Author: No Expert

Franc : Canterbury

Looking for a really good place to eat in Canterbury? We found a true hidden gem, thanks to some high praise from food critics Grace Dent (click here for her review) and Giles Coren (click here for his review).

After seeing both of them rave about Franc, we knew we had to try it.

Franc is  located in the historic 1085 Tudor Gatehouse of St John’s Hospital, it’s so hidden, in fact, that we walked right past it! The ground floor functions as a wine bar, giving the entrance a relaxed feel rather than a typical French restaurant vibe. The main dining area is located upstairs via a steep staircase. Since our table was in the wine bar, we stayed downstairs and missed out on the climb.

The lunch menu wisely favours quality over quantity, offering a selection of three starters, three mains, a cheese course, and three dessert options.

I ordered the trout tartare, which was absolutely fabulous. The portion size was perfect for a starter, though it was so refreshing and moreish that I could have easily eaten another. My companion loved the tomato soup, saying it was one of the best he’d ever tasted. After a quick taste myself, I can agree it was wonderfully thick and bursting with flavour.

For our main course, the kitchen truly excelled. I deviated from the main menu to try the lamb and flageolet bean special. It arrived as a generous portion of incredibly tender meat paired with deeply flavorful beans. Across the table, the chicken and tarragon with a side of chips was a triumph. It was a perfectly executed French classic, thoughtfully modernized with the inclusion of charred little gem.

We each had a glass of sparkling Vouvray, though choosing was difficult given their excellent selection of wines by the glass.

Here’s the menu and wine lists to give you an idea of how spoilt for choice we were :-

I only wish we’d had room for the cheese course and a dessert wine, perhaps next time.

Ironically, this calibre of food feels like it belongs somewhere grander, like The Pig at Bridge Place, but we’re delighted it’s much easier to reach, tucked away in the ancient building at Canterbury Northgate.

I also couldn’t resist taking a picture of these cartoon water glasses (Smurfs and Lilo & Stitch). There must be a story there!

 

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Flavours by Kumar : Ramsgate

Latest Visit ( December 2025) :-

Over the years as restaurants come and go in Ramsgate, Flavours by Kumar has persevered. It still looks pretty much the same as it did on my first visit many years ago, and they still have their reasonably priced set lunch menu. It’s also a popular choice for home delivery and one of these places where you know every dish is going to be good.

We’ve recently been ordering a la carte rather than ordering from their set lunch menu. They have a large selection of starters that we’re working our way through, for lunch we typically order a sharing platter & some extra starters. Highlights include Gobi Manchurian (just stunning, love the texture & flavour), the Chilli Pork and the Mint & Coriander Chicken.

The amuse bouche and the little cup of soup are also a treat, there’s a good reason this restaurant is called flavours.

Older review 2014 :-

I have been eating regularly at Flavours by Kumar for a while  now and just realised that although it is included it in the No Expert – Eating and Drinking Guide it does not have a more in-depth review in its own right; which it most definitely merits.

The restaurant is tucked away in a side street in Ramsgate (2 Effingham Street). It is in a converted pub that still looks like a pub when you enter, but don’t judge this place by the decor, this is not your average Indian Restaurant. The owner and Head Chef, is Anil Kumar, who worked at The Cinnamon Club in London, and in restaurants in Dubai, Jordan and India.

We go for the set lunch which is amazing value. You start with a welcome drink usually a mango juice concoction. Then a small amuse bouche, which is a mouthful of deliciousness. They have a nice selection of starters, the Masala Dosa is a work of Art, and I highly recommend the Squid dish.  Next there is a small complimentary cup of spicy soup. There is also a good few main courses to choose from. We have tried several of them, the highlight for me is the Goan Fish Curry, it is served with rice and warm freshly made naan bread.

The service is good and there is a small selection of  wine.

The restaurant is well regarded, it won a Tiffin Cup award to find the UKs best South Asian Restaurant and has been favourably covered in the national press, see Guardian article which described the food at Flavours by Kumar as some of the tastiest Indian Food in the South East of England and they are so right. If you are in the area, this is a treat not to be missed.

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Travellers in Italy – Pizzeria & Rosticceria (Closed)

On our visit to Ramsgate’s newest restaurant (it’s only been open for three weeks at the time of writing this review) executive chef Craig Mather was manning the small Kitchen area and pizza oven left over from Pizza Express, the previous tenants of this landmark building overlooking the Royal Harbour.

Travellers in Italy may be a strange name for a restaurant but I think any travellers to Italy would be more than happy to find somewhere that served Pizza this good. The sourdough base was lovely, but what really stood out to me when I took the first bite of my Tartiflette Pizza (crispy smoked pancetta, slow cooked onions, confit garlic, Jersey Royals, cream, parmesan and thyme) was the delicious fresh ingredients used to create it.  My companion had the Gamberi Pizza (King Prawn, chilli, cherry tomatoes, rocket and parmesan) which he was equally enamoured with. GB Pizza in Margate make excellent Pizza and are understandably renowned locally, but I have to say based on this visit, Travellers in Italy can give them a run for their money.

I couldn’t manage a whole Pizza, so they very kindly boxed the remaining slice. Here’s hoping it reheats ok, as I’d hate to waste it.

The room looks lovely now, so much warmer looking than its previous incarnation and the staff are both friendly and efficient.

James Thomas the owner of the Royal Harbour Hotel is building a small restaurant empire here in Ramsgate, first with the Empire Room in the basement of the Royal Harbour Hotel, then Little Ships the excellent brasserie overlooking the harbour and now Travellers in Italy. I wonder what’s next.

UPDATE September 2022 – Recently dined here with visiting friends, who were very happy with the quality of the pizza, the efficient service and the lovely view over the Marina.

The Empire Room mentioned in the above review is now closed.

UPDATE July 2023 – Travellers in Italy is now closed.

 

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Using Ramsgate as a Hub

One of Ramsgate’s strengths is its excellent infrastructure, with multiple high speed train routes from London and some very useful bus routes.

This makes Ramsgate an ideal place to use as a hub  to visit the nearby places of interest (although there’s lots to see and do locally in Ramsgate too). If you’re visiting Ramsgate for a bit longer you may want to go further afield – for example to try one of the 1 Star Michelin Restaurants within easy reach.

The Map below covers these restaurants and some other restaurants and cafes to try on Day Trips.

Day Trips from Ramsgate

The following Map provides some ideas for day trips from Ramsgate. These suggestions are generally less than one hours drive away and reachable via Public Transport.

The Map includes Museums, Castles, Vineyards, Wildlife Parks, Nature Reserves and places that provide activities like Climbing, Gliding, Ballooning, Canoeing & Boat Trips.

The following Walking and Cycling Trails also start from Ramsgate Royal Harbour:-

Walking:

Cycling:

If you’re visiting Ramsgate and planning to stay local. Check out the Visit Ramsgate Website and the Maps & Trails page that covers Eating & Drinking, Tourist Attractions and Activities in Ramsgate.

Following the Town Rounders Trail Map is also good way to get to know the town, you will also find lots of useful information covering eating, drinking, shopping and accommodation in the No Expert East Kent/Thanet Guide.

 

 

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Time for Christmas Decorations

No Expert Maps

It’s almost time to put up the Christmas decorations!

December is just days away, and there’s already lots of Christmas activities being advertised, so this weekend I’m doing a Christmas swap over for some of the standard No Expert Maps  (ones that that apply all year round and cover the locations of Restaurants, Cafes, Bars, Pubs, Shops, Barbers, Salons and Spas). The Maps are now displayed with Christmas themed Icons.

  • The Christmas Eating & Drinking Map provides links to Christmas Menus and information on Events/Party’s.
  • The Christmas Shopping Map provides links to information on special Christmas offers.

Christmas Maps can be added to a website or blog in the run up to Christmas and removed after Christmas or included for the duration of special Christmas Events, like these ones :-

Larger Maps

The Christmas Maps (and the standard Maps) can be set up to cover quite a large number of businesses/items in a single Map, the Maps zoom facility enables you to select to focus on a specific area of the Map. You can also use the Side Menu option (click on the Side Menu icon in the top left hand corner of the Map) to not only view an index of the Maps contents, but also to switch off/on the layers being displayed.

The example below covers over 500 businesses, it is part of Thanet District Councils Shop & Eat Local this Christmas campaign.

The contents of this Map are also available in a series of smaller Maps one for each Town in Thanet – Click here to see these Maps.

You can also use the following links to go directly to the smaller Town specific Google Maps

Town Maps 

Thanet Map 

Some No Expert Map Benefits
  • Bespoke No Expert Map Icons will stand out more than the standard Google Map icons.
  • The No Expert Map Icons provide strong visual clues to the type of business/event.
  • The No Expert Maps can be kept up to date (the default Google Map displays often show business that no longer exist or have moved location).
  • The designated Layer structure allows for a logical filter method to display Mapped items.
  • Trails can be mapped out with distance information.

 

 

Click here to learn more about No Expert Mapping.

 

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The Empire Room at the Royal Harbour Hotel (Closed)

Tucked away in the basement of the Royal Harbour Hotel in Ramsgate you will find the Empire Room restaurant, which captures the essence of an archetypal gentlemens club in the glory days of the British Empire. The restaurant has the look and feel of a special occasion venue but surprisingly with its reasonably priced  set lunch and set dinner you won’t need to spend a fortune to have a lovely meal here.

The Empire Room certainly isn’t your average sea side town hotel dining room. The chef is well known in the area, he is Michelin-trained chef, Craig Mather the former head chef at the highly acclaimed and sadly missed fish restaurant Eddie Gilbert’s (one of his Eddie Gilbert dishes was Jay Rayner’s starter of the year a few years ago – which is praise indeed). Craig has for the past few years also been a Chef lecturer at East Kent College. So after reading about him taking over at the Empire Room Restaurant, we decided to go there for lunch. The set menu option is incredible value for money and we enjoyed some beautifully presented dishes along with a complimentary glass of house wine. The menu is seasonal and the highlight for me was the Fennel and Beetroot marinated Salmon with Potato mousse, a tasty and refreshing dish that was a perfect for the warm summer weather, as was the excellent ice cream served with biscuit crumb.

The restaurant has definitely upped its game since my last visit a few years back and is a great addition to the burgeoning Ramsgate dining scene.

The Empire room is normally accessed directly from its entrance on Nelson Crescent, but the hotel manager kindly let us exit via the hotel itself, which has a cosy lounge, attractive breakfast room and stunning sea views.

If you love the Empire Room you should also try their sister restaurant Little Ships.   It’s in a great spot overlooking Ramsgate Royal Harbour, perfect for people watching, it’s a bit pricier than surrounding restaurants/bars but the portions are generous and the quality of the ingredents make it well worth a visit or two.

UPDATE October 2019 New Head Chef is Ross Barden (ex Sands Hotel, Margate). Craig Mather is now Executive Head Chef and is often seen at the stove in Little Ships .

UPDATE July 2021. Michelin-trained Chef Jack Hancock pops up in The Empire Room with Hearth Restaurant.

UPDATE September 2022 – Closed.

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