Lobster Shack
The Lobster Shack
“The Lobster Shack is owned by a company who have quite a few buildings along the harbourside, but if you go past the concrete ones onto the other side of the harbour, you’ll find The Lobster Shack. It’s on the furthest point right on the seafront. It’s a brilliant setting where you can have fish and chips and oysters if you can eat them. I can’t eat them because I’ve got a shellfish allergy.”
Who comes here
“It attracts mostly holidaymakers, but you’ll always find locals there who know it and love it, too. It’s all run by locals but, especially in summer months, it’s often full of day trippers who have headed into Whitstable.”
Best table in the restaurant
“Personally, I’d order food and sit outside. They don’t take bookings, though there is a bit of inside seating. I love the outside seating in the sunshine where you can just watch the boats go back and forth and, in the summer, you’ll see lots of people going crabbing in the harbour. We were there a couple of weeks ago, and there was a live musician playing just outside. It was fantastic.”
Best time to come
“I actually love this place in the winter. It’s got this kind of glass-covered area so you can hide from the wind. And then, in spring or summer, it’s a great space to be in the sunshine outside.”
Dish to order
“For me, it’s all about the fish and chips right on the harbourside or on the beach, no matter what time of year it is.”
Samphire
Samphire Restaurant
“I just love this place. Samphire is another Whitstable staple that likes to celebrate local produce, and it’s a tiny little independent restaurant that is family-run. Samphire is a small space with a slightly open kitchen at the back so it’s got a brilliant energy to it. A self-described bistro, it is all about seasonal produce, meat and fish and, deservedly, it’s well recognised for that. The guy who started it converted it from an old shop space and, by day, it’s a relaxed breakfast and lunch spot. but by night it’s somewhere people will go for a nice supper. But I love it because, aside from having a wonderful atmosphere, it is all about celebrating local, Kentish produce, loud and proud.”
Who comes here
“Because it’s on the main drag a lot of people who are down for the weekend will walk past and then wander in, but it’s also a real go-to for the locals.”
Best table in the restaurant
“If you can get in and get any table, you’re onto a winner. There’s no particularly good table because it’s so small but get any table and settle in.”
When to come
“They do a really good brunch. The food is lovely all the time, but if you can book in and get brunch, I would do that.”
Dish to order
“They do an amazing bone-in bacon chop, and they make exceptional coffees.”
Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge is out now (Bloomsbury Absolute, £27 Hardback)