No.1 Whitstable — Restaurant in Canterbury

There were 5 of us for dinner this evening and we had booked in advance. We were seated next to the door and it was absolutely freezing so we asked if we could be moved but were told there were no other tables. If it hadn't been for having to pay a cancellation fee we would have left. We ordered various small plates one of which was scallops charged at £16. Two scallops arrived - so £8 each. They certainly weren't value for money and I would have expected it to be made clear on the menu that was what would be served up. I complained to the manager who was quite frankly completely unapologetic and arrogant. Most of the remaining dishes were great (although chips were on a par with McDonalds) moral of the story don't order the most expensive and least filling dish on the menu - the scallops. A complete rip off.

Ruby the waitress was lovely.

Edited to answer your response.

I can assure you that the two scallops I was served were not large. There was no side salad or anything to accompany the scallops other than a bowl of pebbles and a tomato sauce. All five of us were shocked at what was presented. If scallops cost £50 a kilo then you're making a massive profit serving 1 at £8. Given that I raised the issue with both the waitress and yourself (I assume it was you I spoke to) at no point did you either offer me anything else or offer a reduction in the bill. I stand by my comment and can assure you I have absolutely no intention of returning to your restaurant again. Whilst I appreciate you are a business, I do expect value for money and a less arrogant response to...

Unfortunately, due to the two young women working there on the morning of my visit, the atmosphere and lack of welcome, made my visit quite unpleasant.

There was no greeting smile or hello from either member of staff when my party of five arrived.

We waited for a couple to vacate a table and then two tables were pushed together to accommodate us. There was no wiping of the tables, despite blobs of brown sauce on the table. But they should have been wiped as a matter of course.

Our orders were taken without eye contact or a smile. The food was bought to us without eye contact or a smile, and there was no return visit to check that all was okay.

We sat in the first part of the restaurant where the kitchen is situated and found the smell of the cooking quite overwhelming. People who came in after us, asked to be seated in the other half of the restaurant, away from the kitchen because it gets a bit ‘chokey’.

It is an open kitchen and therefore I appreciate there will be cooking smells emanating. However it seemed there was no extractor fan in operation, which would have helped.

The food was fine but the experience completely let down by the service and the atmosphere.

I think the management/owners really need to take their staff along to Fable & Green to see how good customer...

Rude. The table that was reserved for us was at first sight disappointing. It was stuck in a corner by the bar and open kitchen. When we approached the table the heat from the kitchen was uncomfortable and sitting at a right angle to my wife, each staring at a wall, was not what we had in mind for a special evening out. We were told, and i para phrase, we are busy if you dont like it go somewhere else. Couldnt careless, we have plenty of other customers. I admit i lossed it, as we had been looking forward to a wedding anniversary meal. I simple received a condescending smirk from the manager as we were asked to leave. To add insult the manager deducted £20 from my credit card which i had provided when making the reservation. This is illegal. I turned up for my booking as per our agreement but they failed to provide an acceptable table. Taking £20 without my consent is fraud. Becareful who you trust with you...