Gulbenkian Cafe in Canterbury

Rediculous queue at bar. Only 3 people serving and 60 plus waiting.. g2 concert was brilliant thankfully..

Surprised that I enjoyed a pizza margarita for £6 probably because I was really hungry as I went to see a brilliant movie straight from work. A disappointing small choice of junk food was all that was on offer, not even a sandwich. Service was so slow I had to eat it really quickly to be able to get in to see the movie when the movie theatre doors opened at 7pm. There was no coffee available, the coffee machine was sitting on the bar doing nothing. I will definitely go better prepared next time.

We did not eat, but wanted hot drink. Service was very good. Vibrant area.

excellent food! not amazing staff service, especially from a young person who had short blonde hair- very rude.

Decent quality breakfast from £4.50, mine was £5.50 with extra egg and sausage. They also do meal deal @ £3.60, a sandwich, a soft drink and a packet of Kent crisps. Staff were friendly and plenty of tables.

Im so angry about their menu. Add the chorizo hash and eggs Benedict back!!!! I can’t eat the gulbenkian breakfast every day 😖

Delicious food that is good value for money! £4-5 for most brunch meals, which are served fresh and hot! Dinner is a bit more expensive ranging from £4-8. It gets very crowded at 11:30 to 1PM so i’d highly recommend going before or after the lunch crowd, for meals often take more than half and hour to be served. Meals are served fresh starting at 9AM everyday till 2PM.

The website said it would be the show time menu but this was incorrect and only pizzas were available. The staff were helpful but I would have eaten before arriving if I had known.

They're SLOOOW. Even when it's almost empty. They're very prone to errors, whenever I order 2 courses they would forget or miss one of them. The food is not bad, but sometimes you can find the same food at Rutherford Dining Hall at half the price.

The only place in Canterbury that I can order breakfast until 4.30 pm. I usually wake up late so this is the perfect place for me. Reasonable price with quality food. Strongly recommended!

I stopped by the café for the Comedy & Curry Night. I had a delicious Homemade Vegetable Biryani and Onion Bhajis. The staff were polite and attentive, the waiting time was good (despite it being busy) and the food was delicious. Highly recommend stopping by early if you’re going to see a show as I got really busy as the evening wore on.

Both times I ordered food with chicken in it, it had HUGE bones & the chicken tasted stale and smelled. So off putting, made me sick. The food definitely needs to be COOKED properly before serving. 0 on quality, and so expensive for what's served. Might as well just go to Dolche Vita - much, much nicer.

I'm bias as I have golden memories of this place as a student... But they've cleaned it up and the food is nay bad!!!

Really good food for decent enough prices. Good cheap coffee options available. Also good amount of seating.

A nice atmosphere and a good coffee. I was here conducting a survey and everyone I met was very helpful. I saw they served Whitstable Bay, one of my favourite ales. As I was there in the morning, I did not test the ales.

It is overpriced with limited options.

Lovely coffe break. I wish I can find also some details about its history.

4 of us visited Saturday 2nd November 2019 we arrived early for the show at around 6oclock. We walked up to the counter which was empty at the time. Behind the counter were 4 or 5 female students I assume chatting and giggling completely oblivious to us standing there. I asked if one would serve me a discussion followed on who it would be. I asked first for soft drink and was told to go over the other side of the room and take it out of the fridge came back no offer of a glass to put it in had to request it. I then asked for a spitfire with which a bottle was plonked on the counter again we had to request a glass. After asking 4 times for a glass of wine received it. I then asked for a coffee with cream. I was asked if I wanted pouring or whipped cream I said pouring please. I was then informed by this juvenile that they had not got any cream she added sarcastically that they did not sell it often, with which I replied you will not be able to sell it if you have not got it. With that I was told to collect the coffee at the other end of the bar. I did remark to this juvenile who grasped the money that she some customer service training. A total lack of management It was like visiting a kindergarten.

I took my two young daughters to see a film at the nearby Gulbenkian Cinema. The menu was short, well thought out and very reasonably priced. My daughters and I enjoyed our meals and I was very impressed with the staff and serving times.

Pleasant enough, decent cup of tea, nice staff, reasonable prices

I've used the Gulbenkian Cafe Bar frequently over the last two years and found if to be an excellent stopping off point for something to eat, drink or meet people. It's pretty relaxed but can get busy during the day in in term time. Excellent venue for pre-cinema/theatre eats.

I had the chance of visiting Gulbekian for four days in a row since it was the only open café near the venue of a conference that I was attending. They made good coffee, but they should really work on their food offerings. I never expected a pizza to have sweet ketchup as a sauce.

Decent place but seems quite expensive than I thought though, for students for that matter

Spacious and quiet. Good food just a little pricey in places.

......provided a first rate experience. It has a very pleasant and relaxing feel to it and staff are helpful. The food is good and well priced. Would call again when I next visit.

Not much choice today for lunch, but service was quick.

The food could be much better and used to be better. Cakes are often dry. Not bad but not excellent either.

Used to be the best place on campus for coffee. Now they've changed to garage coffee their large is the old medium but still the same price and tastes worse. Might aswell go to library cafe instead now.

We had pre booked tickets for the cinema. Thought it would be good to have a meal before. Menu very boring. I ordered the tuna dish. Quite bland and dry.Needed spicing up and some type of sauce. The staff were very sweet and courteous.

It's ok, nothing to write home about.

Regularmente utilizamos este café antes de ir al cine o al teatro en el Dolphin Qian. Es genial si solo quieres una cerveza y un café. También es bueno si quieres comer o comer algo. Disfrutamos especialmente de la oferta de curry y cerveza que teníamos, excelente calidad comida de buena calidad.

Ideal para una comida antes del cine o teatro. Cafe siempre tiene un ambiente alegre con un personal alegre. Menú es limitado, es un café! Sin embargo la comida es buena, fresca y bien preparada. Fantásticos pasteles con buen café. Elección de cervezas y vinos pequeños pero a buen precio.

Muy bien, acogedor y con ambiente universitario

A pleasant place to catch up with good friends!

Reasonable food but limited choice.

Went to a comedy night on international women's day was a brilliant night

Okay, here is the story 1) I was in the queue waiting to be served. The cashier skipped me and a Black girl behind me, to serve a white girl. 2) I order something and every time they get everything wrong. Once I ordered soya latte, they gave me Chai latte. They don’t asked twice when they are not clear. Fine. The other day, I ordered white bread sandwich, they gave me wholemeal toast. And they asked twice this time. And I confirmed my order. So why? Are you guys deliberately doing that?

Lovely cafe, great cakes and really good portions. My daughter loves the hot chocolate. Staff are always friendly and helpful.

Food was a bit pricy I would say but absolutely delicious.

We were fully tempted by the Blueberry muffins after a free lunch time concert which was superb. The coffee was excellent but it is a good place to catch up with friends with no background music. The muffins were expensive but good quality and large.

Living quite near to the university ( Tyler Hill) we like to think that we are doing the right thing by visiting our local cafe/ bar. However on several occasions now we have been out in the early evening and decided tl go to the gulbenkian for a drink/snack. 3 times we have walked into the cafe to find that shutters are up and the cafe is shut and this is at 7.30! Checking the time's on the website which says 9pm. Told by a member of staff when we asked why they were shut " that when there's not many people in they shut early ". They are also very keen to get things put away. On more than occasion we have asked for cake and been told they have been put away, the last occasion was tonight and we were in there at 6.30pm ! Come on gulbenkian do what you say on your website !

The place to meet academic staff.

Good prices and tasty food. Slightly long wait.

The cinema is good but the prices in the cafe are not student prices

Nice clean decor, healthy food, reasonably priced. Friendly staff, as you would expect for a student café. Modern clean toilets.

A reasonable café bar in the university campus. Rather expensive compared to the other main local university, but good coffee and food. Can get very busy at peak times. Good wheelchair access and clean toilets. Some outside tables, and plenty of indoor seating.

The service was spot on and the food was of good quality . They looked after us all the time and the café was very clean also the toilets were spot on .

A pesar de intentar ordenar a las 7: 20 pm, y el menú que indica que la comida se sirve hasta las 8: 00 pm, me informaron que la cocina estaba cerrada. Pregunté esto y me dijeron que había una copia de seguridad de la cocina, lo cual fue un poco sorprendente, ya que no había nadie más allí en 5 minutos, y no salió más comida. Mentiras sería la respuesta lógica, pero tal vez puedan explicar!

Método de servicio muy extraño. Usted paga su café antes de tomarlo y no sabe cuánto tiempo va a esperar para obtenerlo. Íbamos a una actuación y el tiempo era apretado. Este sistema causó ansiedad. La comida era bastante cara para lo que era. Buenos pasteles caseros. Personal amable

Menue is small but all local produce and very well cooked. Limited choice of puddings but again all fresh fruit and locally made ice cream. Great coffee and a good bar with well priced wones by glass or bottle. Staff are efficient and friendly.

Great for a quick stop or meal. Also serve alcohol -- ood selection. Prices are reasonable. Great selection of cake! Seating inside or out.

Just ordered avocado on sourdough toast - what arrived was a spoon of avocado on a slice of cheap brown bread - cost £4.50. Actual cost about 25p. Very sad robbing students like that.

Good selection of food and drinks.

Super cooles Studentencafė mit leckerem Kuchen und Snacks

I and my fellow MA students have always met here, great food. Coffee however, I would say is a tad too strong.

Great family friendly cafe and bar for pre/post drinks when attending the theatre or cinema

Used to be great, but now has very limited options. Now there is no price on the fizzy drinks session. Very underhanded. :/

Staff are slow to serve and very rude.

The food was good with a lovely atmosphere but there was a limited selection of food with high prices for students. Staff are slow to serve. One of staff was rude, she treated us poorly during our stay.

Reasonable food and coffee. Ideal for a quick lunchtime or pre-concert meal. There are other outlets on campus which offer better coffee, but if you’re in this part of campus the coffee here isn’t too expensive and is ok. The food is perhaps a bit overpriced for what you get, but not too bad. The newer more modern queuing system means you don’t often have to wait an age if all you want is a coffee or a cake.

I mean, it’s expensive and I ain’t got that kinda money unless I go get myself a sugar daddy but it’s not bad ? like it’s decent enough, but is always full idk where some people get their money but food is good, always have something vegan and staff are friendly (bless )

The menu is limited but offers a good range of locally sourced food which is prepared well and caters for all types of diner..... friendly efficient service and a good bar...... so nice to be able to park your car outside a theatre ...... eat good food and see a show!

I’ve used this cafe for 4 years. In fact I have no choice because in the time available between lectures this is the only venue. This is way I get so cross. The food and coffee is OK and the staff are friendly, but the management just don’t understand that coffee venues only work when baristas are employed to keep the coffee wait times down. It makes no sense whatsoever to loose custom because of wait times to the till. Just employ more baristas!

Nous avons attendu 1h et nous sommes allés demander un remboursement car nous n’avons pas été servi. Et pour cause, un bug dans leur système informatique. Ils auraient quand même pu le voir eux même quand les serveurs passaient 10 fois devant nous. Cependant deux étoiles car étant donné que nous sommes déjà allés la bas, la qualité est plutôt correcte.

Chilled place I come back to hang out often, before/after films/events. Best coffee, decent food, welcoming & good staff.

Just a few things to feedback on for vegan options:- Very rarely any vegan sandwiches in the fridge. Par for the course on campus, but there's even a vegan sign on the fridge allergen key, so you'd think there might be options more often.- Soy milk is regularly burnt. Again, par for the course on campus, but still. Soy will burn easily compared to dairy and it's okay to an extent, but I think they need less time with the steamer.-Baked potato is normally adaptable for a vegan option, but today asked for one with no butter, some olive oil, and some beans which has been fine before. Came out as a completely plain potato with salad. Asked waitress if beans and some olive oil would be okay. It came back with no olive oil and some beans. I appreciate there are other options on the menu, but a vegan potato option as standard would save a lot of hassle.

Took the chance to have breakfast out in the school holiday. We enjoyed the sausage bap at the cafe. Very generous with the sausage which was also of very good quality. Bap was also fine. Coffee very good and the service was very good.

Nice cafe, good for picking up a quick hot drink or a brownie to fuel a study session - a little pricey though for a student budget!

great coffe bar. Lot of choices...

Had a quick drink while waiting for a concert. Long queues quickly dealt with. Drinks priced a bit above average but a welcome venue.

Whilst attending a conference we did not want to go into town for the evening so choose this place close to where we were staying. Nice and quick service. Not very expensive,

had a lovely meal here ,all dishes were really good sized portions too and its nice to get table service if you book a table.

Basic pub grub at reasonable prices served by (generally) friendly smiley students in a nice bright contemporary atmosphere. A good option before the entertainment begins.

12時前に店に行ったら比較的席がすいていた。次第に混み出したので、ピーク時間はずらした方が良い。料理はサラダもフレッシュで、フライも揚げたて。メインも自然な味付けだった。

Dunno what I'd do without this place for my delicious early morning uni breakfasts! Really nice food, reasonable prices, lots in the cake/pastry/cookie selection as well, the only downside is there is an hour where you can't get order any hot food

Very good selection of food, now lots of gluten free and vegetarian options too. All staff are friendly and professional, willing to help where they can and if you ask for any dietary requirements they can sort that too.

The foods served are delicious! The price are quite reasonable, although it can be a little cheaper. Overall, I think it is worth a try if you are in Gulbenkian for a movie.

This great cafe is the heart of a brilliant entertainment complex. With a theatre, cinema and wonderful concert hall the Gulbenkian is a centre for enjoyment in East Kent. A special feature are the events for children at weekends when loads of kids have a happy time eating and drinking and enjoying a huge range of entertainments. Food ranges from snacks to full meals and there's a focus on locally provided ingredients.

Haven't tried the food other than an occasional muffin which is pretty good, the coffee however is some of the best I've ever had, 10x better than the rubbish at cafe Nero! Staff are very pleasant, but even if they weren't id still go back for the coffee.

Lovely place to go to. I use it when I cycle from herne bay to canterbury on the crab and winkle line and as a place to meet friends. Service always good, coffee nice and food always nice. Not amazingly cheap but still good value.

Our second visit in Dec to see Basil and co, were brilliantly funny. Would highly recommend this. However, the food was simply terrible. On our first visit last Sept there were 48 people and the food was reasonable. On this visit there were 120 and it seemed to us that they could not cope serving up decent food. The portions were miserly, dried and tepid at best. This was the only downside of what was a great evenings entertainment . The staff were polite and helpful.

Came here for a show. Arrived early for drinks etc. Staff cheerful and pleasant. Prices good too. Would happily come here again.

Nice food menu and selection of baked goods. Best of luck finding a "normal" sandwich or a cheap cup of coffee.

The coffee is great but the food is mediocre with high price.

Ate here midweek prior to a matinee show. The food was delicious with attentive staff, well worth a visit.

Stopped here for a sit-down and coffee after a lot of walking around the local area. The service was efficient bearing in mind that there seemed to be a children's dance/performing arts workshop type thing going on at the Gulbenkian, with lots of kids and mums taking time out for some lunch etc. Coffee was good, and outside seating made a good place to watch the world go by. Can't comment on what it's like for a more normal day or for food, but it was perfectly good for what I needed at the time, a nice drink and somewhere fairly pleasant to take a breather.

Staff are slow to serve. Prices are at the high end.

A bit pricey, but good coffee and food on campus

Lovely local food... Polite staff and a varied menu and good service for the busy venue!!! Great for a snack or a full meal and a good choice of vegetarian food too!!!

The atmosphere is good and a good place to watch the world go by! Excellent coffee and the service is excellent.

The Gulbenkian is a middle-class oasis of Liberal arts in the cultural wasteland of east Kent. However, it is so poorly signposted you'd think the management is frightened the proles may find it!Sandwiches come at two prices - the overly expensive 'sit in' variant or the cheaper 'take out' version, presumably to stop the students from the surrounding Kent Uni cluttering up the eating area. The beer is hideously expensive for this part of Kent.

I came to Gulbenkian today for a meeting and had the most delicious chicken caesar baguette! Lovely seeded bread, crispy bacon and chunky parmesan shavings. It was peak time, lunchtime, and I didn't have to queue. I also bought a homemade easter cupcake with delicious strawberry icing - nice touch!

Chicken risotto obviously microwaved, quite bland, tasteless and greasy. Am not a microwave snob with some things but risotto is designed to be made fresh, not overly reheated to the point that the centre is incredibly hot. Staff are nice though.

My previous review of this cafe was largely positive. This one, sadly, will be wholly negative. We arrived an hour before our concert started to be told that there would be a one hour wait for food. When we asked why there was such a delay we were told that " a lot of people have booked tables". It would not, therefore, have been a surprise to the management to find that they were busy. Arrangements should have been made to cope with the expected demand. We were left to choose from a small number of sandwiches that the old British Rail would have thought twice about releasing to the public. We asked to have them toasted and then we waited ... and waited. After twenty minutes we had to go and chase them up. They were not worth the wait. Next time we attend a concert at the Gulbenkian Theatre we will eat somewhere, anywhere, else.

Localizado em um lugar Universitário, o Gulbenkian é um café que quase sempre tem música ao vivo à noite, porém os preços são muito caros, durante Abril do ano, há festival internacional de alimentos, com pratos típicos de países diferentes

Staff always look miserable. Each time I order a panini for take away they walk around with it for ages even though I specifically asked for takeaway and stand at the bar to wait for it. Can't even seem to manage the simplest of tasks. Has gone down hill this academic year.

Decent spot for a coffee and a chat with a friend on a Sunday afternoon. Plenty of parking and right by the big wheel.

Wide range of good meals at reasonable prices. Bar well stocked and also very reasonable. Service pleasant and freindly

Very noisy when full and quite crammed in but the food is usually reasonable. I had the tuna nicotine which had dry tuna this time but has always been fine otherwise. Good breakfasts though. Never had a bad one.

I came today tuesday 21st of July at about half past six for a regular moka with wipped cream and a brownie. Excelent service! The lady at the bar was very kind!!