5 Restaurants in Canterbury

Canterbury restaurants located within the walled inner city are hugely popular with visitors, especially on fine evenings. You'll find venues here with roof gardens and terraces which afford a great view of the ancient walls, gables and cobbled streets. The city is beautifully lit in the evening, rich with atmosphere and colour. Pick a seat at one of Canterbury’s scenic restaurants and you can enjoy your meal at leisure as you imagine the city's rich past unfolding before your eyes.

As well as a great selection of restaurants in Canterbury, you'll find some great venues in nearby Whistable and Herne Bay. There is also a large food festival in September which attracts the crowds and features a wealth of local businesses, producers and artisan food makers, with plenty of street food and tastings. As the city can be busy, it is wise to book the more popular Canterbury restaurants in advance if you want to eat at key times. You can do so easily on Quandoo and book your table up to two hours in advance. Why queue when you can use your smartphone to reserve your spot?

Menus at the restaurants in Canterbury span traditional English fare, fine French cuisine, spicy South Asian fusion, exciting Mexican, crowd-pleasing American, plus an assortment of vegan, vegetarian and specialist dishes. Some of the most interesting venues in the city are housed in historic buildings with dramatic interiors. Look out for old coach houses and inns which still serve excellent food and seasonal restaurants to this day. As well as a large variety of food on offer, you'll find that Canterbury's restaurants, bars and cafes have prices to suit all pockets – from student groups looking for hearty and healthy budget-friendly prices, to tourists seeking lavish tasting courses with extensive wine lists to match. Can't decide which of the restaurants in Canterbury you should pick? Why not read the reviews from our diner community on Quandoo? They will give you an immediate insight into places that other discerning foodies have enjoyed!

Kent is known as the Garden of England because of its broad array of local produce. Its history also means that there are some excellent traditional dishes to seek out as you explore the area and its customs. Gypsy tart is a local delicacy that is served in some of the cafes and restaurants in Canterbury and Whitstable. The legend says that a local lady was worried by the undernourished state of local gypsy children playing close to her home in the early 19th century, so she created a sweet tart for them made from pie crust, brown sugar and evaporated milk. Other local dishes include ginger cobnut cake, cherry batter pudding and folkestone pudding pie. The huffkin is also seeing a resurgence – flat, white bread rolls that require the skill of a master baker and plenty of rising time. They are marked with the indentation of the baker's thumb in the middle and a lively tradition says that this ident and the bun's name is traced back to a bad tempered baker's wife! These local delicacies are now so popular again; they are widely available in Canterbury's restaurants and cafes and they come in a range of varieties, including brioche and seeded.