Old Gate Inn in Canterbury

Lovely ambience, and environment. Staff friendly, welcoming and courteous. Food good. Would return again.

Enjoyed a meal at The Old Gate Inn (on weds 29/1/25) Canterbury. First time there . Thought it was a lovely , cosy , pub with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere ( walkers and 🐕's welcome ) . Very pleasant staff . Food good . My work colleague and myself particularly enjoyed the Crumble Dessert. Pub is well situated close to the A2 and close to Park and Ride for Canterbury. Rooms are available there so I would think it's a great place to stay for a visit to Canterbury. I will definitely visit again .

"I visited the Old Gate Inn in Canterbury with my mum on New Year’s Day, and we had a fantastic experience! The atmosphere was warm and inviting, just what we needed to kick off the year. The staff were friendly, attentive, and made us feel right at home despite how busy it was. The food was absolutely delicious—everything was cooked to perfection and arrived promptly. The menu had a great variety, catering to all tastes, and the portions were generous. The charming decor and cozy ambiance added to the overall experience, making it a memorable day out. I highly recommend the Old Gate Inn to anyone looking for great food, excellent service, and a lovely setting. We’ll definitely be back.

Had a lovely family meal here, they are very accommodating happy to make things plain or change it up a bit as two of my kids have special needs and are very fussy.

Very nice staff, happy and cheerful atmosphere, and amazing food

Friendly staff, great atmosphere, great food

Great selection of food and drink served by a very friendly and efficient team. This place is always busy and I can see why.

One of the best places I’ve ever been for dinner and a drink, I highly recommend if you’re ever in the area! The atmosphere was perfect and the food was even better. Service was quick and all had a smile. Could even bring my dog in!

The short Gorly who served us, Ellie I believe her name was, was absolutely wonderful, nothing too much trouble and great service, will come again thank you

We arrived at 4 but didn’t get our food until 5ish, however we asked for some more gravy and never got it after being told our meal will be delayed because of the potatoes, when our food arrived it was cold and the gravy never turnt up with our food when we asked for extra gravy. The staff seemed really uninterested. I had to give bad ratings as the place looks lovely but just the staff and the waiting has really taken a toll. Ontop of this we were sat around the corner at the end of the restaurant which meant getting service was slower anyway, trying to get someone attention was impossible.

Fabulous place- food and service is excellent and staff very friendly and helpful

Sam was very good other than breaking my desert 🤣

Extremely dog friendly which is a must for us

Jan 2025 • Couples Went for dinner New Year’s Eve. Started well, staff very friendly and welcoming. Shown to our table and ordered drinks and waitress returned to take our food order and make sure she took down specific requirements. Starter arrived and my husband’s was not what he ordered so it was taken away and the correct order was bought out. Meanwhile I had finished mine which was very good. We then waited (quite a while) and our main course was bought out. I had asked for pink venison but it arrived overcooked and cold the potatoes were also cold and the sauce had a skin on it. Vegetable were warm though. I started to eat the vegetables and luckily had my dogs with me so they ate the overcooked cold meat . The waitress came over to ask if everything was okay. I pointed out the meat was overcooked and stone cold (dogs enjoyed it though). She offered to bring me another meal which came out as it was supposed to. Meat was tasty vegetables much better than last one. I even had some gravy on this one which appeared to have been missed on the first meal. Had my original meal been served like the second one I would have been more than happy. Sadly I had already eaten the vegetables from the first meal so wasn’t really up for another plate of food lol and couldn’t enjoy it. My husband had long finished his main course when my second meal arrived. Dessert arrived after another longish wait and was okay but then you can’t really go wrong with a slice of cheesecake. We paid for our meal and the owner very kindly took the price of the drinks off our bill (a glass of coke snd and a glass of wine). We paid (over £100 for two ) and to be honest the quality of our meal was appalling. The owner apologised for the issues we had but I assured him the dogs weren’t that fussy so they enjoyed it. Not usually given to complaining but think on this occasion I am justified. Have given 2 stars because the lady who served us was lovely and tried to do her best to put things right.

Had a lovely meal, sevice was welcoming and very good. The best thing for us is that we could spend our time here with our much loved doggy on a special day.

Went for dinner New Year’s Eve. Started well, staff very friendly and welcoming. Shown to our table and ordered drinks and waitress returned to take our food order and make sure she took down specific requirements. Starter arrived and my husband’s was not what he ordered so it was taken away and the correct order was bought out. Meanwhile I had finished mine which was very good. We then waited (quite a while) and our main course was bought out. I had asked for pink venison but it arrived overcooked and cold the potatoes were also cold and the sauce had a skin on it. Vegetable were warm though. I started to eat the vegetables and luckily had my dogs with me so they ate the overcooked cold meat . The waitress came over to ask if everything was okay. I pointed out the meat was overcooked and stone cold (dogs enjoyed it though). She offered to bring me another meal which came out as it was supposed to. Meat was tasty vegetables much better than last one. I even had some gravy on this one which appeared to have been missed on the first meal. Had my original meal been served like the second one I would have been more than happy. Sadly I had already eaten the vegetables from the first meal so wasn’t really up for another plate of food lol and couldn’t enjoy it. My husband had long finished his main course when my second meal arrived. Dessert arrived after another longish wait and was okay but then you can’t really go wrong with a slice of cheesecake. We paid for our meal and the owner very kindly took the price of the drinks off our bill (a glass of coke snd and a glass of wine). We paid (over £100 for two ) and to be honest the quality of our meal was appalling. The owner apologised for the issues we had but I assured him the dogs weren’t that fussy so they enjoyed it. Not usually given to complaining but think on this occasion I am justified. Have given 2 stars because the lady who served us was lovely and tried to do her best to put things right.

Setting and atmosphere for our Christmas lunch was lovely. Staff were friendly and attentive.

Lovely staff, welcoming and we enjoyed our Christmas day meal. Food was amazing.

I have eaten here twice now. Food is delicious well presented, and service from staff & manager excellent. One of the nicest well managed places I’ve ever eaten at. Thankyou.staff for making our Boxing Day so enjoyable. Vanessa

Excellent food and friendly staff, clean toilets, lovely atmosphere, lovely old type of building, plenty of parking, good value

We preordered and paid upfront, (in November)clearly stating an allergy of garlic at that time for one person in our 4. On arrival we were told he couldn’t have the pate he’d pre ordered due to garlic in it, the only starter he could have was prawn cocktail minus the sauce as that too had garlic in it. Then he was unable to have a Yorkshire pud with his Xmas Turkey as it too had garlic in! Yorkshire pud with garlic in??? Not a happy Xmas eve meal for us. There’s grim brown water stains above the table, a dent in the table and the floor’s sticky to walk on. Not a place to frequent I’m afraid in my opinion!

Enjoyed a celebratory lunch for my daughter's Birthday. Our waitress, Danni, was friendly, professional and very accommodating. Food, as always, was well presented and very tasty. The atmosphere was welcoming and relaxed. Will definitely visit again.

Stopped over at the motorhome aire. Went into Canterbury but decided to get the bus back and eat at the Old Gate. We were very disappointed with the Penang Curry, and the Fishcakes weren't up to much. They tasted ok but was let down by the lack of veg. It was quite expensive for the quality of the food.

Lovely pub/restaurant. Really nice food from a menu with plenty of choice. Staff were friendly and helpful. Only reason not to go for a score of 5 is that service was really slow. I'm a big fan of not being rushed when eating out, but this was excessively slow.

Had a family dinner here, food was fantastic, reasonably priced and great service. Will definitely be back!

Came here again with my family and once again blown away by the service and food. I strongly recommend anyone who hasn’t been yet to try it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Amazing food amazing atmosphere friendly and helpful staff 5*

Awesome place great drinks food and staff friendly I so recommend this place great pie tonight highly recommend very nice evening cheers team

Great food, amazing staff and a really cosy christmasey atmosphere. I recommend the festive menu and the cocktails are on point! Easy parking, dog friendly, good variety on the menu and friendly staff.

Beautiful, homely pub and generally my go-to if I want a quiet weekday evening drink with friends. QR code ordering if you prefer as well, which I really like. It does get busy on Friday nights and weekends but that’s just a testament to their popularity. Food and drink is a little on the pricey side which is my one drawback, but it’s great for an occasional treat

Popped in for some lunch after visiting the christmas market and it was a great end to our day... will be back next year xx

This was my first visit and how brilliant it was !! Great service and the manager Chris could not do enough to make myself and my family feel welcome !! Thanks so much - we will be back !!

Great people; good food; fair prices.

Four of us were out for a Christmas get together. Our server was lovely- Danni. Drinks were ordered and arrived quickly. Food took a bit longer, but was very busy so understandable. Two of us had festive turkey, one had vegetarian roast and one had seabass. My friend with the seabass said her food was cold. It was taken away and microwaved. The veg for rest of us was also cold, and my meal was at best luke warm. Maybe if food chills off so quickly, the plates should be warmed- all in all was disappointing 😞 I am never comfortable sending food back to a kitchen, so ate half but not the stone cold by the end veg.Everything else was good- the service and pleasantness of our server but a shame as our bill was just shy of £200 and it wasn't "amazing".

Waited 45 mins for food that wasn't worth the price

Excellent meal, friendly helpful staff, wonderful atmosphere and environment.

Really nice place to meet friends. Good food. Good service. Reliably good.

Great food. Nice staff. Good Service

We were a big party of 16 and found the food excellent and the staff were great . We really enjoyed our meal there and would return and highly recommend it .

What a lovely place to eat, the food was great even the mash was proper mash not powder, the staff were very friendly and it felt really cosy.

This place never fails to serve up a good atmosphere together with a decent drink selection and a 3 for £12 bar menu that will keep you coming back again and again.

We stayed for two nights when working close by. The rooms were lovely and hace everything you need. The food was really good, and the staff were lovely! Recommend the breakfast

Lovely food! Best steak I have had for ages. We all enjoyed our meals Chocolate Brownie was a favourite with my family. Atmosphere was good! Welcoming and friendly staff . We were looked after by Ryan. He was very attentive and patient and had a lovely rapport with us . Thankyou to Ryan . Will be coming back again !!

Was served by Danni and they were a delight, always great service, friendly, knowledgeable and very accommodating

Very friendly and helpful staff. Warm welcome with good menu choices. Food and drinks were quick to be served. Portions were good and food very tasty. Good car park in a well situated site for east access.

Lovely spacious pub with lots of smaller individual spaces to sit. Food is good and staff is friendly.

Struggled with this wanted to rate higher but met with a couple of deal breakers: service was uncomfortably slow, both for lunch and the following morning for brunch. Food quality was sadly the other issue, parts of the meal (meat) good but badly let down by the vegetables. On a positive note dog friendly! Easy to get to with a reasonable car park but make sure you register your car at Reception. Staff friendly. It is a popular venue so best to book for lunch and dinner.

Beware! They have employed a very aggressive private firm to police their car park. It is not pay and display and it is easy to miss that registration inside the pub is now necessary. I have been going there off and on for years when no registration was required but the last time it cost me £100 because I did not see the new system. The company demanding the money were implacable. That was for 20 minutes of parking. Pretty hefty for a cup of coffee on the way to the Canterbury Hospice. I will never go to the Old Gate again, that is certain.

Amazing food and service!! I had the roast turkey with the Camembert to start. Kelly made our meal extra special with her amazing service.

We had a lovely du say lunch here today. Great food and really attentive, polite, efficient servers. Seems really well managed. Will be back!

Had an amazing meal with the most lovely server Danni! So lovely and chatty, took care of every requirement we had and made the whole experience a pleasure. The food was also amazing! Thank you very much to everyone and Danni! ☺️

Very attentive staff, food came out in a timely manner and great selection on the menu - would recommend.

5/5 every time I visit. Staff friendly, helpful and always prepared to go the extra mile. Choice of food fantastic and the team are always prepared to accommodate any specific requirements.

The food was absolutely fantastic, and presented with a smile as always. Love this place and would highly recommend it.

Friendly greeting. The main, hunters chicken, was very good. Chips OK, not what I'd expect when I read they were triple cooked. The desert, lemon tart, was OK but the blueberries used as garnish were inedible. Skins far too thick. The service, once the friendly greeting was out of the way, was slow. Maybe single female syndrome? A couple who arrived after me were served and had eaten and left before I'd finished eating my main. I got fed-up of waiting for the bill, so went to the bar to ask for it. An hour and a half for 2 courses is just too slow.

We booked for Sunday Lunch and were not disappointed. Friendly staff, excellent service and tasty food and plenty of gravy!! The atmosphere was really nice too. My husband thought the roast potatoes were a bit hard but I didn't have a problem with them. Not sure if they were roast new potatoes. I would definitely return and also recommend the pub to friends and family.

Friendly service, good food and decent value

great spot for campervans and friendly staff.

Absolutely lovely place, I have often gone there for drinks but never had a meal there until today my sisters were treating me to a birthday meal. Service was great, the team were very friendly and the prices were also very good. We definitely be going back again

Overall this restaurant gets a 3 star rating and this is due to the quality of most of the food. If you could rate 3.5 I would but unfortunately you can't. For the price you pay, we thought it would be better quality. For example, the burger patty was dry and the burger had a soggy bottom bun, on the roast dinner the vegetables were really undercooked, the broccoli was old and discoloured, there was minimal gravy and the cauliflower cheese was watery etc. However, the mushrooms side, brownie, fruit crumble, and most of the roast meat was nice. The waiting staff seemed a bit disinterested throughout which contributes to a lower rating as well. The ceiling above the tables also had wide cracks and fresh and old damp marks over. Not great to have over food. It needs a little more than a paint job. Unfortunately I can't recommend it here mainly due to the price and inconsistent quality. There is much better food elsewhere for the same price or less.

Hah to send two out of three main corses back the Broccoli was so hard you could not cut into it my wife’s roast some items were re heated My granddaughter had sea bass and onion mash again it was reheated And it looked like slops on the plate I have eaten at the old gate at least 4 times all have been great Starter mains and dessert but yesterday we sent 2 mains back paid and left

Perfectly placed for the park and Ride . We will be back

Lovely Breakfast, kept me going all day

Walked in - didn't book ahead - plenty of space Friday lunchtime. Excellent food, refreshing beer! Food arrived quite soon after ordering and was piping hot! Staff were friendly and welcoming. Update: Nothing has changed - all excellent!!

Visited here for some drinks, car park was pitch black and no signs to be seen, ordered at the bar and saw no signs about parking and staff didn’t ask. Received a £100 parking fine for not giving bar staff my number plate. How ridiculous that customers get fined for using your pub.

Great service from all the staff, thank you. Food was gorgeous and arrived in perfect time.

I didn't eat, but it was very welcoming, clean and the staff very helpful.

Question how many aura points do you think they lost when they made a 90 year old woman wait for 2 hours for food? The waitress was nice but the service was slow and the food was sub par. And just an FYI in the manager's words "He can only carry three BLOODY plates at a time" which in my opinion is a beta cuck move on his part. But if chat doesn't want to gain any aura he can stick to his three plates instead of being a true sigma and carrying 4 plus. Just a suggestion fam, I'm out. 🫡🖖

We made reservations weeks ago for a party of 9 as we're visiting family. We arrived on time and placed our orders. An hour later we had not received any of our starters. After talking with our waitress it seemed as if they were understaffed and overbooked. I counted at least two other large birthday groups in addition to other small tables besides us. It took another hour for us to receive our mains, this had a direct impact on us choosing not to also get dessert. Out of our party not many of us were very satisfied with our meals. Our waitress was great but most everything else felt very lacking.

Awful food I wouldn’t have paid for it usually I would have demanded it to be re cooked but I had already waited so long that I just wanted to get out of there food was really overcooked so dry hardly edible

The service was first class. The staff were very polite and attentive. Unfortunately on this occasion some of the meals were not to the usual standard. Ribeye steak was rather tough and the chicken schnitzel was not to the usual standard.

can't really comment they were a chef down so only had one drink and left

Ideal location for our weekend visit to Canterbury for granddaughter's 21st birthday. Quick to get here from A2 after long drive from Lincolnshire. Chris is an excellent host and made us feel at home immediately. Comfortable room and cosy seating for breakfast and drinks. Both full English and continental breakfasts were superb (on successive days I might add!). Plenty of parking including Blue Badge spaces near entrance. Nothing was too much trouble for Chris and Christine and other staff.

Pleasant staff, good menu, nice surroundings.

Booking was easy, seated as requested. No pressure on ordering, dinner was absolutely gorgeous, both me and my best friend enjoyed our main, pie of the day and a 8oz sirloin steak. Pudding was simply scrumptious too. Thank uou for a pleased evening. Staff were brilliant 👏

Food was really good and very tasty. Thankyou to everyone who made our family meal so nice.

Exceptional food, staff were amazing and inviting, they didn’t rush our meal and nothing was a problem. Thankyou for a great evening.

To sum it up briefly: very, very friendly waitresses serve really excellent, freshly prepared food in a cozy atmosphere. You don't need to promise anything more and the other reviews speak for themselves :-) However, it is best to reserve a table as the pub is large but also very busy. It is right next to the P&R parking lot. We like to use this as the start or end point of a stay in England, as Dover can be reached in 30 minutes and you can stay overnight here in a motorhome.

Great food and excellent service. Will definitely recommend to friends and family. We definitely be coming back soon.

James greeted us and showed us to our table. He was polite, friendly and attentive. Food was well presented, hot and very appetising. Very good selection on the menu. This was our third visit this year and we've never been disappointed.

Great service and very tasty, hot food. Excrllent value for money and a cosy setting. Thanks Danni for making the evening relaxed and easy.

Danni was a very friendly and helpful. She was efficient and helpful through out our meal. The meal was lovely and the service from danni excellent

Great food great evening and well supported by Danni

Excellent service from Danni, after a long drive of 4 hours it was great to be greeted by an enthusiastic member of the team, a credit to Vintage Inns. Food and beer was excellent, promptly served with attentive service.

We ate here with our children at the end of our vacation and were thrilled. Great service, cozy atmosphere, friendly service. Extra to mention: fresh salad, fresh vegetable sticks instead of the usual peas at children's meals, homemade mayo, ketchup in a bottle instead of in a bag, special requests no problem, very child-friendly. We will definitely come back the next time we visit the island, and that is guaranteed. Thank you for the good evening!

The 2 day stay has been very enjoyable, breakfast fresh and lovely, all the staff have been great and friendly, location is superb. Definitely come again. Also dinner was lovely,and the young man who served us was very nice, Ryan or Sam was his name,

Visiting Friends last week great food and fantastic service by Ellie!

Great visit our server was fantastic and our little pooch couldn’t love her any more! Thank you Ellie!

Not eaten here for nearly 20 yrs and I was impressed with the food decor and service

Fin and the team were excellent tonight

Turned up as a couple early on a Thursday evening and was warmly greeted. Hadn't booked but this wasn't a problem with a table allocated right away. Had a very enjoyable tasty meal served by enthusiastic staff. Would recommend.

Sam was our waiter he was very polite and helpful

Eaten here 2 would go back to eat there😔

Lovely lunch, just popped in and Sam was fantastic at accommodating us,

It was a successful evening. With nice service, very attentive. Thank you Sam!

This is the second evening meal my girlfriend and I, have thoroughly enjoyed here recently ! Last night, 20/8/24, we were greeted upon arrival by the friendly barman, as before, and taken to our table. We were served by Ryan, again, a very friendly young man, who took our order, and was very attentive as to our requirements. The whole experience as before, was really enjoyable, and our chosen food,was well cooked, and delicious. The inn itself, is clean and inviting, and one is made to feel quite at home, immediately upon arrival. We will definitely return in the not too distant future, and would highly recommend this well above average establishment to others. I have no hesitation whatsoever, awarding The Old Gate Inn, five stars !

Excellent meal served by Sam. I am a fan of the Signature Burger with jalapeno peppers as an extra and a large orange juice and lemonade.

Had an excellent experience visiting here, had a steak and roast dinner which was cooked to perfection. Our waitress Ellie was very attentive and ensured we had everything we need. Highly recommend visiting if in the area!

I visited here 5 years ago and nothing has changed. This was early afternoon. The food was over an hour coming. 2 ordered fish and chips. The batter on the fish was so burnt that I was afraid I would break my teeth. I ended up just eating what little fish that still managed to survive. I'm up at 3am suffering for the grease I ate. My friend lives close by and we went there for convenience. Never again.

Few delicious Peroni’s in the sun