Ballards Bar at the Royal Albion Hotel in Thanet

Really enjoy it here on a sunny day. Sat in the outside area overlooking the bay and in the sun it's bliss! Had the fish finger sandwich with chips, very pleasant and lovely bread. But most of all I noticed how great the young staff were. They took the time to chat, although were clearly busy, we're polite, smiley and a credit to the restaurant.

Only visited to eat an evening meal And the following day visited the outdoor bar area which overlooks the sea Great staff team, good food and drinks Would go again We stayed close by and decided not to cook but eat out Good range of food and drinks available

Amongst the worst fish and chips I can recall having I felt quite unwell for many hours afterwards Very greasy, bad heartburn and indigestion for over 8 hours afterwards Chips overcooked…not pleasant Incomplete cutlery delivered Mushy peas delivered, fresh peas ordered Had to put newspaper under table leg to prevent it wobbling Expensive Not recommended

I’m ashamed to say as a local that the food is so poor! Cheap bread and 1 fishmonger does not make a sandwich of quality! I always have the same but every time is worse, please don’t take the piss out of your clientele

This was very disappointing we had breakfast here a few months ago and it was very nice so my husband and I decided to stop in after walking the dog. Happy that the pup was aloud in. We ordered 2 breakfasts and when they arrives the bacon and sausage looked very un-appetising the poached eggs were so pail yellow and no flavour to them at all. Beans were barely warm and very cheep in flavour. We ordered tea but that never arrived by the time we had finished feeding the dog the sausage and bacon please do not waste good money nearly £30 (and you pay before you receive the food ) on very cheep and tasteless breakfast. We shall not return.

I wish I had read the reviews before we choose to eat here as we are not locals but I didn't! My husband ordered the fish & chips & I ordered the days special - carb & crayfish tail linguine with a tomato sauce. My hubby said the fish was good but the chips won't great & the portion size was small seeing as this was an evening meal not a lunch. My linguine was tasteless. No crab taste, crayfish tails were chewy & over cooked. The tomato sauce was just like water in the bottom of the bowl & not coating the pasta. A staff member did ask if everything was ok, I mentioned about the pasta dish & he said he would tell the kitchen, nothing more! While we were eating the staff continually moved tables & chairs around us to get ready for a quiz later that evening so, not a quiet, relaxing experience. We were left with our plate/bowl in front of us, nobody asked if we wanted more drinks or a sweet - which we wouldn't of had because of the poor quality mains but never the less it should have been done. We were very disappointed & will not be returning to eat here.

Once again the Albion fails to deliver. As a local we visit here a lot. Mothers Day and barely anyone here. My wife went to the bathroom and not a single toilet roll in the place. Upstairs the receptionist tucking into a bowl of chips whilst working, maybe she could have checked the toilets. The beer tasted unclean, I doubt the pipes are cleaned. I was not allowed to pay cash due to a lack of change in the till. With such a fabulous location I cannot fathom why it is so badly run. BTW £20 for a Sunday lunch not at all sustainable. Even the staff seem to have a total lack of ability. They wouldn't survive at a Nando's!

The Albion gets a boxed bag of reviews on good old Facebook, with some people having a good old moan about the silliest of things. I have been a regular in there for coming up 5 years, and it has gone through many changes in that time. But all in all the service has been excellent, the food is tasty and the view is always one of the best in town. Some have complained about the speed of hot drinks, but to me if you want a rushed coffee pop along to Costa (nothing wrong with their drinks and the team in Broadstairs are great) but for an enjoyable, slow paced coffee in comfy chairs, looking out over the harbour, the Albion has it all. The food can take its time in the summer, but with around 200 covers it's understandable that it can take time. I have never had a bad meal in Albion and have had solo meals, family meals and nights with friends. The menu has a great variety of food, with choices for all, from sandwiches, to light bites, main meals and deserts and choices for all dietary needs. They also have a brilliant quiz night on the first Tues of the month, which has a wonderful turnout and some proper quiz questions.

Had a really good full English breakfast, quality sausages and bacon, all well cooked. Popped back for an evening meal as pretty much the only restaurant open on a Monday night that was dog friendly in Broadstairs, big mistake. Mussels in white wine/ cream was bland in the extreme and mussels over cooked, really awful. I am presuming it was boil in a bag. If you have chefs on they should be able to create simple tasty food.

We were looking forward to a good roast lunch as a family, but were left disappointed. We dined as a group of 9 and there were lots of little issues that led to a bad experience. The roasts were advertised as beef, pork and vegetarian outside, but on the actual menus there was chicken, beef and vegetarian, when we asked the waitress about the pork it was shrugged off and we were told they didn't have it. Not really the end of the world, but a shame. Then when we asked for a wine list we were told they didn't have one and had to choose a wine from the list of "Merlot, Shiraz etc etc". Then when the wine arrived the glass had lipstick on it. I wanted to order a mulled cider which was advertised, but they didn't have it. We placed our food order quite quickly, we ordered 4 of the chicken roasts which were described as coming with cranberry sauce, and one of our party didn't want cranberry so asked for it without which was noted down and repeated back to us by the waitress. We ordered some sourdough to come as soon as possible to tide us over while we waited for the food. We must have waited nearly 45 mins for a small sourdough roll (£4) and the main meals were about an hour after ordering. The chicken roasts all arrived without cranberry sauce and when we queried it with the waitress we were told they "don't do it". I pointed out that it was in the meal description. The food was tasty and portions were decent but there were so many little issues and the long wait really let it down. When I was halfway through eating my chicken the waitress brought a dish of cranberry sauce that she had "found"! At the end of the meal we expressed our concerns to our waitress but they were shrugged off and there seemed to be no recognition that it had been a poor experience.

I cannot agree with the negative reviews. Our family gathering of 4 cousins plus spouses really enjoyed our dinner. The service was exemplary and friendly, the food was generally very good, the wines excellent. (Especially the NZ Sauvignon Blanc). I thought the prices were very fair in these inflation-hit times. I think some people are far too fussy!! Well done to the hotel team!!

Superb Sunday lunch, very tasty well presented and so delicious. The staff were friendly and welcoming

Extremely disappointed. Didn’t get all items on the full English menu considering it cost £11 per breakfast!

Visited early Saturday evening and it was busy so had to wait a while for food, fair enough. The fish and chips were good but the burger was very very poor - the bun was rock hard and inedible and the burger itself overcooked and looked like a small burger from the freezer aisle. We did complain but were just told that feedback would be given to the kitchen and nothing else… great but I’ve just paid £15 for a portion of chips that came with it. I don’t really want to deal with confrontation on a family meal so just left it at that but would have been happy to pay for the chips and not the burger. In summary, the food might be good or might be inedible but if it’s inedible then there is no refund.

Just left a very disappointing visit to the Albion Hotel Broadstairs. We have stayed and eat there numerous times over the last few years. Judging by the visit we have just had, we will have to think twice whether to visit again or not! We travelled over an hour to go to the Albion for fish and chips. We placed our order also ordering a portion of onion rings. We were then told they had run out of fish and also onion rings. Looked at a very limited main course list and ended up ordering two burger and chips. One with blue cheese. Was then informed they had run out of blue cheese. When the burgers finally arrived after waiting over an hour, the portion size and quality was very very poor. No garnish on the plate. Just a small bowl of chips and a burger in a sesame seed bun with one slice of tomato, one lettuce leaf and a little tastless cheese. The burgers were hard and dry around the outside. A rip off for £16 each!! I would be grateful for a reply from either The Albion Hotel or Shepherd Neame as to why the quality of the food has gone down so drastically. I do not want to hear that the reason why food was unavailable was because they were busy! Thank you.

These are the photographs to accompany my review. For some reason the first lot haven’t been included.

Visited here with my friend for lunch on the 16th Aug. We found a decent table outside, chairs were very uncomfortable. Music playing was reminiscent of a Greek taverna but became annoying as it was on a stereo played on a loop. All the sandwiches come with chips except the crab because, i was told “it’s quite a plateful”. I went ahead and ordered the white crab and lemon mayo open sandwich which at £12.50 I had high expectation of. Together with a glass of cheap tap lemonade and a small bottle of Perroni lager it came to £20.00! Sandwich was truly awful and certainly not a plateful. When I’ve had an open sandwich at other places, I’ve had both slices of bread just open with filling on both. I basically paid for one slice of bread, half a plate of various lettuce leaves and red onion, no other salad, and what can only be described as a splop of crab. The bread was tasteless and had a thick layer of the lemon mayo, the beautiful taste of the crab was completely lost in a sickly mix of more mayo. Could not taste the crab at all, what a shame. When you have crab leave it as it is, do not swamp it’s beautiful flavour in mayonnaise. It could also have been any part of the crab meat, white or brown, it was so drowned you could not tell. My friend had the applewood cheese and chutney sandwich, with chips. The first plate that came was a dry, seeded bread with very little cheese, a vague spread of what looked more like pesto and a slice of tomato. She queried this because at £9.00 it really wasn’t up to standard (photos don’t show it particularly well). A fresh plate was brought out and was much better - thick plain soft brown bread nice filling of cheese and you could make out the chutney. However, the grated cheese tasted no different to a mature cheddar you could get at Tesco. No hint of any other flavour so who’s to know. On the whole we enjoyed sitting outside in the sun but the rest of the experience was very poor. Whilst in the ladies loo, another lady was saying it had been terrible - they’d had to get a refund on a food order which, despite chasing the staff, never turned up. The Albion used to be a good place to get a good range of food. Now it’s just another place trying to be too fancy and is way to expensive for what you get. Will certainly not be going back here for food.

An excellent lunch with friends. The staff were friendly and helpful. The service was efficient. The food was well presented and very tasty. The portion size was more than ample and very good value for money. My wife is Gluten Free but her diet did not cause any problems. An added bonus is that the establishment is dog friendly. Can certainly recommend.

We had a quick diner at the upper terras, with a view over the sea (and poor music). The fish and chips: small portion for the price we paid. The risotto: fine, but maybe too much. The chicken: was bleeding and had to be returned. The staff was impeccable and we were offered a refund for the undercooked chicken and got a complimentary bowl of crispy chips. Room for improvement in the kichen!

If you are worried about cash disappearing from the UK, I would advise you to stay away from the Albion. I was forced to leave due to their active compliance with World Economic Forum attempts to do away with cash by banning cash use in the restaurant. The only way to stop these evil tyrants is to hit them in the pocket. I will never buy anything anywhere that refuses to accept cash and I hope lots of people will do the same.

We all ate lunch here and had prawn sandwiches which were terrible. cheap bread, very inferior prawns, obviously frozen. I asked for mine to have no spread on it and the waitress didn't even know which one it could be. Good job it wasn't something that was an allergy. Never go again here. Plus as I sat on the toilet seat in the ladies' it fell off and I fell to the side (before nearly falling on the floor, but just saved myself) Hygiene is not good either, what a bad impression it gives to visitors.

We had a lovely meal tonight, highly recommend the prawn, crab & chorizo linguine,beautiful location, atmosphere, staff were so nice , attentive & welcoming. It's a perfect place to go whether staying or having a meal out overlooking the sea

For a beautiful sunny day their is nowhere better to go for a spot of lunch . While looking out at the amazing view of the beach we were treated to the level of service very rarely offered in modern day restaurants. The staff were very friendly and actually spoke to you like a human! The food was lovely and we enjoyed the entire Royal albion experience, thank you

Since we came to Kent five years ago, we have often enjoyed a well-priced, well-cooked and well-served lunch at the Royal Albion. This is no longer possible. Our first disappointment came when we took foreign visitors here for lunch. Just about everything was off the menu and what we did order came after over an hour’s wait with no prior warning that there would be a long delay. We thought this might have been a one-off aberration but, no, today was worse. There was the same long delay but eventually I was served with what purported to be ‘King prawns with gremolata’. Now, I know gremolata is made from chopped herbs, sometimes with olive oil ….but, no, the three miserably small prawns came with a tiny dish of mayonnaise covered with a revolting red oil - not a herb in sight. This unappetising dish was priced at £12. We know prices have all increased but this was extortion. We won’t be going back and I shall complain to Shepherd Neame.

Only gave two circles because the staff were lovely - how they’re so cheerful I don’t know; our food was very overpriced, really poorly presented and tasted awful (£9.50 for a dry cheese sandwich with a small pot of rather rancid chips and £3.80 for...

The view from our table was glorious, looking out over the sea. The restaurant itself looks lovely, with the decor. Unfortunately there were a lot of things ruined our visit for us. Firstly as we walked in the section to the right was full of...

Lunch today 12th May was hideous. £13.00 for 3 overcooked dry scallops which were the size of a £1 coin each plus a very dry anemic looking burger at £16.00 with no relish. The staff did not care seemed rather bored with us. Decor of...

We dropped into the Albian for breakfast. It was very quiet when we visited, but the breakfast seemed to take ages to be served. When it did arrived it was tasty, but clearly had been left a while to cool down before serving as it...

Went here earlier in the evening for drinks before going to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Came back later for coffee as our chosen restaurant told us they didn’t have any! Then told by bar staff at The Albion that they too could not serve...

We have been here previously, in the summer when it was packed and had a much quicker and better service then today unfortunately. A bread chips and a salad took over 45 mins to come out and when chased up just met with well kitchen...

Nice pub Review of Royal Albion Hotel Pending review This is a lovely place to go for a few drinks with the family. The actual pub/bar is light and refreshing. There is plenty of space, so finding somewhere to sit with a pram was not...

We ordered a cheese and chutney sandwich with salad. It came out on a side plate with no salad and full of ready grated cheese. It looked like a child’s sandwich which I would make at home and cost nearly £6. It used to be...

As always when stopping here during our walk, we find the staff absolutely fantastic and making you feel very welcoming. Lovely to sit on the balcony and enjoying the view with a nice drink and a bite to eat.

Worst Christmas dinner ever. Generally did not feel very festive hardly any decoration. Poor service from staff having to continually ask for wanted items. The food quality was very poor. The local cafe would of served better food. Hardly any vegetables served with main meal...

We could not fault our family Xmas dinner, excellent food, generous portions and superb service by a friendly and efficient team in warm and welcoming surroundings. We have been to the Royal Albion a number of times through 2022 and have never been disappointed.

Had great food and fantastic service for lunch at The Albion. Ian our server was attentive and helpful especially in the fish and chips recommendation!

Booked Boxing Day lunch for family. 6 Adults and 4 children. Advised as soon as we arrived that there was up to half an hour delay on food. It appeared that they hadn't expected so many walk ins, who appeared to take precedence over those...

John and I had a really lovely meal here last night. And I would really recommend the steak and the beetroot infused salmon. There are not many people eating and our Waitrose, Molly, told us that she was a singer and then she sang for...

Best part of 45 quid for 4 breakfasts with tea and it wasn’t worth it when compared with several other similarly priced restaurants not that far away. The quality of the ingredients was absolutely fine – the cooking/serving of them was NOT. Most of the...

We come here every now and then, it seems to have improved over the last 8months in terms of food quality and service. You can always get a decent drink here although I think the staff could cheer up a little

Just had a 2 night break in Broadstairs. While we did not stay in the hotel we enjoyed the food and drink in the hotels restaurant. We enjoyed the food so much that we ate in the restaurant both days for lunch and dinner. There...

Have eaten here four times now. The food is good and every time the service has been excellent. There's a terrace outside overlooking the sea for summer, which gets very, very busy at weekends. But it's equally as good eating inside on a rainy weeknight!...

Great food and friendly service. They have a fantastic bar and terrace overlooking the sea front. Dined here last week on a very mild Thursday evening and the view out to sea was sublime. It’s a dog friendly hotel, bar and restaurant too.

The service was very slow my daughter and l asked for stake and it took age’s to come and when it did l asked for it to be well done but it wasn’t it was pink in side and was very chewy and l asked...

Sat outside as a lovely day and it was busy with lots of atmosphere but didn’t wait too long for our food. I had lovely fish ginger sandwich and my husband had the burger. Both dishes excellent and extremely well priced. Dog friendly and nice...

Called in here for dinner. Ordered our drinks with waiter. Only after chasing after 20 minutes did the drinks arrive. It just then went further downhill. Ordered large fish and chips and caesar chicken burger. Was told the large fish and chips was unavailable due...

This was my first visit to the restaurant and as it was an insanely hot day, we happily sat at one of the booths inside with a view out to the sea. The service was quick though initially the wrong sandwich was brought out to...

We decided on the Royal Albion for breakfast before we went to the beach. The location is great with lovely sea views. The breakfast menu options were quite lacking, the meals themselves were nice but just average and the serving sizes were very small in...

Popped in for a quick lunch. Sat in dining area. Extremely hot windows did not open. Ordered an apple smoked cheese sandwich with tomato chutney. What came was disgusting. The cheese seemed to have been shredded into a glutinous mass with a smear of tomato...

The orders were messed up between the taking of them and the serving. The pasta dishes and fish and chips were good however the steaks were so bad and not cooked as requested that they took the cost off of the bill. There was a...

On arrival I was disappointed room not set up for 3 adults as per booking this was rectified but room should have been perfect. Beds comfortable & spacious, the fans in room were wonderful. Breakfast was delicious both mornings . However our dining experience which...

Visited Friday evening for dinner, having spent the day in Broadstairs we walked past a few times & really fancied going there. Sat outside in the large dining area, despite the place being covered in no smoking signs we were surrounded by people smoking. Spoiled...

The hotel is in the perfect location, easy access to the beach, restaurants and attractions. The sea views rooms are beautiful. Our room opened out onto the terrace where we enjoyed looking out onto the beach whilst enjoying a glass of fizz! The breakfast is...

We came here for breakfast on Sunday morning as it had been recommended to us. The food was lovely, service was quick and staff friendly,definitely visit again if in the area.

Het weer was prima en we wilden buiten lunchen. Plek zat, dus even bestellen aan de bar. De medewerker had...

Went in for lunch and ordered the Fish Finger Sandwich which was delicious. Friendly and efficient staff, great location on the beach

We had a meal here whilst on a mini break. The duck sandwich had excessive butter on the bread which took away fromAny duck flavour. We found a hair in our loaded chips, my partner popped up to inform the staff with the food in...

Arrived for Sunday lunch and we were not welcomed by any staff. Clearly short of staff and had to grab a waiter to get shown to the table. As we sat down we were told it’s an hour wait for food. Even though we were...

We dropped in on the Royal Albion, having heard it was dog friendly and served good food. It certainly was on both counts. The hotel has a lovely outside bar/restaurant area overlooking the sea and was quite a little sun-trap even in mid-April. We were...

Being able to actually see the sea, I assumed the fish dishes would be a good option. The large fish had clearly been frozen, very small thin portion and very tough. Few warmish chips and undercooked peas. Really poor for a £14 lunch. My take...

Delicious food; attentive and friendly staff and a bonus for us that dogs were welcome. Good vegan options. We had the plant based burger and it was really tasty. We would definitely recommend.

Decided on a breakfast out and the Royal Albion seemed like a good bet. Not a friendly greeting from the server. It seems that as we were not staying at the hotel we shouldn’t have sat at the tables overlooking the bay although there was...

I was shocked by the anti Semitic abuse I suffered at the behest of a juvenile barman who , frankly needed a shave and a kick up the backside. This hotel is run by students hoping to add their experiences to their Duke of Edinburgh‘S...

We went for a meal last night and all I can say is 5 stars The staff was so helpful and friendly, my husband is gluten tolerance and it was a big treat for him to have burger and chips would definitely recommend this restaurant.

Impromptu visit on a friday evening as it was close to where we were staying. Just fancied a quick bite and a few drinks. We ended up enjoying three courses of delicious food in a very relaxed and friendly environment. Calamari with a wicked peanut...

Just returned from having a meal at the Albion. The beef and ale pie had to be returned as it was stone cold in the middle. I had to wait for a replacement while my husband ate his swordfish which was only just warm enough....

My friend and I had lunch at the Albion but the meal was not the best. We had tea first but it was too strong so we could not drink it all, no extra hot water provided. The small cod was tasty but really small,...

Stopped for a coffee before our walk. Nice coffee & outside area with Bay view. Returned after walk for a Guinness & Pimm's, enjoyed the outside terrace & view. Nice on a warm or sunny day.

Very disappointed. Menu was very limited. Much less than on website. Food could have been better. Restaurant was fairly empty compared to other restaurants in the area. Had chicken snitzel which I don't think was worth the charge. Don't think I'll return.

Great place to have fish and chips overlooking the sea in Broadstairs. Lovely clean restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, a favourite of ours in all seasons.

Went for a full English breakfast. Waited 25 minutes for it. The chef must have needed that time to allow it to cool down to barely warm before serving. YUK! Not exactly what I had in mind. We wont be back. Don't waste your money.

To be honest I was expecting better. The staff were nice, the food was good but (and this might not be their fault) there were hardly any beers ‘on’ and several dishes missing from the limited menu. Worth a visit and the Green Thai Sea...

I’ve eaten at the Albion a fair few times down the years. It likes to trade on the link with Charles Dickens, who spent time there. The place is bright and airy and whilst it all feels a bit soulless, there are always a few...

The last time we had lunch here, we were a bit disappointed and we were wary about bringing our relations for lunch. However, this time, the food was much better. The staff were friendly and helpful and the service was efficient and timely. Our lunches...

Lovely location but that’s where it ends , We stopped here to have lunch we ordered the sausage sandwich in granary bread thinking it would be nice fresh thick cut artisan bread with nice local sausages a little side salad and a few crisps this...

Great place for all types of food at whatever time! Perfect location with the perfect food. Sandwiches were brilliant and so were the cheesy chips with loads of chillies and meat over them! Delish!

The food and service at the Albion are average at best these days. They use the standard Shepherd Neame menu which is dull and basic. But it's a nice enough building and if the sun is shining the clifftop terrace area is a real sun...

A nice pub on the seafront with decent amount of tables outside and polite staff. However food was mediocre and definitely overpriced. It also took a while for tables to be cleaned upon arrival at table. Definitely many other places preferred for food. Drinks reasonably...

Dinner on first night while staying at the hotel. Socially-distanced during pandemic, but still had a choice of table and were seated overlooking the promenade and Viking Bay. Food and drinks were both excellent, and service swift and friendly.

Had a lovely meal served in the evening on the outside terrace with lovely views over the sea. The food was tasty and plentiful. Very reasonably priced. Our Portuguese waiter was lovely and we had a great time. Highly recommended

Shocking! Avoid at all costs! I booked a table for a special family dinner on Sunday 6 June. We were celebrating my parents’ wedding anniversary that weekend and were staying in a local Airbnb. I booked the table 2-3 weeks in advance and we were...

Today was just dreadful. We arrived at 0930 for breakfast and went through a lengthy briefing by the greeter about our responsibility as customers . We were sat at a table and waited about 15 mins for the table staff to return and hot drinks...

I went here specifically because I wanted pancakes for breakfast. Nowhere seems to serve pancakes?! Happily I found them on the menu here. I had a stack of 3 American style pancakes served with mascarpone, caramelised bacon, maple syrup, toasted banana and fresh raspberries. Every...

Large restaurant and outside area, but could be a queue to get in. Reasonable choices on menu, most of which are good value. Service slow though. But worthwhile venue for a snack or coffee/drink.

Went to have lunch with my family for my birthday and I know it was just lunch however I had the ham double egg and chips and I got to be honest it was the best I had ever had, admittedly they did take quite a while to take our order but once it was ordered we got our lunch very quickly, well done, will definitely go back

I really don't know what is going on at the albion lately every time we try to get in we are turned away with a very rude attitude. We have been going to the pavilion and the service there are providing is second to none and with a lovely smile. I think a lot of local people are going there now because the Ablion has gone down hill such a shame

We visited today with our two boys and dog, we had originally booked at the Charles Dickens but later discovered they don’t allow dogs so ended up here... i’m glad we did, excellent service and food and a wonderful sea view. We couldn’t have asked for a lovelier lunch

Most of the staff at the Albion were very pleasant/ understanding, however they were unable to do anything to help due to their very unpleasant manager (/host). My partner, my sister, my parents and my newborn baby (we all live together) went to the Albion for lunch. We grew up in broadstairs and have been customers at the Albion for years. My partner and I got there first and I quietly asked if we could sit on a table for five somewhere that would be comfortable to breastfeed at. The chairs on the suggested table would have made it impossible. I suggested that we sat on the same sized table that was in a corner (but had a much more suitable bench seat.) we were told no and were asked to sit at the suggested table. The manager said that I could get up and sit on that table when it was time for me to breastfeed. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself and my baby often likes to feed every ten minutes when he’s being fussy and although I explained this I wasn’t offered another option. When my mum joined us she asked again, and asked if we could move outside instead, and we were told no, because we had sat down we weren’t allowed to move tables, it was a strict COVID policy. Which I understand! I understand all the new regulations and cleaning make servers lives incredibly hard. I’ve worked in the industry for over nine years. However this has nothing to do with COVID. This has to do with a lack of understanding towards someone who really needed to breastfeed somewhere out of the way and comfortable. There are enough challenges to breastfeeding without having to beg to sit somewhere comfortable (there were two large tables opposite us that were free the whole time we were there). It was such a shame that he clearly didn’t understand that. There’s a reason that the UK has the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. There are people with his attitude everywhere! Breastfeeding women need support, and with all the support groups closed at the moment, they need support from their community! Experiences like that make you feel like a nuisance, and discourage breastfeeding in public.This experience reduced me to tears, as his attitude made me feel so unwelcome (I’m sure he could have made an effort to say it in a nicer way, or at least given me an explanation) and I broke down to the receptionist.The whole situation was just really unnecessary.

The management and staff are clearly doing everything they can to adhere to Covid-19 restrictions, and are taking them reassuringly seriously. We were very pleased to notice this, and felt perfectly safe.Our food was very good: we each had a large beer-battered cod & chips with peas and tartare sauce. The chips were wonderfully crispy (I hate soggy chips), as was the batter, and the cod was moist and tasty. The portion size was very good, and we felt the price of £12.95 was very reasonable for the quality and size. Service, however, was extremely slow, which is a shame because the staff were all very friendly and pleasant.

It's safe from a Covid point of view. You are met at the door and escorted to your table. There's hand sanitiser available when you arrive and the floors are marked for social distancing. The tables, themselves, are socially distanced and there are screens between some of them. The menus are single use only and you are served your drinks; no standing at the bar. The staff were friendly and helpful and, when your food arrives, you take it from the tray. But the food. Last time we were here we had steak and they were delicious. We ordered steak this time. It was certainly not as good as we had last time. It was overcooked and there was quite a lot of gristle. If we return we won't be ordering that again

We stopped here for brunch as there was a terrace with a great view over the coast.We were told there might be a short wait for our order to be taken, but it was around 50 mins before we were offered any service, another table who sat down a few seconds before us has their food at the table before we had even been asked for our drinks order.After our order was taken the food didn't take too long to arrive and was fine. However, we did then have to ask a couple of times to get a bill so we could leave.

Yet again food served was luke warm. Fed up of complaining about this. Staff seem uninterested as well.

I ordered a steak rare it came back well done. Very poor gristle filled steak that they change £17.50 for. Not even weatherspoons quality. Sent it back and the waitress told me "they get plenty of complaints about the steak" ... our glasses had lipstick marks .. they replaced them with the same glasses just sloshed with dish water. The waitress dumped the food and ran off so we kept having to get up to get a drink order and ask for the bill. Awful service. The pasta looked decent. Won't be eating there again. Overpriced for the poor quality.

Made to feel really welcome on our arrival. Shown to a table outside on the balcony. Staff very attentive and kept to social distance very well. Our lunch order was taken and when our food arrived it was hot and very well presented. Full compliments to the chef and catering staff, top marks for tasty and well presented lunch. Many thanks to all the staff for helping to make this a lunch to remember.

Terrible Burger was cold with a Hard as rock bun Send it back. Another came. Guess what Another cold burger in a stale bun. I just suffered it. Won’t be back.

Popped in for some lunch this afternoon. Greeted and given the covid chat. We had to stay seated And it was table service. Awesome. No problem. We sat at a table and proceeded to wait for 20 minutes for some acknowledgement. Not one member of wait staff came to take a drinks order let alone a food order. We got up and left with a member of staff thanking us and saying goodbye. I politely informed him that we were waiting for 20 minutes without any service whatsoever. He then told us that he didn’t realise. And that right there is the problem. I wouldn’t have minded but it wasn’t exactly rammed. We won’t be returning. Retrain your staff. Make sure each staff member has a section. And have a look at your management team who should be looking after customers and making sure that the wait staff are doing their job.

Very unwelcoming We arrived for lunch today at the Royal Albion. We were asked if we would like a table outside or inside to which we replied outside please, we were then informed in a rather rude manner that if we sat outside we were not allowed to go inside if it rained and if we sat inside then again we weren’t allowed outside, we were to remain at our table throughout the duration of our visit even though they weren’t very busy. We arrived at our table and a member of staff was disinfecting the wood and wooden bench seat that we then had to sit on in our nice clothes. We asked for a drinks menu and were told they didn’t provide it, to go on to there website to look at drinks menu, it wasn’t available on there website so were informed to check shepard neme website!!! All this just to order a drink!! The food arrived cold and wasn’t very nice. We couldn’t even get service for a second drink. It felt like the restaurant want customers money but don’t actually want customers, rude abrupt staff. Taking the guidelines to a whole new level, very unwelcoming and took a nice meal out to a whole new level of complication.

A friend had recommended the Royal Albion Hotel for a good meal in Broadstairs so we were pleased to secure a booking, even though the latest they could 'fit us in' was 5.30pm. We queued behind two lovely guys visiting from Switzerland who were anticipating a good meal. The manager who greeted them wasn't patient with them in any way despite English being their second language. They left, and we felt a little ashamed to be British in the way they were treated. When we were greeted by her, we were faced with a stern approach to 'advising us' about the COVID-19 restrictions. Every restriction was given as an order rather than advice. We were told if we chose to sit outside she couldn't move us inside even though the inside was empty. We overheard a family sitting on two tables that they weren't allowed to talk to each other!! As they hadn't booked for dinner they were also told in no uncertain terms they were not allowed to order food. When other staff served us, the mood softened! The food took a long time to come, but was good when it eventually arrived. We realise these are difficult times but staff would do well to remember they work in the 'hospitality' industry. There are ways to approach the advice that don't make you feel an inconvenience.

Staff were unfriendly and unwelcoming. Lots of free tables but turned away every night of our holiday as ‘fully booked’. Closed doors really early, although appeared empty... almost seemed as though they didn’t want custom? Strange.

Went with two friends for dinner - The food is average what you get from a take away shop - Most of the staff are extremely rude the award for rudeness went to the lady who ushered us in . You will soon find that Where they seat you doesn’t depend on when you arrive but the colour of your skin . Only exception was one of the waiters who served us Alex who was polite - I have never been at a place where so many rude people work at one place