Gem of Kent in Maidstone

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

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

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

Went with 2 friends and we choose the set menu , food was great the the staff really friendly, definitely 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

Simply the best Kebabs you will ever have. It is quite expensive, but you are paying for the quality lamb cuts and lovely marinated meat. Takeaway and eat in the restaurant. Brilliant, you must try.

Went on a Saturday night when the place was packed weith couples and groups - really busy & really noisy. I was a solo diner and given a poor table near the door. But if they are prepared to take my money, they should be prepared to treat me as well as any other diner. Service was erratic, but friendly when it came. Food was OK but very slow to arrive (imagine kitchen was very busy). Waitress offered me chilli sauce to go with my kebabs, which I said Yes to - never saw her again. Overall the food was OK, service poor, atmosphere way too raucous for me. Not overly impressed.

Can't rate this place highly enough. 7 of us enjoyed a great early diner on a Sunday. Good food and service. Great menu choices.

Friendly staff, attentive and smiling. Food was excellent. We had the mixed grill and the meat was all succulent, tender and delicious. Hummus and bread was also excellent. True gem within Maidstone! Will visit again.

Welcoming restaurant and staff, lovely food and located very well in the centre.

We've been here twice now, had the set menu 1 both times. Food was tasty, meats delicious as always. Only negative is that I found the salad quite bland and not properly dressed. My 3 year old really enjoyed the chicken shish!

Great food and great service! Delicious ice cream, too.

Amazing food and very friendly staff. We are definitely going to return.

I ordered from here 4 days in a roll. Everything I’ve ordered was excellent. The lamb is so tender and flavorful. Aubergine dish was sooo delicious. There is no holes on the menu.

Big Family gathering to celebrate 95th birthday. Busy restaurant and very noisy but nice atmosphere. Service was initially slow but later became non existent with table not being cleared and drinks orders not replenished (or bottles of wine even uncorked) unless requested. Desserts were included in price but didn’t arrive after an hour and we needed to leave so requested the bill was altered to reflect this - manager refused. The food was okay I guess but wouldn’t go here again as the service and communication was awful. If restaurants can’t cope with large table bookings - don’t take them!

Visited this evening to celebrate our Granny's 95th birthday. There was a large group of us and everything we asked for seemed like too much trouble. The £25 bottle of wine we ordered sat unopened until my husband approached the waiter and asked if someone could please open it. He was met with attitude that seemed like this was a huge inconvenience. Service was slow and our puddings were forgotten! The food was good hence then 2 stars. It was late by the time pudding was remembered but the children were tired by this point. We asked them to remove the charge for the puddings from our bill as we could not wait any longer but they refused. We left without pudding but still had to pay for it. Really upsetting end to a happy family occasion.

Large family gathering (Mum's 95th birthday) was ruined by poor service and staff lack of interest. Ordered a bottle of wine that took ages to arrive and when it did, was unopened. We left it for at least 10 minutes believing the waiter would be back with the corkscrew. When he didn't return my son in law went to ask if they could open the wine only to be met with a huffy waiter, who rolled his eyes at our request! Food was OK, thats all! Final insult, they forgot our pudding and wouldn't deduct from final bill (there were 20 of us and we had spent quite a lot of money on drinks too) Definitely will not be returning!

Dining with large family party with age range from 8-95. Restaurant busy and service very slow. Very noisy and table not cleared. Other tables served as priority and it wasn’t until we complained that dessert was finally offered. Too late by that stage as we were ready to go! Owner refused to knock anything off bill for desserts so what had been a pleasant experience food wise was spoilt by poor customer service. Will not return for this reason.

A friend had food allergies, and was given incorrect information about what she could eat. The manager in March 22 was rude and abrasive too for no reason.

Never a bad experience at the Gem of Kent. Brilliant staff, food is always spot on and the beer is cold!