Category: Ramsgate

Dining by the sea

Spent the weekend in Ramsgate. It’s only 1 hour and 20 minutes from London on the High Speed Train, so visiting this seaside town over a weekend is well worth doing, especially if you manage to eat as well as we did.

Caboose Cafe – NOW Rosebud Cafe and Winebar – closed 2017

We had a lovely breakfast at Caboose Cafe, a relatively new Cafe Bar, just off the High Street. The Eggs Benedict and the Eggs Royal were delicious and very reasonably priced at £4.95  – that alone says we’re not in London anymore.

 

The quality of the food and coffee was commendable, this Cafe is a great find, it’s certainly not your typical Ramsgate all day breakfast venue. In the evenings there is a Mexican Cantina menu and even the odd live event, they are working on bringing quality acts to Caboose, with a view to helping make Ramsgate a destination for touring bands and comedians.

UPDATE: 2016 –  Change of management, the Mexican menu is no more, now called Rosebud Cafe and Winebar.

UPDATE June 2017 – CLOSED

Royal Harbour Brasserie

We also made a return visit to the Royal Harbour Brasserie, braving the blustery winds to walk out to the end of the Harbour Arm where the restaurant is located. It’s so worth the trip, not just for the warm welcome at the Restaurant or the above average food, but for the spectacular views out to sea and inland to Ramsgate Marina, what a location to watch the sunset! We arrived just a bit too early to sample their evening menu, and instead had to choose from a  more limited one. The Wine list was also rather basic. First we shared a Assiette of house nibbles, this would have been a pretty substantial starter for one (a steal at £5 and more than enough for 2 people).  Then after that excellent start, we tucked into our main courses,  I had a large fillet of sea bass with bisque sauce and perfectly cooked new potatoes, and my companion had a suitably autumnal venison stew, both dishes arrived on “Alan Partridge” sized big plates.  We had not realized how hungry we were until we miraculously managed to clear them.

Age and Sons – closed 2014

On the Sunday we decided to go to Age & Sons for lunch, as this is a restaurant we have always liked for its reliable cooking and pleasant ambience.  The restaurant was awarded a Bib Goumand in 2009 and it just seems to keep getting better and better. Sunday lunch is served in the attractive main restaurant area on the top floor (they have a French kitchen style area on the ground flour and a Cocktail bar in the basement). I had a beautiful piece of Venison and lovely creamy dauphinoise potatoes and my companion really enjoyed his Pork Belly, braised cheek & fritter with black pudding puree & garlic mashed potato.  We finished our meal by sharing a cheese board served with some rather moreish home made biscuits.

All three of the venues we visited are ones that we would highly recommend, especially Age & Sons, which has grown into a gem of a restaurant that any town or city would be proud off.

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Eating and Drinking Guide (Ramsgate)

Updated October 2025

Ramsgate is a picturesque historic seaside town with beautiful sandy beaches and one of the largest marinas on the English south coast. It has the only Harbour in the United Kingdom that has been awarded the right to call itself a Royal Harbour. It also boasts some quite stunning Architecture.

The Ramsgate Eating & Drinking Map shows the locations of some of the Restaurants, Cafes and Bars in Ramsgate including the ones described below

Flavours by Kumar

A modern India Restaurant in Effingham Street that produces some beautifully spiced dishes. Good set lunch deals that even include an amuse-bouche. OK wine list and friendly staff. Ignore the decor, this is a great find.

Click here for review.

Take away service available.

Ramsgate Tandoori

A Traditional Tandoori restaurant and take away on Harbour Street. Excellent service.

The Dining Rooms at Albion House

Located in the beautiful Albion House Hotel. The Dining Rooms are a good option for an upmarket Brunch, Afternoon Tea or Dinner. The Hotel also has a comfortable lounge area that is ideal for relaxing with drinks.

Click here for review.

The Hive

A friendly local reasonably priced Cafe. It’s a little out of the way in George Street but worth a visit as the Cafe is a pleasant quiet spot for a quality brunch or lunch.  There is extra seating in the basement and lots of outside seating. It’s a popular Afternoon Tea venue especially at the weekend.

The Falstaff

A small boutique Hotel. The Falstaff Restaurant is open on Saturday Evenings for Dinner and on Sundays for Lunch (extra days for Christmas Menu). It is advisable to book.

There is a Bar and a Deli where you can Eat in or Take Away. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday 8:30am to 4:00pm.

There is also a garden area at the back that is open to non residents. There are regular music events and BBQ’s during the Summer months.

Staple

Staple are a local artisanal bakery with cafés in Broadstairs, Westgate, Manston and Ramsgate.  They make handmade breads and viennoiserie pastries. The Ramsgate café in York Street also has outside seating in the courtyard overlooking Albert Court.

Click here for review.

Giant Coffee

A cosy Coffee shop located in Charlotte Court. Serves excellent coffee and plant based savouries and cakes.

Click here for review.

Vincent’s

A lovely little cafe overlooking Spencer Square Tennis Courts with plenty of outside seating. Sells excellent Coffee and homemade Cakes. They also do breakfast & lunch. While your there don’t miss the stunning sculpture of Vincent Van Gogh who used to live & teach in Spencer Square & Royal Road.

Click here for review.

The Bedford Inn

The Bedford Inn has recently been converted into an independent hotel that consists of 4 bedrooms with wet room en-suites, above the rather lovely Pub. The Inn also has a restaurant and an attractive outside seating area (with a sandy beach & deckchairs in the summer). Serves excellent Cocktails.

Click here for review.

Coco Latino

A cafe Bar in a great location overlooking the Marina.  Serves a good range of Cocktails and Beers, and is a regular venue for live music. Opening times vary depending on time of the year.

The Arch Bar

An attractive comfortable bar located under the Arches overlooking the Harbour. Has lots of outside seating. Serves Food including substantial seafood platters that are ideal for sharing.

Ship Shape

A popular Cafe built into the Arches, frequented by harbour workers and tourists. It’s very reasonably priced and serves one of the best full English breakfasts in Ramsgate. It’s much bigger than it looks and if you’re lucky you can grab one of the outside tables and get a good view of the harbour.

Sorbetto

Ramsgate Ice Cream Parlour. The ice cream is made in a small artisan factory below the parlour.  You can order the ice cream to take away or you can choose to sit in the air conditioned parlour or outside overlooking the harbour. They serve generous portions of quality Italian gelato as well as hot and cold drinks, toasties, sandwiches and cakes.

Royal Harbour Brasserie

An interesting place with fabulous views of the Harbour, the Marina, the English Channel and France. Generally delivers some pretty decent fish and seafood dishes and does good Sunday roasts.

Click here for review.

Coasters – Pimms & Prosecco Bar

Bar overlooking Ramsgate Main Sands, does a decent Pimms (even if it is in a Plastic glass), have not eaten here yet but menu includes Sandwiches, Salads, Burgers and other snacks. (Open Summer months only).

Royal Victoria Pavilion

The largest Wetherspoon pub in the UK. The food and drinks range is pretty much what you would expect to find in a Wetherspoon. The building and the views are what makes this place special and worth a visit, especially on a sunny day.

Click here for review.

The Belle Vue Tavern

A popular pub with a large and very attractive beer garden in Pegwell Bay. The sea views from the garden are stunning. It is also known as “The balcony of Kent”. A Shepherd Neame Pub.

Sir Stanley Gray at the Pegwell Bay Hotel

A Restaurant and Bar with a beautiful balcony and view over Pegwell Bay. Part of the Thorley Tavern Group.  The bar and restaurant food is a cut above than most pub grub, excellent service too.

Njord

A Cafe Bar with lots of Scandi style, an excellent spot for breakfast/brunch overlooking Pegwell Bay.

Good drinks menu and a nice selection of cakes from the Beardy Baker in Canterbury.

Click here for review.

REAL ALE TRAIL

Ramsgate has a diverse selection of Real Ale Pubs and its own Brewery. The Map below provides a trail from Ramsgate Train Station to Dumpton Park Train Station 

FISH & CHIP SHOPS

As expected in a seaside town, there are more than a few Fish & Chip shops too.

AFTERNOON TEA & CAKE STOPS 

There is also a good selection of places to indulge your sweet tooth.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To learn more about Ramsgate check out the Visit Ramsgate web site and Food Blogging in Ramsgate.

For information on places to Eat and Drink in nearby towns and villages, see the East Kent/Thanet Guide.

 

Return to East Kent/Thanet Guide

Return to Index for No Expert Guides 

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Royal Harbour Brasserie – How dramatic

Locations for a new cafe/restaurant opening don’t come much more dramatic than the newly opened Royal Harbour Brasserie on the extreme tip of Ramsgate Royal Harbour. On a freezing but sunny day there can’t be many venues with views to rival this one with sea on both sides and views of Ramsgate’s Victorian skyline.

As the cafe has just newly opened the menu has been limited. A wise move in order to judge its popularity with the local and visiting clientele. While I was there it had a good turn around of customers and the venue had a cosy atmosphere. The decor has a nautical feel without going over the top. A nice touch was the hessian sacking used to upholster some of the seating.

As a lone diner, I was not in a position to try more than one item on the menu, so I settled for the big breakfast which while not the cheapest in Ramsgate (£6.00) was better than the average with a nice runny egg and savory sausages.

On my way out I was struck by some quirky touches like the toilet signage. Sounds dreadful but I was amused.

The Chef Patron of Royal Harbour Brasserie is Adrian Mowl, formally of the Turner Contempory Gallery Cafe, Adrian has cooked for a few VIPs, like the Queen when she visited the aforementioned gallery and he was also executive chef in the London Olympic Village 2012 catering for the likes of Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt.  Wonder if they would get a kick out of braving the elements trying to get to this remote outpost when the weather gets interesting!

We certainly plan to return again to do a more comprehensive review in the Summer, where hopefully we can take advantage of the large outdoor terrace with great views of the Harbour, the Marina, the English Channel and even France.

UPDATE 2013 – See post titled Dining by the Sea

UPDATE 2014 – We have been to the Royal Harbour Brasserie several times now for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and have found that the Food and Service has been fairly consistent, the event type menus are a bit dull, but in general the Fish and Sea Food dishes are good.  Personal favorites are Smoked haddock with bubble and squeak, beurre blanc, and poached egg and caviar,  Scallops with chorizo, Fried duck egg and brown shrimps in shrimp butter on granary toast.

I would also say that if you find that they have Lobster on the menu, that  it’s not to be missed. The Lobsters I have eaten here were full of meat and beautifully cooked and presented.

UPDATE 2024 – Still going strong.

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Rokka Ramsgate – a fish out of water!

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.

 

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Gone for a Burton – Blot on the Landscape! (Closed)

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.

See:-

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

Jacks Cantina on the Marina

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.

 

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Eddie Gilberts – reasons to leave London? (Closed)

Will Eddie Gilberts do for Ramsgate what the Sportsman has done for Whitstable?

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.

 

 

 

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