While doing a spot of Whale watching recently (a 45 foot Sperm Whale was beached at Pegwell Bay close to Ramsgate) I had the chance to try out Rokka. A restaurant bar situated on Ramsgates Victorian Harbour front. Its modern styling does clash somewhat with its surroundings and on first appearance seems to be all style over substance. However on having lunch there I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by its friendly and welcoming staff and also the very tasty seafood pasta dish I had (No whales were harmed in the making of this dish). I also enjoyed a lovely dessert of Baklava with cream.
Rokka is out of place in Ramsgate Harbour, a bit of a fish out of water itself, but it is definately worth watching.
We had a quite a few comments on our posts covering Harveys in Ramsgate, the consensus being that this celebrity chef inspired outpost was really, really bad.
However unlike the Foliage and Parc des Eaux Vives which also closed this year. Harveys closure was deserved. We can only hope that this prime spot on the harbour does not stay closed for too long.
We have also been cheeky using the tag line “Gone for a Burton” – a play on the celebrity chef John Burton Race’s name. Isle One got in first with that one, but since they seem to have used one of our photographs without crediting us (tut….tut) it seemed only fair that we copy their tag line.
UPDATE – November 2010
Harveys has now been replaced by Jacks (The Cantina on the Marina) . I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why the council gave the go ahead to deface this building situated in a prime location on a Victorian Harbour is beyond me. This really is in bad taste and we haven’t even tried the food yet!
UPDATE May 2011 – The “Orange Blot” that was Jacks is gone, the building now has a new more suitable paint job. Wonder who will move into this prime spot next? It would be a great location for Eddie Gilberts if they were thinking of expanding.
The Sportsman in Whitstable is a destination restaurant, well a Michelin starred gastro pub with quite a reputation. Do not even think about going there to eat without an advance reservation.
They pride themselves on their fresh ingredients. Everything is either from the garden out back or from nearby, its all about provenance here. On the whole the pride is justified as the ingredients especially the fish and vegetables are really fresh and the cooking shows them off.
We treated ourselves to some Pol Roger Champagne and started on the tasting menu (something you need to pre book or alternatively you can order from the dishes on the blackboard by the bar). We started with some pork scratchings, and to quote “Steve” the chef, the Sportsman is a pub after all. They were nothing like typical pub pork scratchings, they were delicious, as was the mustard, herring and soda bread they were served with.
We had a very nice salad (Salmagundy, which apparently means a salad made out of available ingredients), but the standout courses were the dover sole with seaweed butter and the turbot with smoked roe sauce. Our conclusion was that the meal started well and that the fish dishes were excellent, but that the quality dipped with the 2nd lamb dish (some mash would have been nice) and the desserts (can chefs get over popping candy please).
We enjoyed the meal but I must say I wasn’t as wowed by it as some other reviewers.
Oh and we finished off the day with a nice jug of Pimms at Miles Cafe Culture in Ramsgate in case you were wondering.
Found an interesting cafe/bar in the Canterbury called Boho – it is right in the middle of the tourist area, but is still quirky enough to be interesting.
The decor in the back room is fun, very eclectic. I particular like the wall of retro clocks. They also have a small garden area.
The menu is quite diverse, tea/coffee and cakes, a selection of wines, and dishes that range from typical veggie/vegan fare to omnivore food like Chicken liver.
Does it give gourmets a good reason to leave London?
Well, it is most definitely a find, already fully booked weeks in advance, and serving up top notch food that puts a lot of London Restaurants too shame.
Getting there is really easy now too, 1 hour 16 minutes on the high speed train from St Pancras to Ramsgate then a 5 minutes taxi ride.
It is located on Ramsgates’ King Street. Not the most salubrious of locations as it is a few streets away from the more attractive harbour area. However as soon as you part the chainmail curtains at the entrance to the fishmongers on the ground floor you just know this place is a quality establishment.
To start we had the scallops and what is fast becoming Eddie Gilberts signature dish, duck egg and smoked eel soldiers, both delicious. Then came the main courses, we went for the turbot and the cod with chorizo, another two stunning dishes. All the dishes were well cooked with nicely balanced flavours. You do get the impression that you could choose anything on the menu and not be disappointed.
We were also pleasantly surprised by the quality and presentation of the desserts. The only weak spot if we were being picky was the limited choice of dessert wines, from an otherwise fairly impressive wine list. The Trimbach Pinot Gris was a good match for the dishes we chose.
This restaurant deserves the plaudits it has received from the national press. We certainly plan to return.
Marks 7/10.
UPDATE : August 2011, added a few more pictures from a return visit.
UPDATE: May 2013 – Sad to hear that Eddie Gilberts is closed, see Thanet Gazette article.
We had been planning to do a post on Age & Sons for a while. When it opened last year it was seen as a place that could put Ramsgate firmly on the Restaurant circuit. The chef is Toby Leigh formally of Kensington Place and gastro pubs The Anchor & Hope and Heston Blumenthal’s Hinds Head.
Age & Sons is actually more than just a restaurant. It is spread over 3 floors, the top floor is the main restaurant, the ground floor is a more casual dining area (laid out a bit like a french kitchen) and the basement houses a cosy rather stylish cocktail bar. It is not the easiest place to find. We arrived on an off season Saturday night to a fully booked restaurant whose clientele consisted of well heeled locals, out of towners, people from the yacht club and foodies like us. I particularly like this places eccentricities – the eclectic range of “Granny” style side plates, the squeaky cheese trolley. It is definitely not one of these manufactured venues with catalogue decor, it has it’s own style.
I started with sweetbreads and damsons. While full of damson flavour it did religate the sweetbread to merely a texture rather than a taste. For main course I went for Kentish lamb and my companion went for the pork (as far removed from the pork I had in Harveys earlier that day, as it is possible to get). The portion sizes were huge so this was more comfort/hearty food than any pretension of fine dining.
What is also refreshing is that in such a busy place the service was professional and friendly. Taking the time for example to enquire how we enjoyed some of the more unusual cheeses in our cheese course. On that front we particularly enjoyed the whiskey flavoured variety from Snowdonia.
On leaving we noticed just how buzzing the downstairs was. This really made for a great ambience and one that most restaurants would kill for.
Marks out of 10 – October 2009
Food 5.5
Service 6.5
Ambience 7
Diner – October 2009
Extended outside space – July 2010
Lunch – August 2011
UPDATE : July 2010, Age & Sons now have a much larger outdoor space for drinks and food, it’s a good spot to relax in the sunshine. It even does tea and cakes (not a big selection – they only had muffins on our visit, but they were actually rather good, especially the marmalade and ginger one). They were also selling jugs of Pimms and Ginger Beer, which makes for a nice change from the normal Pimms and Lemonade option.
UPDATE : August 2011
We had a late lunch out in the lovely courtyard. Age & Sons has really upped its game. My Mushroom and Ricotta Ravioli was particularly good.
