Crab and Winkle, Whitstable

Myself my wife and two kids went to this restaurant in the hope of good fresh fish. Starter was Oysters for me and dressed crab for wife and kids. My wife's dressed crab had a fishy taste (like it had old fish juice on it rather than fresh crab) and the bread tasted old and was stale. On flagging this to the waiter he apologised and took it back to the kitchen ( I too agreed it was not fresh, family business is fish monger and I am a game boat captain so we do know our stuff!), on his return from the kitchen he said that the chef said the crab is fine and the bread was baked fresh today and no offer of a fresh dish.... Well, if they did not want to listen they clearly didn't, poor kitchen, front of house was young and inexperienced, so DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY HERE.

So we will not be returning and will be spreading the news to fellow fish lovers that this is not a place to eat, I can imagine that if you had oysters for starter and a fish main it may pass as OK, but for what it is its totally over priced and the chef obviously has not got a clue and is rude.

Outstanding food, outstanding service, absolutely fantastic afternoon.

The food was exteremly fresh, well presented, with good sized portions.

The waitress was very friendly and attentive.

The decor was clean and modern, and, overall, I would rate this as first class.

I have read some bad reviews elsewhere, so was a bit dubious at first, but my mind was put to rest once the starters arrived and the food was tasted.

Will definately be going back!

Worse meal here ever over several years. Staff sloppy. Fish cold. One meal forgotten altogether. Crab served without any picks. Had we not had foreign guests then we would have complained more strongly. Going downhill fast!

I visited the Crab and Winkle back in 2007 and was then singing praises about it. When I finally visited again with my husband in 2010 we were very disappointed.

The prices stayed the same but quality had dropped considerably. The "grilled" plaice could have come from any canteen and was almost raw in some parts. My husband regretted his decision to have fish and chips over there for the next two days - no taste at all.

Moreover, the food took a very long time to come.

Mourning the old Crab and Winkle, we left the restaurant, decided not to show up there ever again.

I will not be visiting the Crab and Winkle restaurant ever again after a very bad lunch experience. Two of our party of four had the set lunch which included a starter and main course. The other two had main courses only. It started to go wrong when the wine didn't arrive before or during the starter. It then took over an hour for the main courses to arrive with some excuse that fish and chips took a long time. The two other dishes had obviously been kept warm for a long period and were not good. Having booked a table at a restaurant that is not cheap, the service was appalling with the owner showing no interest whatsoever in our poor experience.

Poor service. Poor food.Beer expensive.Nearly £4 for small bottle. Wine expensive.Nearly £6 for glass of rose.Had whole Sea bass. Fish was good. Accompanied by 3 small boiled potatoes and a small portion of spinach. Felt ripped off.Had to ask for bill several times, Didn't have pudding. Couldn't affort it. Had ice cream from van outside. If known what ot was like would never have gone in.

The menu I had looked up on their website does not exist anymore as there has been a change in management and the excuse is "he does not have the past word to change it". So having been excited by the menu I was going to eat there was a choice of one lunch time special. I decided to have it and I could have got my eight year old to do something more special. The mackerel just looked like it came out of a packet and the whole grilled Plaice looked like it had just sat in a pan with no one ounce of flavour added. To say the least I was VERY disappointed as we usually come for lunch once per year for my husband's birthday. My husband's food was very basic and the price did not reflect the quality at all. You keep wondering why the waiters are not at school or maybe they have the day off from school though they tried but they seemed so disinterested. I would NEVER EVER return to this restaurant again. I have experienced the previous management and that's the crab and winkle I enjoy but now it's GONE!!! I don't want to give it a star at all!!!!

What has become of the Crab and Winkle. It was dead; long gone the Dining Club offers to create an atmosphere outside of the summer season. Staff were great food was excellent but the new management are really doing their best to rip the backside out of this place.

Can we get Gordon Ramsay or Raymond Blanc to give them a clue.

We attended Thur 10 Dec 2009 and where the only ones in. So sad to see the kitchen lights go out before we departed the restaruant

Food was great cant fault it at all and not too expensive.The decor was very shabby,we had a table on the outdoor balcony and was sat on a cheap and nasty metal table with no table cloth,they didnt even set the table for us.The service was also very amatuerish mainly as they were young inexperenced kids serving and they had the cheek to add 12.5 % service charge to the bill! I would visit Crab and Winkle, Whitstable again as I enjoyed the food but the set up of the restaurant was not what I was expecting.

The Crab and Winkle, Whitstable has superb food and hospitality, what more can you say. great views too and large helpings to boot.