Whitstable Oyster Fishery Restaurant
A week ago, summer had finally arrived in London, as had my parents, in town for a week-long visit. So Jon and I thought we’d take a day trip to Canterbury with a lunch break at nearby Whitstable.
Things were off to a good start on the high-speed train from St. Pancras to Canterbury West, which ran on the Eurostar tracks for much of the journey, took just under an hour, and cost only £55 for four return tickets.
Canterbury was warm and sunny, and it was an easy 15-minute walk to the Cathedral, which turned out to be the only thing in town really worth seeing. The Tourist Information office across the street from the Cathedral entrance provided great maps to both Canterbury and Whitstable, as well as a list of the cycle shops (two) in town where we could rent bicycles. Both shops were sold out, so instead of cycling the 7 miles to Whitstable along the charmingly-named Crab & Winkle Way, we took a 30-minute, super-slow ride on the bus.
Unsurprisingly, the Michelin-starred Sportsman in Whitstable was fully booked for lunch that day, so instead we ended up at the lively Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company.
Pros: The Whitstable Oyster Fishery’s dining rooms are high-ceilinged, bright, and cheerfully rustic. There are views of the sea, and the seafood, generally, tasted fresh and was served in generous portions.
Cons: The service was extraordinarily slow. We waited 35 minutes for our starters to arrive, and another 45 minutes for our mains. And despite several repeat requests for tap water, water was not forthcoming. Apparently the easygoing pace of seaside living is not for me.
grilled king prawns (£9)
fried calamari (£8.50)
Starters of mussels mariniere (£9.50), grilled king prawns, and fried calamari were all very good. The prawns in particular reminded me of Barrafina‘s sweet-tasting giants and were well worth the £9 for two. The leftover melted garlic butter served with the prawns was my favorite for sopping up with bread, though my dad thought the mariniere sauce had the edge.
fish and chips (£16-ish)
Fish and chips were a mixed result: the cod was silky firm and gorgeously flaky, and the batter was light and golden. The mushy peas actually tasted like peas – sweet and smooth – but the chips were a stale-tasting letdown.
pan-fried skate (£17.50)
whole lobster (£24)
Jon’s skate was sadly thin and meagre, but he enjoyed what little meat there was. Being environment killers, my mom and I split the steamed lobster imported from Canada, which was served cold. The meat was a bit mealy and the accompanying minted potato salad tasted overwhelmingly of mint (not good), but that’s what I get for ordering something that comes from Canada.
With various beers and lemonades, our total for four was £112, which was fair for the overall quality of the seafood and the scenic environs, but a bit steep for the incredible slowness and unhelpfulness of the service.
After lunch, we took a quick walk around Whitstable harbour, which, sadly, is not attractive. Not only is the harbour crowded with industrial machines and boats, but also the nearby beaches are of the stony variety. So we quickly returned to Canterbury to pay our £8 each to see the famous cathedral and hopped back on the train to London.
Overall, a pleasant day trip out of London, but I wouldn’t return to the area without (a) reserving a table at the Sportsman and (b) reserving a bicycle to try out the Crab & Winkle Way.
Whitstable Oyster Fishery Restaurant, Horsebridge Road, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1AF; 01227 276 856.
Oh, I am utterly thrilled that there’s a nice path to cycle on from Canterbury to Whitstable – definitely one for us to check out! (Agree with you about Canterbury – looking at my photos again, I see I only have ones from the cathedral)
Normally I just read & lurk without comment. Thanks for the tip about the cycle hire, might try this in the summer. The Sportsman is totally worth the trip although for we were told that for weekends you have to book sometimes a month in advance. In fact, inspired by your article & needing a treat after a bad day I’ve just booked a table for lunch in 3 weeks time!
Interesting. I feel like I read all these stories about what a great place Whitstable is to visit…glad I haven’t gone out of my way to make the trip!
You will need to come with me to my new investment in Essex! There are some lovely pubs around that part of the world…am thinking of a little crawl of some sort!
Su-Lin: I’m glad you had a similar experience in Canterbury, because I was preparing myself for hate-mail from Canterbury boosters, lol.
Tina: Wow, way to translate theory into action. Glad to hear the Sportsman is worth the (repeat) trip. I’ll have to get down there again sometime soon.
Krista – Whitstable has its charming seaside aspects (and a wider choice of tasty-sounding restaurants than, say, in Canterbury), but overall, if the beach and harbour in a seaside town are no good, I’m not keen to return.
Re: Essex – no doubt there’s great stuff in those parts. As a New Jersey girl, I spent ages convincing my Manhattan friends to check out many fine offerings in the Garden State, so I sympathize with Essex. Looking forward to the field trip. : )
I love Whitstable, but hadn’t visited this place. Wheeler’s is really good; utterly tiny but amazingly cheap seafood.
Good to know re: Wheeler’s (which was listed in our TimeOut guide, but booked full that afternoon). I don’t think I’ll be back in Whitstable anytime soon, though. I couldn’t see what else you’d do there other than eat lunch and cycle to Canterbury.
[...] and pizza. Dal Paino and Il Forno Campo de’ Fiori are not to be missed. Closer to home, we finally visited Canterbury and Whitstable, which were a bit of a snore, so we should’ve planned the day around a meal at the Sportsman [...]
Hi … I am absolutely astounded by what you say of Canterbury … A World Heritage Site to boot. Every corner you turn there is a piece of history ranging from 12th century onwards. Walking down the High Street and actually looking up at the buildings rather than the shops, the architecture is varied and a cross section of things English since the middle ages. The small side streets speak of the times when people threw their ablutions out of the window into a common gully! As for Whitstable, it is not meant to be an upmarket seaside resort it has no pretensions and is greatly considered by most who know it really. I find it quaint and charming, more interesting than Brighton which also has a shingle beach. Is a beach only good if it has sand? All these comments from someone who has lived in London 20 years and couldn’t wait to escape.
AMJ – I’m a little skeptical of the value of places that are designated Unesco world heritage sites as that title seems to be handed out quite frequently, but getting to the substance underlying the designation: it’s true that the buildings in Canterbury are quite historical, but the beauty of England is that there are other towns with their medieval architecture intact (Oxford, Cambridge) and that seem to retain real charm, so I couldn’t help feeling that the Cathedral was the only thing that made Canterbury unique and destination-worthy.
And the harbour in Whitstable really was a bit grim – I recall a lot of tarmac and industrial equipment. As for the beaches . . . I think most people, if given the choice between a white sandy beach and a pebbly one, would choose the former. But to each his own.
As for Brighton – I’ll agree with you there. I still get flak on my blog for having expressed ambivalence towards Brighton, too. : )
Hi again .. obviously we all have our favourite places and I can truly understand why you mention Oxford and Cambridge. I have no axe to grind as far as Canterbury is concerned except I have recently moved here, entirely by choice. I have been very very lucky to have seen many UNESCO sites as I lived in Italy for 10 years and travelled extensively in Europe. I believe the difference between Oxbridge and Canterbury is the amount of money which pours into the former towns through the Uni’s and tourism. Yes Canterbury has both but most tourist visits here seem to be tacked on to staying in London. Whitstable is a working harbour but I have to say that I love the smell!!! It is great to read different perspectives on the UK as I am getting to know it again after my long absence. I shall be looking out for your other posts on other cities. I LOVE FOOD.
I came across your site by chance and feel I should comment as a ‘local’! I live about 10 miles from Whitstable and I agree with your comments on Canterbury but totally disagree about Whitstable. AMJ is right in that Whitstable is a working harbour and long may it remain so rather than become a ‘theme park’ like many in Cornwall for example. It does take a while to get to love Whitstable, but if you look closely you will see a thriving local artist community, good quality independent shops rather than boring chains, two great tapas bars, good independent wine shops, a great cheese shop and several good restaurants. That you ended up in the Oyster Fishery is no surprise as that’s where most visitors go – very few locals go there as it simply isn’t good value. There was a review in The Telegraph a couple of years ago that summed it uip perfectly. The Sportsman has great food and there is of course Reads in Faversham which has a Michelin star. Faversham is also worth a visit as it has one of the best preserved medieval streets in England and the Three Mariners at Oare great for good quality pub food. So, try Whitstable again but please don’t eat at Wheelers as it’s difficult enough to get a table there!