Canterbury
The Artichoke

The Artichoke

Rattington Street, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • Vegan • British


"Awful experience that my family and I went through at the The Artichoke pub in Chartham that resulted in plates being physically snatched (from behind our backs) out of the hands of a mother who was breast feeding at the time all whilst a four year old was watching!!! The actions of the staff were absolutely disgraceful, despicable and rude. Initially everything was fine and we were greeted warmly and were made comfortable with our seating. The atmosphere was warm and friendly which makes it all the more surprising how events unfolded. The issue started when our main course was brought to the table. It was my daughter who noticed that her dinner was incredibly cold (we all had variations of the roast) and after checking I felt that all 4 meals were cold. Some elements had some warmth but most were cold to the point it would have been unpleasant to eat. The gravy was lukewarm on one side but cold on another plus the plates were cold, potatoes hard and meats very dry. My issue isn’t one with the food rather how it was dealt with by the staff as I would expect that the standard process would be for a customer to inform a member of the team and for a replacement to be offered with an apology. We had waited a while for the food (we were told that it was being plated up long before it arrived which is why I think it was cold) but when I let Chelsea know that it was cold it took an awfully long time for another member of staff to attend to “deal with it,” whilst she playfully chatted with another table. Given that we have young children who need to get to bed we did need to get on. A lady, Holly Millin I think, eventually came over and was extremely curt and sharp which felt very much out of place as no complaint had been made. She did offer to replace or to cancel the meal with no charge. We accepted the former as the latter would have meant that our daughter would have gone without dinner when we needed to get her home ready for school but it made us feel very undervalued to the point that we were being inconvenient. I did ask the lady that I was surprised that food could be brought out without checking and she said that food is probed and that plates are hot enough to burn your skin. This didn’t help offer an explanation as to why ours were cold but I didn’t press any further. After the replacement meals were brought out Chelsea asked if everything was okay and I said that the food was indeed warm but I was surprised that we weren’t offered an apology because the state of the initial meals was entirely unacceptable – I was simply shocked by her brazen reply of “I am sorry that you feel that way” which we took to be very condescending and sarcastic. After this interaction I looked at my wife with incredulity and perhaps let out a nervous laugh. Chelsea must have overheard my reaction to her sarcasm and reported to her manager that we laughed at her (which we hadn’t). At which point the manager came over and without warning snatched our plates whilst stating that we had laughed at Chelsea which we hadn’t. My wife was breast feeding at that time that Holly leant over her to snatch her barely started dinner. Holly then proceeded to physically grab the plate away from my mother-in-law who had no idea the lady was behind her – she had her cutlery in her hands and was chewing! My mother-in-law also does not speak English and had no idea what was happening. How can reporting a cold meal be escalated to this level? From initially nice service to plate snatching. This certainly is not normal behaviour for any human. We still cannot believe what happened. Today my daughter is still upset as she witnessed an altercation by a lady she did not know and my wife is shocked that a person could be physically aggressive whilst she was breast feeding a baby – anything could have happened if the plate would have hit his head. Be warned something is not right with these people..."

The Marine

The Marine

Marine Parade, CT5 2BE, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Full • Steak • Lunch • British


"From arrival, we were impressed with the whole package. The outside was very well kept, wooden tables and heat lamps keeping guests warm in the winter breeze. Inside we were greeted by a lovely lady named Karen, who was very welcoming and helpful. We were lucky to have been upgraded to a higher room, and were not dissapointed at all. The decor was clean and tidy, the view amazing across the estury with a balcony. The bed was a king size, but had a memory foam matress, which isnt something we find comfortable, but others do, it was good quality. The bedding was well dresses and again lovely quality. The bathroom had a nice size bath and shower. Plenty of tea, coffee, buscuits and hot choc, however a lovely touch was the espresso maker, but sadly, the coffee cups were too big, and so it was a faff to use, but thats just a silly thing. Food service was amazing too, our waiter (Josh) was welcoming and very cheerful and helpful, all the staff were eagre to make us welcome. The food came timely, and was well worth it the prices. We had a burger and steak, the burger was amazing, juivy perfectly cooked, the steak wasnt the best cut, but was cooked to perfection. My wife did try the chicken escolop, but it was a tad dry for her, but staff changed it quickly and with zero fuss, very professional, and that was no reflection on the cook at all, just her image wasnt the same. Breakfast was also great, I had the full English, and my wife had eggs benedict, both were great, although the crispy bacon was more like leahter (a bit old) and the beans had a heat skin on them. Again great value, wonderful coffee too, but odd it coming in a teapot, as anyone who doesnt like tea will tell you, we can taste it! We had this night on a Winter Deal, £150 for 3 course evening meal, bed and breakfast for 2, so value was amazing, great for a night out. The location is quiet in the winter, if you like walking theres miles of beach paths and being dog friendly, they would love it too."

The Duke Of Cumberland

The Duke Of Cumberland

High Street, CT5 1BQ, Canterbury, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • British • Vegetarian


"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!!!"