Places to eat in Whitstable

Wheelers Oyster Bar on the High Street, with its iconic pink and aqua facade, is Whitstable’s oldest restaurant. It’s a tiny oyster parlour that serves up some seriously sublime seafood dishes. The fish is as fresh as you can possibly get. The restaurant is really special … and tiny; you’ll be lucky to get a table, but not to worry – you can take away your meal and eat it on the seafront. If you do manage to be seated, make sure you bring your own booze, as Wheelers doesn’t have a license.

In the railway arches of Oxford Street, Alimo might look like Aladdin’s cave, but it’s a brilliant Moroccan restaurant with a marvellous menu of meze, tajines and the like. Again, it’s only a little restaurant, but expect big flavours from these authentic North African dishes.

We’re also big fans of The Monument. It’s a welcoming community pub with a gorgeous gastro menu of home-cooked food and an excellent array of ales to wash it all down with. The Sunday roast is one of the best in Whitstable, the portions are huge and the staff are fantastic as well.

Birdies is one of the most romantic restaurants in town. It’s a beautiful bistro-style restaurant specialising in seafood with a lovely home on Harbour Street. It’s been wowing the people of Whitstable with its wonderful food for more than a quarter of a century. Don’t be scared of trying the non-seafood dishes; the beef Wellington is out of this world!

If you just want a great big portion of perfectly cooked fish and chips, then make your way to Ossies Fish Bar on High Street. It’s the locals’ favourite fish bar. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but the fish is battered to perfect – crisp and not at all greasy – and the chips are cooked fresh.

Samphire is a stunning, independent, family-run bistro on the High Street. It just ticks all the boxes. The food is beautiful, the menu is creative and everything is full of flavour. The setting is stylish, and the staff are friendly. Oh, and we can always rely on the specials boards being absolutely delicious.

Treat your taste buds to some top-class tapas with a trip to JoJo’s. It’s a fantastic Spanish restaurant that began life on the High Street but has grown into its gorgeous home on Herne Bay Road. It’s stylish, the atmosphere is always great and we think it’s one of the best restaurants in Whitstable.

Your other tapas option is Harbour Street Tapas, you guessed it, on Harbour Street. The restaurant’s clean and stylish, the menu is simple and the flavours are big. Don’t get us wrong, it’s a lovely place for an evening’s meal, but we prefer to order our dishes for collection before scoffing them on the beach.

When it comes to daytime eats, The Forge is a sublime seafood spot on the sea wall. The lobster and chips are ridiculously tasty. Surprisingly, so too are the doughnuts; we rank them among the best we’ve ever eaten.

Veggie guests can make their way to Revival. It’s an all-veggie eatery and ice cream parlour on Oxford Street and less than a five-minute drive from our Whitstable hotel. It’s a particularly fantastic option in the warmer months, as it enjoys a great suntrap of a garden, and is fully licensed so that you can get sunburnt sipping on something from their 100% vegan selection of tipples.

Alternatively, Potato Tomato is another fantastic vegan-friendly eatery on Oxford Street. The burgers are big and beautiful and the hand-cut, home-style chips are the tastiest in town.

When you’re in the mood for an exceptional full English breakfast, make your way to The Beach Cafe on Beach Walk. It’s a great location. The cafe is pretty simple, definitively no-frills. All that matters is the food. It’s good.

The Umbrella Cafe on Oxford Street is a corker of a community cafe. It’s run by the friendliest people on the planet. It serves the tastiest homemade Scotch eggs ever. The cakes are marvellous as well. Plus, as if that wasn’t enough, there’s also an enormous garden for some al fresco goodness, too.

Last but not least, coffee aficionados should make their way to Blueprint Coffee. It offers a taste of Melbourne’s world-famous coffee culture right here in Kent. Its permanent home is on Oxford Street. There’s also a Blueprint Coffee van outside the train station. The decor is minimalist. The sweet treats are insane. The coffee is the best in Whitstable.