Rocksalt Restaurant — Restaurant in Folkestone and Hythe District

The most disappointed overpriced seafood ever. Really ruined our late Valentine's dinner and we left still hungry!!!

We came specifically for some fresh seafood and could not have been more disappointed (note: at the time of review, they have changed their menu from when we went.)

Starters: Ham croqueta. Small for the price. Scallops. Too light and small as well as being underwhelming in terms of taste.

Main: Cod. OK I guess. My boyfriend had no complaints. Dover sole for myself. The most ridiculous Dover sole ever!!! Menu stated 'Dover sole on the bone'. "OK great," I thought. I have no problem cutting my own fillets and dealing with the bone and have experience doing so and sole is my favourite fish. What actually arrived on my plate....??? Utterly bewildered. It was not the whole fish and I had to ask waiters what it even was. They provided a less than convincing explanation that the chef cuts a portion of the fish in length and that it's to do with it being winter. I'm sorry but what? For 28£ and this is what they serve?!? That means they probably get three portions out of it and make more money from it that way. Absolutely ridiculous. Especially when at other times of the year, you can find in their reviews that they serve the whole fish, which is what I had expected having looked at the reviews before coming.

Even more worrisome, it did not look nor taste like sole. Do not take people for fools, as a sole would never have the thickness of what was actually on my plate. I showed the picture to many knowledgeable relatives and they were just as shocked as no one had ever seen it served that way. I did my own research as well, and could not find any evidence of it being served in a similar way. As for the taste, it was non-existent. Did not taste like sole, which has a very distinctive taste. So god knows if they even served something else. As for the sauce, it was recycled from the scallop starter I had so I literally tasted the same in both of my dishes. Very disappointing that not only the chef uses the same sauces, but that waiters did not point this out and recommended something different or that the menu did not make this clearer. (edit: seeing from more recent reviews, I can see that others have this same complaint even for the newer menu) As for sides, they were not included so obviously, over 30£ for a tiny main and side is an absolute rip off. "Creamed potatoes" was written on the menu, so I expected that. But I got mashed potatoes instead! Why not write that, then? Why do you choose fancy wording to serve basic things? Not what I was expecting, so again, poorly written on the menu, just like the "Dover sole on the bone".

By the way, I saw people at nearby tables ordering the sole, and saw the face of surprise and a few comments to their partner when it arrived, so I know I am not the only one. I complained to two different waiters about my disappointment, and gave them a chance to make it right, but they did not.

Towards the end, I was too annoyed that this ruined what was supposed to be a nice time for us to even order a dessert (god knows how they would have got it wrong as well anyway) and not wanting to spend more money on average food, we left still hungry and went home to eat some cheese.

This place is the definition of all style no substance. Would not recommend. Poor...

We visited Rocksalt Folkestone to celebrate my husband's 40th so it was an important occasion for us. Our table was not ready for the 9.30 slot (the only available slot) we had booked but we didnt mind waiting in the bar. No one came to collect us from the bar, we had to check, it was then made ready but we still had to wait for someone to collect us from where the coats are kept. Whilst the table provided was in a nice corner, it was too large for 3 people to have a conversation and so we were shouting across the table as we couldn't hear each other especially over the noise of a busy restaurant and the table just wasnt intimate enough for 3. The wine list said £17 for a bottle of rose, when the bill came it was £40! Maybe we read it wrong or the menu was not clear enough. The starter Atlantic prawns and the sauce that came with it was really good but overpriced at £13.50. The whelks and cockles tasted of nothing much, there was no flavour and it felt it had seen better days, my husband didnt eat the whelks at all. I was so hungry so I ate both, albeit they were very small portions more like a snack. For the mains, the sirloin steak was good but overpriced at £30. The ray wing came on it's own with nothing else on the plate, good job we ordered sides! It was flavourless and such a disappointment but my poor husband ate it as we were really hungry. My seabass tasted really good, however it was small, there were 5 clams surrounding it with no flavour and the sauce was almost non existent, again it had about 4 stems of broccoli, I ordered mash with it. Overpriced at £25.50 and it was the special for the day! Desserts were such a disappointment. My husband ordered peach melba pavlova which looked and tasted nothing like peach melba, I ordered cold chocolate fondant with blackcurrent, the name is misleading, I asked the waitress how cold is 'cold' and she said it comes out of a fridge but they heat it a little. When I was served it looked and tasted like a mousse on a praline base with blackcurrant compote/coulis or jam (wasnt quite sure) oozing out of it. Both my husband & I left the dessert halfway. I had mentioned to the restaurant it was my husband's 40th, they plonked a meringue dessert in front of him with a candle and said happy birthday and then swiftly went away. It felt more like an obligation on their part than something they really cared about to ensure their customers are made to feel important. When we said we didnt enjoy the dessert, the waitress did come back to say her manager can take the dessert off the bill, i also asked for the £20 service charge to be taken off as we were totally disappointed and disillusioned by then. Overall i think it's an overpriced restaurant with food you could get anywhere so no need to make a trip to folkestone next time. We love fish and anything seafood so were really looking forward to this meal, alas a wasted experience. We will not...

This was genuinely a wonderful and most special place.The Rocksalt Rooms are in a separate building to the Restaurant - but you check in at the latter and walk you over. Note all the streets here are cobbled, which can be slippery when wet.They are a real BoltHole as they are described, and there are only four total. 2 on 1st floor, 2 on 2nd floor, with one per floor harbour facing. I'd definitely suggest that the upgrade is worth it.The rooms are compact but exceptionally well presented. I've odd little niggles, theres no bedside of any kind - floating shelf would work, where do you put your mobile? And the metal bed frame is ornate and was loose on the footboard.The biggest challenge is where to put things. There are a few hangers on the back of the door and a small set of hooks, but not a drawer or proper place at all. I get space is a real premium here - bedside with 2 drawers all you need!The wet room is compact as everyone says. You won't keep the floor area outside the shower dry, it's not possible. The sink is a corner one with no space to place things but there is shelf in the bathroom for all your luxuries. The body wash / conditioner / hand soap / hand moisturiser are great quality.Noise - it's by the Harbour so they start early, but for us it was part of the charm of the location, the fresh fish smell was totally incredible. Breakfast is not to be missed, across in the restaurant with the best view, it's harbour side. Loved the granola, yoghurt, compote starter. I had English Breakfast as I was hungry, it was great quality but disappoining - it was more style over substance. The bacon is cooked to crispy, not my style at all but great quality. He had the Salmon & Eggs and it won hands down. Local, fresh, decent portion, on wonderful Sourdough. Luckily I was saved a bite.A point or two more - the bedside light fused the circuit and the room was plunged into darkness. Looked for fuse box, could not find. Ended up in Restsurant. They had to get keys to a location they used to own but don't now (ground floor of the Rooms building). This took a while as the keys had to be obtained. I get how this used to work, but not now - the fuse box needs moving. The if we cant fix option was check out and refund - erm no!!There is the most incredible Team member behind the Bar/ Restaurant from Bulgaria whose name I have really tsckily forgotten. For which I apologise.She is truly wonderful and made the visit for me, id return solely to see her again!!!Overall we loved Rocksalt Rooms and would return, to have dinner in the restaurant too!Thumbs up from us, thang you...