The Old Gate Inn — Restaurant in Canterbury

I managed to get an overnight stay, and dinner in this lovely pub last week. Having been recommended by my good friend Google.

The reservation was made easily over the phone.

Upon arrival you can’t help being impressed by the size of this place. From the approach on the side of the road it looks like an average sized country pub. It’s not till you park up and see the outside seating, hotel, and car park. Not to mention the considerable seating in the pub itself.

Initial impression is that of a clean and well maintained country pub. Lots of dark wood etc. to complete the look.

Check in was easy. We needed an iron for the morning and that was easily supplied right away. The rooms all have private electronic door access from either within the pub or from an external 24 hours entrance leading in, and out of the car park. The room has an ensuite bathroom, plenty of towels, and a walk-in shower. Was nice to have a room that had windows which opened. The room was clean, and well made up. I won’t talk about comfort of the bed or pillows as I find it is a very personal feeling. But I will say that they are of top quality.

I was travelling with my wife, we came down to the bar for a pre-dinner drink. It was warm out, and decided to use the pub garden. We discussed wine options with Kim behind the bar. Soon had our choice made, and took some lovely rose to the garden. The garden was well maintained. Nice planters, and good quality benches with umbrellas. The wine was served cold, and in clean glasses.

After our wine we proceeded for a late evening meal. Seated at a cosy table for two. Noah took our order and showed that nothing was too much trouble. We soon had another round of drinks, and the two Burgers we had decided on were on order. We changed the order slightly as we both prefer skinny fries.

The food was served hot, fresh, and well presented. I have to say I was not sure about the way this burger was put together from the description on the menu. I’m not really that keen on glazed pulled beef at the best of times, let alone on my burger. Cheese sauce? That too was a bit out there for me. But I hung in there and decided to give it a try. Glad to say I did. I was very impressed with the fusion of textures and flavours. Each component added a different depth to the taste. The burger itself was not at all dry and was perfectly cooked. All the other ingredients just added to the experience. I’m no burger aficionado, but this is one of the best I have ever eaten. Well done! The onion rings on the side were light and crispy. Rounded the dish out perfectly. The table and cutlery were all clean and polished. Would love to come for a more involved and rounded meal when time allows.

On side note the toilets were also clean and well maintained.

Both Kim & Noah we very friendly, polite, and professional.

We will being staying again next time we...

Stopped for a quick bite to eat after travelling for work. Skipped breakfast so thought I'd treat myself to a nice lunch. Friendly hosting made me feel very welcome and I was seated immediately. Was somewhat busy, and was taken to a quiet nook. Drinks order was taken swiftly, and upon returning with the drinks I was ready to place my order. I had decided on scallops and prawns to start and seabass and chorizo to follow. The timing and perfection of the dishes cannot be overstated. Prompt delivery of the starter, and just as I had cleaned the plate, I was asked if I was ready for the main or if I needed a moment. Famished as I was, I opted for as soon as possible, what couldn't have been more than 5 minutes later. A stunning piece of art is placed before me, the seabass cooked to perfection, and the accompanying chorizo and veg, compliment it beautifully. Not having the intention of getting dessert, but curious to see what I had yet to discover, I ordered a Trillionaire something or other, (I wish I had written it down.) I was not disappointed. Reasonable price, great atmosphere, amazing team, and I highly recommended a coffee from Chris too, he definitely knows his stuff, with promises off more to show if I return, which I definitely will. Possibly as a work function if...

We will not be returning again after two very poor meals there.

The vegan menu is very limited, even more so when needing GF options. Out of the two options available, each time the one that we wanted was unavailable - and it was explained to us that it is often unavailable, despite still being on the menu. We ordered the other instead, and this time the portion of that which arrived was so small that it would have been small for a starter. The waiter agreed that this was a very poor serving and refunded the meal

A similar issue happened last time where neither of the vegan meals were available, and so as we had resolved to leave and go for a meal elsewhere, they were then able to put together a curry dish. Additionally, with the dessert that was ordered, it didn't arrive with everything that it should have, but after the other issues with the meal that evening we had had enough. In general, they are very poor with their vegan meals.

Additionally on that occasion , even though we'd booked a table and we were quite specific about which one, the table we were given was not right and not suitable so we had to move elsewhere.

We had given the place the benefit of the doubt, having thought it was a good restaurant, but after these two very poor visits, we will not be...