it were our duty to do this and I even ended up apologising for being a bit slow off the mark to pass my plate as I was in conversation with my friends ! I would not hurry to repeat the Christmas Day experience although we have visited the restaurant on a previous occasion and had better service and better food .More

Do not go here for food!! We visited this place with expectations high after the refurbishment and looking forward to seeing if there had been a decent place to eat added to our home town. The answer was absolutely not. We entered the restaurant area...and gave the name we had booked under, the woman at the desk pointed at a table across the restaurant and told us that was ours. Fair enough, may have been busy with something so we sat ourselves down, no cutlery on the table and no drinks offered. Another woman came over a few minutes later and "very begrudgingly" took our drinks order. When my mother asked for a specific request on her drink this waitress rolled her eyes as if we weren't paying for the privilege of being in her presence. Anyway she took the order and our drinks arrived shortly after with the same side order of attitude and moody demeanour from our less than cheerful waitress. We decided to go for a sharing platter which was £26 each or two for £40. We decided to go for two as it seemed like a good deal but how wrong we were. We ordered one meat and one fish sharing platter so that we could have abit of each between us. The platters arrived in what can only be described as a big metal dog bowl that you were expected to eat from because there were no side plates offered at all. Besides the lack of crockery there was also a distinct lack of food on the "sharing" platter, the only way this can be classed as a sharing platter is if you are sharing with someone on hunger strike because this would barely be enough to fill one person and if any food was left over it would be because it is bulked out with bread and garnish rather than any meat or fish. Its a massive shame that this almost iconic whitstable pub hasn't managed to get it right because you couldn't wish for a better location if only its done properly. To summarise, if you're walking through whitstable and you fancy a snack you'll be better off going into sainsbury in the highstreet and getting a meal deal and sitting on the sea wall while you look out at the gorgeous views. You'll be more fulfilled and not left wondering if you've ever met that woman who served you before and upset her in any way. Don't waist your money!!!More

Reopened 10 days ago. First time there today......what a stunning improvement. Food was fab. I had yellow fin tuna nicoise, Rob, one of the chefs, cooked it to perfection. We sat in the courtyard, it was a lovely say day, why not?????..staff very friendly, food...soo good......Will definitely be backMore

Popped in on a quiet weekday morning for coffee, and also got the eggs royale which was delicious and a generous portion size. Great breakfast with friendly staff, and lovely new decor inside too! Look forward to trying more of the menu.

Popped in on the off chance for a lunch sat in the dog friendly bar area. Ordered a Sunday roast. Beef was good. Side vegetables in bowl which had been microwaved but fine. cauliflower cheese would have been extra. Yorkshireshad been prepared early and we're...a bit tough. Fine for an off the cuff lunch but if I had been looking forward to a roast I think I would have been disappointed. Service was friendly and the refurbishment looked good.More

The guys have got service down to a fine art. Simply superb. The food was full of flavour and well presented. We went for a late lunch on Sunday 27 August 2023. 4 adults and 2 children. Reasonable prices for quality food. Will return!

Came in for a drink on a Saturday evening, seemed busy, with most customers making use of the garden seating. Greeted by freindly staff and good choice of shepherd neame beverages. This venue has histori radios and audio all around you as ypu go in...but it feels faded and dated and in need of redecoration. The toilet floors appeared dirty and no seat on the bowl in the gents with the loo roll on the floor and not in the holder. Nice place with freindly staff, but needs work done to improve the faded decor and toilets need work.More

Used the Shepherd Neame winter offer. Very good value for money. The room we stayed in was very luxurious. The evening meal was excellent as was the breakfast. All the staff were amazing, must mention Tina. Hope to come back soon.

Grand but shabby centrally located old building thats well seen better days. Imagining that this place is where real drinkers like to be - and why not if it suits them but this is not for the faint hearted. Friendly barman/waiter (table service due to...covid) Drinks were, for me, absolutely awful and not the best for my chap -we left them and the pub .Unheard of for us. Couldn't even think about food served here .More

A vast improvement to this lovely pub, brighter, very inviting, serving lovely food. The seating areas are lovely with an outside courtyard and Boatyard Bar. The only thing I would say, is that the tables in the main bar could be a bit more spaced...out, a bit tight to squeeze through when busy. The service was excellent and the food was well presented and very tasty. We will definitely be returning.More

Just come back from the restaurant in the Duke of Cumberland, took my wife and daughter out for a quiet Sunday lunch. I had the pork roast which looked and smelt good, pork was a bit tough but ok at first, however when I turned...my plate round and tried another piece I found it was cold, at best tepid. The waitress was very pleasant about it, I ordered something else and waited for it to arrive. I then heard the manager in the background ask quite loudly "who complained?", he came over and asked me about my meal, I expected a brief conversation and an apology but instead he accused me of lying, saying I was making a "spurious complaint". He then went further and accused me of having done it before, despite the fact that I have never eaten there before. His attitude was incredible, it felt like he was saying "how dare you make a complaint in MY restaurant”. He’d obviously already made up his mind before coming over that I was lying and refused to accept that there was anything wrong with the food, despite my wife confirming my complaint, I had asked her opinion of the food before I said anything to the waitress. The manager's behaviour was disgusting, he was incredibly rude and unbelievably arrogant. When I told him he really shouldn't talk to his customers like that, he replied that he could talk anyway he liked in his own place. We got up to leave and he continued to be rude, accused me of making a scene and told me to get out. Unbelievable. We won't be going back and I would advise anyone else to avoid what was otherwise a nice, if quirky restaurant. There are plenty of other decent proprietors worthy of your time and money, avoid this man.More

I used to love popping into this pub, as it’s my local, with friends to attend music events, both ticketed and free. But this year I and friends have been been picked on, verbally abused, character assassinated and hounded out. First occasion nervous friend was...harangued by a barmaid over where he was sitting and told to buy drinks. He left with all of us, very shaken vowing never to return and none of us did, till one Sunday sometime later I rashly went in on my own and sat down outside the main band room, me and chap next to me were harangued by guy in charge all afternoon over where we were sitting outside, so we could hear the music. Eventually I chose to leave after he verbally ripped into me two more times when the music finished. Weeks later I went in on my own again, having put the other occasions down to unfortunate one offs. I was very quickly approached by the same man and he verbally and physically intimidated me. I was seated, he came crouching over me leaning on the table behind me. He told me not to give him any trouble this time, I was completely taken aback, in shock and upset. I was speaking to woman next to me as I didn’t know what he was talking about and why he was haranguing and picking on me, He came back almost immediately and when I remonstrated that I didn’t know what I had done to offend and upset him he started verbally bad mouthing me, he then said he didn’t want someone like me in his gaff and I must leave the pub immediately and drink my drink outside on the pavement. He escorted me to the door and then said I couldn’t finish my drink and went to grab it off me. A thoroughly awful experience which really shook me up and deeply upset me, considering that I’m a 63 year old senior and only this year lost both my parents as they died suddenly, so I’m feeling not so ok already. Thankfully I won’t take it personally as I’m one of many who've had same or similar treatment in this establishment, read the reviews and comments on FB page. .I’m writing this because I feel very strongly that it’s not ok to be treated in this manner especially when I went in as a lone woman and was criticised for not spending lots on alcoholic drinks, making me not a good customer and therefore not welcome.More