Gem of Kent in Maidstone

Visited on a Thursday evening and it was dead, only 6 people including us. Had some chicken kebabs and the chicken was nice but overall it was nothing special. It came with a tiny salad and a very small rice portion with the chicken having 5 cubes. Had a couple of soft drinks and came to £39.00 including a service charge! Went here 3 years ago and it was fantastic place, now I will not return as generally poor. No atmosphere, small portions and overpriced, far better restaurants nearby.

Terrible food, terrible service, the staff see you asking for something and just ignore and carry on with their phones. The food is overpriced and pretty bad, the chips seemed hallowed, they reminded me of when someone once gave me chips from Iceland

Not impressed by the delivery person asking multiple questions as if he was border control

Not happy at all. We love Turkish kitchen but that’s was a joke. Portion was small. They didn’t offer any garlic or chili sauce which is unusual, I had to ask for it. No red cabbage in salad….just basic lettuce and tomatoes and cucumber and olive oil, no pomegranate sauce. They not offer you anything while waiting. Bread only when you order some starter otherwise it’s 3pounds and that’s a joke for bread which taste like from supermarket. Service relatively poor as well. Not recommending to anyone. Oh and one more thing it was also very loud

Came here for a team lunch at work. The food was great but the service was shocking. We all commented that we felt like an inconvenience. When we walked in we asked if we could have a different table with a bit more room (we were the only people there) but we're told no. No drinks order was taken for 20 min, we had to ask them to get some drinks. Not a smile from anyone staff wise and just made us feel uncomfortable. When we asked to order dessert we were told we had 2 minutes left. Wouldn't recommend or return unfortunately.

Great food and service at a reasonable price. I highly recommend the sucuk!

My drink was missing from my order

Portions are getting smaller and prices ridiculously higher . Stop being greedy , you already increased the prices few time so at least leave the portions as before .

We had a lovely time at the gem of kent for a birthday. There was a group of 6 of us and we opted for the set menu B. There was very little on the menu that you couldn’t choose with this option and it meant that your drinks are essentially bottomless. The staff are really on it with this, you never have to ask them to refill anything and you really get you money’s worth! The mezze starter was a really nice mixture of dishes which were all veggie. It came in plentiful amounts and we were able to keep it all on the table when our mains came too. Everyone said they loved their mains and we had everything from veggie to lamb to seafood. I had the chicken kulbasti and it was so tender and really flavoursome. We were also pleased with how quickly all the food came out, being a group. The only thing that’s held me back from a 5 star is just that the decor is a bit run down and plain. The waiting staff were also a little quiet (not that I usually mind!) but it lacks a little bit of atmosphere. For quality food and value for money though i would absolutely recommend it.

The food is good, the restaurant looks good, but some of the waiters never smile and seem so uninterested. There is a lack of warmth and welcome along some of the staff. This ruins the experience, which is a real shame because the food is very nice.

We have been to this restaurant on many occasions and have noticed that we expect the price to go up but the portion size has definitely gone down .We have ordered most times we go there the Mixed platter which is very enjoyable and more than enough for us. Yesterday we went and ordered the Family platter and were very disappointed as there was supposed to be a much larger plater the rice and bulger was the same as served to 2 people instead of 4. The salad was served in one small bowl intended for 4 people where normally we are served 2 salad portions for 2 people , As we took friends there it was a disappointment and we came away not happy.

Rude, arrogant manager who shouted at a paying customer across the restaurant. Even the chefs and the waiting staff were shocked at his appalling behaviour.

one of favorite kebab restaurant in town

Lovely food , we had the sharing platter for 2 which was a mixture of different meats and rice and Bulger wheat . So much for 2 people ended up taking some home . Highly recommend

Great staff, delicious food and nice relaxed atmosphere

Great traditional Turkish food. The all in meze plus main plus drinks was great value. Highly recommended 👌

Love this place, delicious salmon and divine lamb steak, good service, lovely atmosphere

Absolutely delicious. Went with a friend . Food was fantastic, minced chicken, bulgar wheat, salad, sour cream ... could not fault it

Lived it in here, friendly and helpful staff and excellent food will definitely be back

We went for lunch and the food was amazing; would highly recommend. Reasonably priced also...

Nice food but quite expensive for what's served and the sizes

Having visited a second time - we felt rushed to get in and out of the Gem of Kent. The food was great, but the service was not as good as a previous time we'd visited. The manager/ owner was in a rush to get a large group of us out and we felt he was quite rude to us as we were leaving and settling the bill. That's enough to put me off ever returning. 3 star atmosphere because the group I was with made it enjoyable. Had it been a couple of us it'd probably be 2 stars.

Really tasty food, quick service and nice staff, will be coming back soon!

This place has been open for years and consistently good authentic food and service.. twice they stay open late for us recently so my new (old!) favourite place again ☺️

Food is Wow, Had a Mixed platter, wasn't disappointed, only criticism was choice of music, radio behind the bar was louder than the restaurant music system.

Beautiful place, lovely ambience and food absolutely delicious ☺️

The restaurant has a beautiful and traditional Turkish setting with bright and eye-catching decorations which meet the eye as soon as you walk in. The service is very good and the waiters do not look bored at all as is the case with other restaurants. Finally, the food was incredible from the appetisers to the main meal, which was presented on the plate very nicely. Would recommend !

Great food with great service and reasonable prices.

Been many times now, food is always on point and they don’t skimp on portion size. Highly recommend the platters and lamb chops and ribs. The only complaint I had previously was the rice and bulgar wheat not being seasoned but this has changed on a recent visit and we cleared our plates. 10/10

Amazing food, staff, clean, reasonable price. My favourite restaurant in Maidstone. Really recommend

This was a lovely restaurant, with excellent service by friendly and efficient staff. The food choice was good and very delicious. Cooked to perfection. I loved the simple by ethnic decor too, making it a great atmosphere to eat with friends and family. Highly recommend it!

Got delivery. The food was cold and bland. Chicken was overcooked, sauce was disappointing, and rice was clumpy. Food took nearly an hour and a half to arrive. I'm guessing the great reviews are from dine in experiences. I might try that sometime, but I would not recommend ordering for delivery.

We ordered food via Deliveroo . I can’t say anything bad about the food as it was lovely. However they have been soo tight with the last order so we’ve decided we contact to complain about the missing items , person on the phone was very rude , cocky and short tempered . We will never order from there anymore as an office.

Authentic Turkish restaurant. Staff excellent themselves. Food cooked with the highest level of authority and great respect to the ingredients.

Decent seating conditions and nice food x

Thought the food was lovely and good service to .would go back again

Superb food, friendly atmosphere, thoroughly recommend

Wow, this is up there with Frédérics, but a third cheaper. Food and staff amazing 🤩, thank you guys 🥰

Had an early dinner here as there was a good vegetarian choice. Mixed cold mezze starter good value, the imam baylidi- aubergine fish for main was very tasty but rather oily. We ate about 630-7 but unfortunately there were several larger groups of people in and the acoustics are so poor that we could not even have a conversation between the four of us or with my daughter sitting opposite me. We rushed out meal to get out as the noise was so loud. If the acoustics get sorted we will be back as the food was good.

A lovely place but was so affected by smoke coming from outside as there was a person smoking

It was quiet when we went. Such a shame as it was a great restaurant, the staff were very polite and the food very good.

Rang on the day for a booking for 6, it was easy to book and quick. Restaurant is spacious but with lots of tables and seating. Had the family platters the food was delicious and compliments to the chefs. Chicken, kebabs steak were very full of flavour and tasty. When we are in the area again we will definitely visit and book again. Thank you

Gidilebilir gayet hoş bir mekan

Great food and nice staff. Parking is a bit of a pain but can find some within walking distance

We visited the town for a family event, and we had dinner in this restaurant; they accommodated all of our total of 13 people. The food was terrific. The service was more than excellent... It was an enjoyable experience .Thank you all

Great for a group Food always good and well cooked

Fantastic restaurant, the food was top rate, the staff managed to be really friendly and welcoming whilst providing excellent, speedy service. The prices are very reasonable. Definitely recommend this restaurant.

Good place for authentic Turkish meal

All 12 of us enjoyed our lunch, it was presented together, hot and delicious!. We would recommend this restaurant for the great food, lovely service and location. Thank you, we'll be back!

Exactly what it says on the sign, an absolute GEM of a place. Great food with very reasonable prices. 10/10

Sorry not for us no take away Turkish bread, and is not halal

I got the grilled combo and loved it! All the meat was cooked perfectly. Very mouth watering food. There was so much on the plate I wasn't able to finish. I will be back to try more food.

Great food service, ok went mid week, so a bit dead. Really nice layout, great variety of food and drink definitely go again. 👍🏼

Great food, superb staff. Thanks.

Mancarea buna, curat, muzica in surdina, servirea un pic cam lenta in conditiile in care restaurantul nu era foarte plin, la sarsitul mesei am primit o mentosana, asteptam o baclava🙈. Meniu slab la deserturi,

Simply fantastic. Great food great service & probably best in Maidstone. Highly recommended.

What an fantastic restaurant, food , and mainly 5* for a staff! Lithuanian waitress so amazing, polite and sweet. Girl from Croydon you rock! So funny and full of enthusiasm. We wish you to find a rich man soon ! Haha. Chef , your food was outstanding ,cooked with love. What a fabulous experience. We came all the way from Bromley, Sevenoaks , Welling, Canterbury and we would like to thank you for a warm welcome and 5* food. X

Food and service was very good BUT our main course came about 30seconds after we'd finished our starter hopefully next time we get more of a break before mains

Excellent restaurant 5 stars for service, food and atmosphere. We had a nice dinner. Rich choice of different dishes, starters, grill and drinks.

Food service is so quick. Food is always yummy whether take out or dine in. Servers are very attentive.

Lovely restaurant in Maidstone. The quality of food , seafood and meat was very good. We had a late Christmas party all was perfect. The service was impeccable despite the restaurant was busy. I was very pleased with the dessert menu and the coffees. Toilets were clean

Food was bad, service was worse. I genuinely don’t understand some of the other reviews.

charged me £48 did say staying in hotel put some fork and spoon when i got the food idid ask him againg did you put forks and spoons he said yes its in the bag when i get to the hotel there was no fork or spoon so stupid asked him many times its not even worth the journey

Lovely food, good service but really loud once the big Christmas groups arrived. We skipped dessert for that reason. Probably not such an issue most of the time

Brilliant and authentic atmosphere with great vegetarian option.

Great food and generous portions the set menu are amazing value for group of people !

Good decor well trained staff and amazing food. If I was being hyper critical the chicken texture tasted as if it was frozen but everything else was exemplary

I had food today from this place by Uber Eats and it was great 👍 it arrived within half hour, I had Sucuk, Cacik, Pembe Sultan, Kuzu Corba, Humus and Incik everything was made very nicely and tasted good. Couldn't fault them! Good Mediterranean takeaway 👌

The best Turkish restaurant I've ever been to. I 100% recommend you go there if you love Turkish food. Easy to find in Maidstone.

Great food would definitely go back

Had the set menu, great price, food was really good, decent sized portions. Couldn't knock it.

Absolutely fantastic food as always, never disappoints

Astonishingly good. My new favourite place. Everything is amazing

I have been visiting this restaurant for over four years. The service on my last two visits was nothing but disgusting. The same waiter was rude and pretty much through the plates on the table. The food was ok but it used to be much better. I will not be returning.

Food was lovely when I went with my daughters. Not the same when I went in a large group. They need more staff

Brilliant meal with my daughter and others for her Birthday 🎂

The food was perfect like aways!!!

Went there for the first time for lunch. We had dolma starter and lamb moussaka main, absolutely wonderful. Service was friendly and a great environment. Will definitely be back.

Having visited many times over the years the quality and quantity of the food has certainly decreased while the price remained the same. Better food can be found for less money. We won't be visiting again.

The foods was awesome. Specially the meal deal

I Have mixed feelings about this restaurant my husband ordered lovely lamb and that was delicious but unfortunately, I've had terrible salmon, overcooked and so dry I couldn't chew it, I mentioned this to the staff member but He hasn't done anything with this information, I guess no one wants to work on Sunday afternoon and I felt it, service could be better, the food was great and terrible I guess it's a lottery

A group of us from work went here for dinner. The staff were very rude when we asked to place our orders, the food took a long time to come out. I ordered chicken breast with mash and mushroom sauce… it was a bit of chicken with a huge bone in, lumpy mash and I can’t say that they had given me mushroom sauce it looked more like dishwater. Im not one to complain but Since last night I have had diarrhoea and vomiting. Will not be coming back

Amazing second to none service Perfectly priced. A modern style Turkish cuisine with authentic flavours and great menu. Simple put a must visit in the area.

We loved the ambience. Walked here from Claire Parkafter a tennis practice. Very nice! We had a Turkish coffee, cappuccino, and some mezzes like hummus and falafel! Very pleasant experience after our practice!

Good food good ambience and friendly staff, only issue is its very difficult to find a parking

Have been wanting to go here for ages and finally did so last Saturday. Was pretty busy but it was a good atmosphere and the excellent staff were very attentive and efficient. Our only slight quibble was the fact that our mains came out about 5 minutes after our starters had arrived which was a bit strange but I must say the quality of our food was excellent and this is definitely right up there with the best restaurants in the area. Was also very good value for money.

Food is excellent, and travels well. Staff were helpful in accommodating special boxing request. Ate in for the second time, have had many take aways, and had a fabulous lunch. Staff and good were excellent as always!

Joke Of Kent! This establishment supposedly serves turkish/kurdish cuisines, far from it, waitresses are inexperienced and didnt have a clue about items on the menu when quizzed, waited forever to receive my food and at this point i didnt have high hopes for this place, food arrived overcooked and tasteless no sauces provided until requested. Overall avoid this place for food maybe if you want a drink or two maybe the atmosphere is ok, all the positive reviews must be fake to bring in diners, if you dont believe me then go ahead and visit this sub par establishment and waste your money!

Had to wait 40 minutes for my food. When it eventually came it was overcooked and over salted, especially the chicken which was inedible because of how hard and dry it was. Lentil soup was just water. Salad was a joke. I've never known a Turkish restaurant to get this wrong. Waitress are attentive but do I really need to ask them for sauces for my bread. Overall not worth the money. The kebab shop opposite would have been more worth while and a lot cheaper.

Wow this was delicious and my whole family loved it and we plan to come back

Went with 2 friends and we choose the set menu , food was great the the staff really friendly, definitely a place to come back

Well goodness me...... what an unexpected oasis. For a start, this place is like the Tardis. You walk into a small, unassuming shopfront and it opens out into a deep and rather lovely restaurant that is quite a bit bigger than you might expect. The menu has everything that you would hope for in an Eastern Mediterranean restaurant so no big surprises there. But the whole package manages to be more than the sum of its parts.. The meat was all tender and moist and had clearly just been cooked. No stuff left over from an earlier order that's all dried out. The salad, rice and bulgar were delicious and fresh too. The portions are generous enough to make you feel a bit spoiled without being overwhelming. The humus, olives and flat bread were all excellent too. Finally, the staff are super helpful. We got there late and we were warned that the kitchen would be closing in 20 minutes. Our orders were taken promptly and we never felt rushed. The staff were warm and welcoming and happy to explain bits of the menu.Thank you. We'll be back!

Not the best Turkish restaurant I’ve been, food was average and not hot, staff need to learn how to smile a bit . Unfortunately not a place to come back

The best Restaurant in Maidstone , Staff very friendly as well . RECOMMEND 100%

Terrible service. We had booked a table to celebrate Eid. When we arrived the table was not ready. They were not busy. The waitress was curt and seemed unhappy/inpatient that the children were taking time deciding where they wanted to sit. There were 3 adults and 4 children (aged 14, 13, 6 and 3). She handed us 3 menus and left. We needed a drinks menu and children's menu but was nobody to ask until sge returned expecting to take our order. I then asked for a drinks menu and childrens menu. We decided to order the set menu for the adults and my eldest son and from the childrens menu for the other three children (who are fussy/don't eat much). The waitress told us we can't do that as we have to order the set menu for the whole table! I queried this, I said we had eaten there before and done this before.....are they expecting me to pay £18 for a three course meal for a 3 year old??? She was very rude, unaccommodating and would not budge. So I said in that case, we'd order 5 set menus and share. She told us we can't do that because there are 7 of us, we have to order 7!!! My husband was ready to leave at thus point. We then ordered indivdual main meals only and kids meals (which cost less than it would have if we'd have ordered what we wanted). The kids meals were supposed to come with a drink and dessert which we never got....so we basically paid £8 for a bowl of spaghetti with a tablespoon of tomato sauce!!!! We left very unhappy and it ruined our Eid. It is such a shame, we don't have much money or eat out often, only for special occasions and usually go to Gem of Kent, even during the pandemic we ordered our Eid dinner as takeaway from them. But the service was so awful and the way we were treated so awful that we will now never return. Since our experience, a friend of my husband went there and said that the same waitress tried to overcharged him. When he told her, she argued with him, but eventually backed down, so it seems this is an ongoing issue.

As an all ladies group (30 in total + 2 young children), we went in celebration and were looking forward to it too. The evening was full of promise and the menu looked inviting. Sadly, I shall remember the evening for all the wrong reasons after an encounter with the owner somewhere in between starters and main. We were loud, unwelcome and free to leave, as we've only paid for food and not acceptable service. Some of the dishes were tasty, and up to that point we had a good time, so thank you. BUT, Sir, I shan't return.

Food was delicious and very well presented. Best in the high street

Sad portion sizes of meat, rice, chips and bland. Salad watery and tasteless. Definitely not worth the high price. Kebabs were lumpy and not ground enough. Have eaten waaay better elsewhere and will not waste money on this place again.

Best Turkish restaurant ever I seen in England.must try their amazing lamb shish

Fabulous food, staff were lovely people, was a pleasure to go here will definitely be back