Gate Inn — Restaurant in Canterbury

How the mighty have fallen, this once magnificent little pub/restaurant was once a beautiful retreat, where one could enjoy the quiet of nature with one of many magnificently crafted meals. Now, not so much, service seems to have gone downhill aswell as the quality and care with which food is prepared. My family and I have loved visiting the Gate Inn since I myself was in nursery, it is a great shame to witness its decline, not to mentioned the abrupt disappearance of its star side dish, Noggins.

The Burger: The once unique house burger, namely the 'Gate Burger', is now a fraction the size they once were, the bun has gone from almost bakery fresh with a unique and memorable swirl design, to the same plain glazed bun you'll find anywhere else. Contents are about as standard as it gets, a single piece of lettuce, one remarkabley thin slice of tomato, one satisfactory beef patty, topped with a slice of chedder and a single small strip of caramelised bacon. Nothing to write home about, a wonder it's still considered the house burger.

Service: I received a warm enough welcome, however a couple of mistakes where made during my visit, my drink order was incorrect, the dietary request in my order was neglected, which could have potentially lead to a serious allergic reaction. Little effort was made to rectify these wrongs, I did however recieve my requested drink after a brief interaction.

Service was very slow, I was informed that this was due to the kitchen having undergone a recent deep clean. Why you would give the kitchen a deep clean mid afternoon one can only wonder, it is, for many establishments, one of the busiest times of day, more-so when the sun is shining.

This said, the atmosphere is pleasant, the recent felling of trees is very unfortunate as they not only sheltered the garden from much of the wind but helped the garden feel enclosed and safe. The animals that wander about the grounds are a delight, lovely rabbits that children love to watch hop about in their enclosure, and ducks that have been a joy to see for many years of patronage. I was also glad to see the return of chickens as I was informed by previous ownership that the previous flock had been assaulted by a fox.

I ofcourse recommend a visit to form your own opinions, afterall, I'm just a person on...

UPDATE - June 2013: This is still a first class family pub under new management. It's a real real-ale pub and has been known to post signs saying "No Lager" (in fact lager is available). The Marshside Lager (actually bitter) is served on gravity straight from the cask and is absolutely excellent. The food menu is really good and includes the local favourite, a black pudding, local bacon and mango chutney sandwich (door stop) with a small side salad to make it healthier! This is a classic pub. So much so that it has become an occasional tourist venue. You drop in for a quiet pint only to find 50 young Japanese ladies being shown the "perfect country pub". There is no Muzak, slot machines or TV. In the winter there is a real fire which has been upgraded to prevent the previously frequent chimney fires, denying the fire brigade a snack and a drink. I love this busy pub with its traditional games, garden and duck pond!

Sadly Chris has retired but the pub still maintains its unique character and traditions. I have been back to check. I wonder how many hundreds or even thousands of people will want to wish Chris a...

I don’t usually like to leave bad reviews as every place has bad days but my goodness I’ve never had such a bad experience! I understand places have just reopened and might not be used to table service. There is a long list of bad things: extremely slow service, pub was not busy and staff were unapologetic glasses, cutlery and plates were dirty first choice of food from the menu wasn’t available and the second choice was changed from salmon to sea bass our starters took an hour to arrive and then mains after an hour and a half food order was wrong, the food was also cold and the kids nuggets were horrible, they seemed to have maybe been made for the lunch menu and later served again

All in all terrible experience, we would only return for a drink in the garden if that. It’s such a shame as the pub itself is in a lovely location and could be incredible but unfortunately it’s not the...