Sankey's The Old Fishmarket in Tunbridge Wells

***This was totally overpriced - we will not go back*** We had the Crawfish and the Salmon. The seafood itself was just above average. The seafood was fresh. It was not badly cooked at all, but not amazing. And certainly not amazing enough to justify the eye-watering price tag. £48 for half a Cornish Crawfish. Having been to Cornwall, I was expecting something spectacular. But it was cooked at a level of an average seafood restaurant. The garlic butter was not flavoured properly, and for this price tag, I would've expected something like homemade mayonnaise or aioli for the dip, not the bland supermarket mayonnaise they put on the side. This would have been 3 stars for the food, but I took off a star because of the service. The staff was polite. But did not provide a lobster cracker / fork, nor provide a finger bowl or wet wipes to wash my hands with. No one came to ask if the meal was okay. Will not recommend unless there's nothing else in Tunbridge Wells to go.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the best experience. Flies in the open kitchen whilst cooking, flies landing in our wine and a hair in our food. Crab claws tasted like dishwater which we had to send back. Feels like the whole place needs a good clean including the downstairs. So disappointing.

The oysters were fresh and delicious. The sardines and John dory were great too. I do recommend booking ahead. Outdoor seating available. Good selection of wines.

Genuinely one of the best fish dishes I have ever eaten. Excellent staff and atmosphere also. It is quite expensive but certainly value for money. You get what you pay for and more!

We went today for a nice lunch. Great location in the heart of the Pantiles with a covered outdoor area and heaters for when the weather is a little chilly. Very friendly and attentive service. The food was amazing and beautifully presented. If you like seafood this is the place to go. Not the cheapest lunch, but absolutely worth it! We will definitely return - and would recommend to others!

The best seafood, great service and atmosphere. Just had wine and oysters this time but will be back.

Best seafood restaurant in Tunbridge Wells for sure. Very fresh and seasonal produce. Only small but boutique. Chef Steve looked after us well and the 2 course lunch menu is exquisite. Thumbs up will definitely return!

I'm rarely lost for words, however this place left me speechless. The chefs table was an amazing experience, we were made feel extremely welcome by the chefs and watching them create some incredible food was an absolute pleasure. Only thing I'd change was the music. Obviously this wouldn't stop me from returning, and I will be returning, again and again. Thank you so much.

A really special place for a special occasion

Me and my girlfriend booked the 6 for 6 at the chefs counter, shay and I believe the chef (Steve) were really welcoming and helpful, the food was the best fish I’ve ever had , great experience I 100% recommend it

Absolutely superb in everything - food, ambience, friendly and professional service. 10 out of 10!!!

My favourite place in TW when I go out for a treat. Excellent.

Lively atmosphere, friendly service and delicious lobster! Get the sourdough, it's great for dipping !

Impromptu lunch and very much enjoyed it. Sardines, fish pie & very nice Sauvignon Blanc. Interesting watching the chef at work.

We have been visiting Sankey's in the Upper Pantiles since it opened. It has been one of our favourite "special occasion" restaurants in Tunbridge Wells. We had an early dinner there this afternoon and were really disappointed . This is putting it very mildly. 1. The food quality has deteriorated enormously since our last visit and is vastly overpriced.Two (small) very average main meals and one glass of wine and a soft drink was in excess of £120. 2. There was a loud, very drunk couple on the outside patio, swearing , shouting at the staff and being generally obnoxious. It completely spoilt our dining experience . The management did nothing to quieten this couple and even seemed to encourage their appalling behaviour. 3.The waiting staff , whilst quite kind , seemed to have no idea as to "service". No utensils, drinks menus, spoons, finger bowl napkins etc . They even got the wine order wrong. It was more like self service. Is there no staff training in your company any longer?? I am sure that my comments will have no impact on you at all, however, we will vote with our feet and never dine there again.

Very attentive staff. Food was nice but I wasn't blown away. Very expensive

Great service and food. Lovely lunchtime thank you.

Went there today, wanted to have seafood platter and I randomly found this place on Google map. Didn’t expect much but surprisingly the food was so good! Especially the grilled food! Will definitely go back again!

Lovely anniversary dinner. Thank you to all the staff but especially Sara for the lovely card and the chefs for going off piste with the menu and preparing crab au gratin for me. Food and service lovely as always

Perfect absolutely perfect, as good as it gets.....

A wonderful venue for top seafood

Disappointed on this occasion. Tried to take advantage of the oysters for a quid offer but they could only serve our group 3 each as they'd run out, this is despite there being only a few people in the restaurant at the time.

Excellent food and drink. The oysters were fantastic. But not cheap

Beautiful fresh Fish and Shellfish in a lovely setting in the historic pantiles of Royal Tunbridge Wells. The staff really enjoy giving you a wonderful experience.

Sat outside for desert and drinks during jazz on the pantilles. I don't eat seafood (I know, bizarre choice) but the sourdough and the deserts are delicious. The team are also really lovely

Overall i had a good experience here the oyster selection is amazing, however I don’t really know why they are selling £14 caviar for £40 I think it’s a bit too much

Wonderful little place in Pantiles 👌 Food was absolutely superb! 🦪🥂 Great service too.

Really enjoyed ourselves. Very attentive staff. Delicious food and wines. Is a little expensive but I guess that can be put down to the fresh fish and experience. Will visit again I'm sure.

Really disappointed. Service was poor (had to ask someone for every drink and to order food) and didn’t think the food was worth the money.

Fabulous seafood! We went to The old Fish market in the Pantiles for my birthday. Booked the table and free parking online. Fantastic service, they made us feel so welcome. We always have the Oysters and they didn't disappoint-perfect. I had the octopus starter, it was probably the best octopus I have ever had. My husband had the lobster bisque which again was delicious. Great wine list and wine and champagne super chilled which is always hard to find in restaurants! Couldn't fault our visit. will be going back soon.

Exceptional. When it’s not too busy, the service and food is incredible. Pricey, but worth it if you can afford the treat.

Not cheap, but 100% worth the price and large portions. Lobster linguini highly recommended 👌

Beautiful food! I can't wait to go back. We had a family meal and we all ordered something different and everyone was so pleased and commented how delicious every dish was.

Staff were very knowledgeable about their menu and gave good recommendations for both starter and main meal. Beautiful white wine selections available to choose from .

Superb food, friendly staff, very popular around lunch time when it opens. Good we booked beforehand.

Booked workout even looking at what it was and was very happily impressed by the selection and cooked oyster selection (that you don't often find) and as fish I'd never heard of... Its small but old and charming and a great treat. Now I'll have to find a reason to go back to the town just to go to the restaurant!

Absolutely love this place....Crawfish is to die for...

Great place if you're a big fan of seafood. We ordered the prawns 🦐 and mackerel 🐟. Preferred the mackerel over the prawns, but that's mainly because the squid 🦑 was out of stock and I don't like getting my hands dirty 😆🙌🏽. Price was very reasonable, service speed was great and staff excellent and friendly. Great fun to talk to. 👌🏽

Great fresh seafood. Well worth the hour long journey to drive here We will be back again soon. Good service too

This truly TRULY deserves five stars. If you like seafood, then this is the ONE. We had an experience here, not just a meal! Honestly can say it is the best seafood u have ever tasted. Big tip for the waiting staff and chefs as they are truly 1st class. Keep up the great work!!! and hope to see you guys soon.

Lived in Tunbridge Wells for 7 years now and only went to The Old Fishmarket this weekend. I'm not big into seafood being the reason but honestly it was so good, friends had the oysters which they we're really impressed with, the Sole was delicious, good wine selection too.

Excellent seafood platters, lovely location on a sunny day. Pricy but worth it

Excellent food, well prepared, lovely meal.

We waited to be seated as the sign required. As we could see 4 to 5 empty tables outside and it was around 3pm we wanted about 10 minutes, the staff didn't see or ignored us? So I went in and was told bluntly "we are fully booked" and he turned away. Sorry but that was rude!! It was not so busy that someone could have at least put a note up or take a few seconds to say so, not just leave us standing there.

Great food excellent first class

Great seared squid and beer. Highly recommending.

Quite a nice location, food was generally lovely but was let down but a few items lacked the execution. There were a few mystery hairs in the Linguine dish, lobster was slightly overcooked and larger Prawns were not deveined.

Food great staff so helpful and friendly

Lovely place, interesting things to see. Very quiet at the moment owing to covid situation

Amazing! Oysters and sardines to start, lobster linguine and a seafood platter for mains. Wonderful.

Went here for our anniversary last year, exceptionally good service, complimentary champers, great lobster pasta . Ideal location as well. didn't give it 5 as the "slaw" side dish served to me was not worth having.

superb food, wonderful atmosphere and a very accomplished wine list

Delicious meal on a beautiful sunday afternoon. Eat inside. Nice staff very attentive. No pics as too busy tucking in.

Nice food and drink an expensive treat on a wet Sunday. Staff could be more welcoming and a menu outside the restaurant might encourage more bums on seats

Always excellent; good quality seafood, great service and atmosphere

Never been but smells right for a fishmonger

It is a wonderful place for pre dinner drinks and food. The staff were helpful and friendly and the oysters, champagne and lobster bisque were first class. We shall be back soon.

Very nice selection of drinks and seafood

Lovely Saturday evening out. Sankey's Fishmarket is a small restaurant - in what used to be a small fish market. The food was excellent. The setting is intimate & charming. The staff are excellent & made the experience. Sit at the counter & watch your dishes being made & talk to the chef - when they're not having to focus. It's strictly seafood. And is exceptionally good at it. This is my second visit. The first was in the height of summer sitting outside many for drinks.

Excellent food, great wine list, very friendly staff, lovely old building. Can't fault it.

Fantastic meal, fair pricing and friendly staff! Couldnt have asked for more

Nice place fish clean and tidy place good service

Excellent service, wonderful food and great drinks.

Oysters - great! Mussels - over priced - get the starter size - it is essentially the same as the main size but half the price. Very annoying. We learnt the hard way!!

Been coming here with family a friends for years. Really enjoy the food and atmosphere at this place. Staff always friendly. Decent menu with a good choice of fish.

Excellent Oysters, very nice place for fish.

Delicious food. Highly recommend the oysters.

Lovely seafood paired with good wine

Good service, good seafood but the bread was a bit tough. They should have more choices of bread to suit different need.🤗

Good clam pasta and delicious Muscadet wine

Mediocre fish but great location in the old tourist office.

A great place to sit back with a cold glass of wine, nice food and a great atmosphere

Great oysters. Good wine list. Attentive service.

Amazing restaurant. Superb food and great service. Cannot recommend highly enough.

Wonderful. Great fresh cooked fish. You can see and watch your meal being prepared and the chef gave us a couple of good cooking tips!Brilliant service. Will go back soon. Some of the Beacon staff should go a get a few tips on service.

Friendly staff and oysters are great!

Sankey's is absolutely worth a visit. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, offering suggestions on the food and wine pairings. The location on the Pantiles was magical and contemporary at the same time, cosy and stylish. The food, I'm not sure there are enough superlatives to describe the food. We had oysters and mackerel pate to start, the oysters are fresh and crisp with a meaty chew. The mackerel was tangy and generous. Perfect! We then had lobster and seafood pie, both cooked to perfection with excellent flavour and freshness. Coffee and tea to round off a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Please do visit them!

The food is amazing here. Wow. The Seafood platter and oysters were delicious. Small intimate restaurant which is great for a romantic date. The lobster is the best we have tasted and we have tried it all over the world. Get down here and enjoy. Service is slow but we weren't in a hurry ❤️🙌

Overpriced menu. I don't mind paying if deserving. Will not come back, sorry

V small portions & service charges unacceptable

Choose dishes of the specials mens and had something I wasn't sure I'd like 100% but it was amazing lovely fresh food and the wine was rather good too!

Good fresh tasty sea food. Great choice of local Kent sparkling wine. Attenrive staff. Great way to spend an afternoon with a beautiful person

Very tasty food. Good service. Nice atmosphere. Lovely place to eat outside on the Pantiles.

These guys are a class act. Excellent fish restaurant.

Quite depressing. Not quite sure about this place - overpriced; seafood isn't extravagant, especially when it's small portions. Drinks weren't great either, no atmosphere. Won't be back for a while, I'll happily be somewhere else.

walking though the Pantiles for the first time in years and seen this quirky little restaurant so had to pop in. It was a tad bit nippy inside but we where the only people there at lunch. The food was amazing, I shall be returning again!

Food was ok, nothing special, didn’t have much seasoning. Starters lack in flavour. The lobster with pasta for example tasted very average, this is an expensive place to eat, I would have expected a better experience. Must wear a couple of layers as the place is very cold or you won’t relax to eat. Nevertheless the service was excellent.

Flavorful seafood and fresh! Great location in the ❤️ of the picturesque Pantiles. Oysters are a must!

if you like paying for over priced fish this is the place for you

Tiny place, no pun, but lovely feel to it and nestled in a picturesque part of The Pantiles with a good view out. Bar is fun to sit at and watch chefs prep while scoffing seafood. Us scoffing, not the chefs.