Ship & Trades in Medway

Loved this place and have been coming for over a decade, but new parking enforcement have made it impossible to visit. Got hit with a fine a couple of months ago because the team never told us we had to put our registration number in, despite going to the bar three times and ordering food. Subsequently got another fine as the parking company changed the maximum parking term from 5 hours to 1, without any notice. The parking company expressed that the changes were made after local running groups and other visitors took up parking spaces the pub wanted for their own customers. I can totally appreciate this, but the knock on effect to those of us who visit the other retailers is going to have adverse consequences - narrow minded.

Food and service both good but be warned. The private parking company has just changed the signs without telling anyone so you now need to put in your reg number or get a fine. The Ship and Trades didn’t tell us this when we last went so got a fine. Has put me off going back if that’s how it is.

What a great place to go for lunch, brunch or even a quick Coffee. Always met with happy staff, and fantastic service.

Lovely place on the waterside. Rooms are nice and clean. Staff are friendly and polite. Ample parking, shops close by

Always great to come back to the restaurant. And they never disappoint👍

Fast efficient service. Lovely setting eating inside or out. Reasonable prices. Good service. Easy parking. Eating only, didn't stay in rooms.

The food is amazing, and their roast dinners are an absolute stand out. The drinks selection is also great. The only downsides are that it's expensive for what it is, and the service can often leave a little to be desired. The bathrooms aren't clean, the bar staff sometimes take a little time to notice you, and you can be turned away from the restaurant for not having a booking when the restaurant itself is empty, and stays that way. As a heads up for anyone visiting, make sure you register your car or you will be fined.

Restaurant! Very little on the menu, we left without ordering, but seemed a nice please

A lovely location situated by the marina. Don't be put off by the first sight of the building - we thought it looked like an old run down warehouse but then perhaps that was the idea! Reception was dark and gloomy (and unmanned - we waited ages before someone turned up) also the corridors are a bit dismal but again maybe because keeping the authentication of the building? Food was excellent with a good choice and sensible prices. Very popular with the locals. We found our room to be a bit small but it was well stocked, clean and had a lovely view of the marina.

Went in for a meal and drinks, came out to a parking ticket. Food was good, drinks not too expensive but the lack of parking or parking charges for a half decent stay to eat a meal makes it a bitter lemon.

Had the very nice room 15 with a view of the marina. Dinner and breakfast excellent. Service quick and friendly

Grateful to use the toilets will pop back for a Gin and tonic soon x

Beautiful location. Plenty of outdoor seating. Limited drinks choice (lager and cider)

Had Fish and chips there on Friday evening. Good vibes and decent place

Stayed for one night, we were above a Co-op store which was very noisy and opened at 6am. Room looked tired and really needs a refresh as does the bathroom. Restaurant food was average but breakfast was good. Staff were excellent throughout our brief stay. Useful place to stay for Chatham Maritime Museum.

The breakfast was not as good as it once was, many of the ingredients have definitely been of a much lower standard and we felt disappointed. The bread was thin and not like the previous times lovely granary toast, sausage plain pork not tasty old English and I understand many people may prefer these but it was somewhere we looked forward to visiting regularly because of the quality of the food. Will not be returning for the breakfast.

Was in the area visiting friends, went for a walk down the docks, and nipped in for a Beer, not a great choice of beer on offer, lots of the same. For me, I am not a fan of fish or the smell, and the restaurant smelt of fish!! Sat outside with our drinks and watched the world go by!

For clarity, we did not stay in the hotel and ate at the restaurant as a couple. I ordered a steak priced at £28 and requested it to be medium rare. Half of the steak was well done and the other half was rare - my plate was covered in oil as well. The chips were also very cold. My partners chicken burger was also overcooked and dry. If we are paying that much for a steak and burger at a pub, we at the very least expect it to be cooked correctly, we're incredibly disappointed. Additionally, being told to collect our own cutterly and napkins from under the gazebo seem like a kick in the teeth considering the quality of the food. We will not be eating here again.

Food was absolutely amazing and really reasonably priced

Four friends came here for a meal. Myself a vegan and wheat free diet, but as there was no food on the menu for me i had to put up with a very dry root burger and a very small portion of chips. I could not have the roll but even though it comes in the price of £14 and made for a empty lookin plate i was not offered a exchange. Another had a Steak and Ale pie which contained only onions, she did complain but no action taken. The other two had burgers which where dry and like shoe leather. The couple opposite had fish and a chip and sent it back three times. The resturant has a great view over the river, but does not excuss the poor pricey food and the lack of customer service.

Decent pub with a good selection of drinks

Only had drinks here. Lovely place, tasty no alcohol coolers and good selection of real ale on offer. A criticism is that the drinks available could be easier to see - like a drinks menu on the tables as we wanted 2 no alcohol drinks but not fizzy. What we were offered were great but at the suggestion of bar staff. Food looked very nice but we only had drinks. We will return for dinner another time

We did not stay at the hotel, just visited the restaurant. Service and staff i could not fault at all, very friendly and efficient. Unfortunately for me the food was poor. I had the steak pie and mash, it had a fancy name but cant remember. The pie was lovely, then it went down ill fast. The mash was watery but i could of put up with that, the veg was terrible. The veg was as if kept under a heat lamp for to long, very dry, peas where hard and the green beans very soggy and no spinach. I asked for fresh veg to replace but the replacement veg was the same which was very disappointing. The pudding was very nice, i had the gypsy tart. Then we went outside for a couple of drinks and the outside bar was very efficient. Just a shame the food let them down. I dont think i will return to give them another chance, such a shame.

Disappointed with our stay.. room had a view over the marina but nothing special. Bed pillows were uncomfortable & didn't get a good vibe from staff in the bar.. food was ok but sunday lunch was better.. would be ok for one night but booked for two & left early

Went here for dinner last night, lovely pub and restaurants area, great views over the harbour. We ate in the restaurant and Service was spot on, food came out at the right times for us, not too fast and not too slow. Food was delicious and they kept the drinking flowing. Thank you

Great views, great atmosphere, great food. What more could you ask for. Oh and booze. Definitely recommend

Lovely place to eat on a summer evening.

Absolutely stunning! This is one of my favourite places to come and eat! I'm obsessed with the view and the food is always fab!!

Foods are not good at all! They said if you take the burnt meat and tell the chef on your next visit, they would fix it accordingly, but they did not compensate. Never ever again!

A nice atmosphere and good food. The decor is nice and you can sit outside by the marina. Gets very busy at times. (3 stars for service is not intended as a criticism of the pub, it's just average pub service)

Solid pub and hotel - was clean, but exceptionally hot in the room. Made sleeping very tough, the fan provided didn't really touch the sides! Shower was nice but very low, at 6ft I had to duck to get under it

Popped in to Chatham view the Nao Victoria And had a cider to enable me to use the car park for 20 minutes.. Nice bar nice service freindly staff

We visit the Ship & Trades each year when travelling home from France. The food has been a bit hit and miss at times, but this year the food at dinner was really nicely prepared and presented. The Fish and Chips was very good. Breakfast each year had always been decent, and this year the cooked breakfast offerings were very good. Full English on offer or Eggs Benedict, Eggs Royale or an Omelette etc. All well cooked and presented. The only thing that holds it back a little bit is it is very much decent pub food and not gastro pub level. However you get what you pay for and it is decent value.

As far as location goes, this was very scenic but we weren't here for the view. the bread to share was not served with plates and when you are dipping the bread in Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar and there is a large number of people at the table it is very awkward. We had a variety of mains, three of us had the Sunday Roast, the meat was dry, the gravy was thin, the Yorkshire pudding was hard and the Roast vegetables (potatoes only) may have been cooked a few days earlier and warmed up on the day, steamed vegetables were available and purchased and they were over cooked. No condiments were provided other than salt and pepper but we did after asking get a mint concoction for those with the Lamb Roast. If we were looking for pub grub then this would be middle of the road. The wine list was adequate. We opted not to order coffee or desserts, choosing to walk to nearby chain establishments for those.

Not as busy on a Saturday as in the past but still good.

Just had dinner and drinks here, both the food and service was brilliant, would definitely recommend.

The room was really hot and you can't open the windows enough. A fan is provided, but although it was efficient it was noisy. We sat outside, very nice, and ordered 2 steak pies. Disappointed to say the least! Rock hard, minimal filling, just awful. I sent mine back and got a burger instead. My daughters pasta looked dry and bland. The manager was great and did what he could to resolve our issues. We rarely complain, but I wouldn't recommend eating here. Good location for a few drinks, but eat elsewhere...

Had a great dinner, friendly staff

Breakfast was delicious. Staff are not so friendly but that's ok. Restaurant has great atmosphere and clean.

Didn't stay at the hotel but stopped for a meal and some very nice ales. Food, beer and service was pretty much faultless on a sunny Saturday evening, in great surroundings.

100 % food lovely cooked service excellent. Staff very friendly and helpful xx

It's a bang average pub/ dinner. Staff can't wait to close the bar at 10! Real shame as location is excellent but food and service average if I am being kind

Lovely beautifully decorated room overlooking the marina.

Nice venue and free parking up to 3 hours, which is nice if your driving, but never fear the fun doesn’t stop there, a pint of Diet Coke for the bargain price for £4.85 so you don’t feel left out from those who are drinking alcohol, if I’m not mistaken you can get a pint of beer for cheaper. JOKE

Had a good walk around St Mary's island, then a nice lunch in the Ship & Trades.

Quite a large pub with decent service. We wanted a Sunday pint after a sunny walk around St Mary's Island. There's plenty of outdoor seating, so we grabbed a table with plenty of room for four. Food is brought to you, but drinks are poured at the bar. Spicy chicken wings and cold drinks in the sunshine? It added something to a decent day with the family. The location is pleasant too because the Ship and Trades overlooks the marina. We'll be back when the sun makes another appearance.

Staying here second night tonight. Coming back next week for 2 nights. Can't fault anything. Highly recommend

Great place for a coffee stop when out cycling round the lovely dockside.

Nice pub far better inside than it looks from the outside, good beers,service and food .

Was a greate vibe. Beautiful location. Very modern. Great selection of drinks. The only thing that let's it down a bit is the wait for food.

Celebrating a friends birthday. The food was nice and arrived in good time. The waitress(tall with tattoos.) was polite and efficient. Over all positive experience!

Wouldn’t bother,meat wasn’t great, roast pototes where black, veg looked like it had been sat for days, and for the price wouldn’t go back again

I am righting this review 9-45 pm after trying to sleep. But they are carrying out maintenance very loud banging. So have been and asked them to be quiet. The response is that the kitchen is open all day so they cant do it during the day. If this is the case then I should have been informed before paying £130 a night. Who in their right mind thinks that starting work at 9-30 pm in a hotel next to bedrooms is this best policy needs to revaluate there position.

Great venue over looking docks quite pricey would come for meal on special occasion , having a drinks app would be nice to avoid cueing

Had a great evening visiting S&T great staff and lovely outside area.

Great hotel in a good location. I liked my room. The bed was very comfortable and it was very quiet.

Great breakfast. Lovely restaurant and outlook. Defo go again.

Nice but noisy pub more suited to the younger person. Good location by the marina. Food was just reasonable if over priced. As a senior would I go there again, I doubt it!

Lovely Sunday roast in the restaurant with beautiful views of the mains. Very welcoming and friendly staff

Great place to put up at. Nice meals, friendly staff.

Lovely pub with rooms in a converted warehouse. Good decor and food. Recommended

I visited the Ship & Trades with my family in April 2024. The venue is very nice and looks out over the dockyard basins. The food was nice and the restaurant table service is friendly. However, I received a parking charge a few days after visiting the pub. The Charge Notice states that signage is clearly posted around the car park but I dispute this. The gormless bar lady did not warn us about the car parking charges and there was no signage. We registered our car on the available consoles, but only after our dinner, so we had been there several hours. The system apparently charges you for "overstaying" after an hour. It seems unfair that you can stay for lunch, spend £200 on a family meal and drinks and still get hit with a £60 parking charge, basically for registering your car a bit later than the company would like. The bar is nice, but if you are going to visit, be sure to register your car when you arrive (or make sure someone else is driving!).

Only went to restaurant. Service very lovely. Food was good. Too many of us for time allotted, as they had to ask us to vacate the table for the next people.

We ordered 2 fish and chips and 2 pies. All of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals, no complaints. A tad on the pricier side but definitely worth the few extra quid. Lovely view of the marina with plenty of free parking up to 3 hours. This is just for the restaurant, we wasn't staying in the hotel

Like weatherspoons but more done up

Excellent food definitely recommend

Nice restaurant. Very busy and loud in the bar area on Sat evening. The restaurant was much quieter. Staff friendly and helpful. Food was very nice. A jug of water on the table would have been a nice touch. No complaints. Service and food was very good.

Visited for breakfast and it was very quiet. Staff pleasant and efficient. Ordered Eggs Benedict. Presentation not great and very small pieces of ham. Poached eggs cooked well and good hollandaise. With a bit more attention could have been very good.

Wonderful food and very pleasant , obliging staff .

Very good lunchtime visit . Really nice restaurant with friendly and efficient staff. Nice location and we all agreed that the food was very nice , we would return here again.

Thought the food and drinks were ok but way overpriced for Medway

Just went for food which was great had jerk chicken which was cooked perfectly if slightly under spiced sausage roll starter was great and salami and chorizo cheese plater also great 👍

Great food, very limited cocktails.

Excellent food, recommend the confit duck was delicious. Service and waitress really good. Price was very reasonable definitely recommend

I visited the ship and trades for lunch with my cousin. The setting and view are great as you look out onto the boats within the marina. My beer was well kept and refreshing our meals perfectly acceptable. My cousin had the fish and chips and I had the light bite crabcake. whilst I’m originally from the Medway towns I now live in the south west. When looking for somewhere to lunch, I consulted another relation who recommended the ship and trades. He said it was good. He was right. I have eaten here in the past, but that was a couple of years ago and a lot can change in terms of quality in the intervening time. I enjoyed my meal back then. I enjoyed my light bite this time. The best recommendation I can give is” I would eat here again”.

Terrible if you are staying here overnight, I'm in room 1 and all you can hear all night are the fridges from the CO-OP below, rang reception and they confirmed this but no other room available, ask if I was a light sleeper😡, Zero Sleep absolutely terrible

I had dinner on mother's day with my son , this was very nice and Claire was very attentive and professional.

Had lunch time meal. Lovely food and service, and nice outlook across yacht basin. Will visit again.

We visited on Mother’s Day for dinner as a party of 9, the food was delicious, we couldn’t fault it. The team are an absolute credit to this restaurant, we had a poorly 1 year old who was sick (twice) which we felt utterly awful about as we didn’t want it to ruin anyone else’s experience. The team were so supportive, kind and helpful and helped us clean up quickly without batting an eyelid. Becky in particular was great, she made me feel so much better about the situation and even boxed pudding up for us so we could take it home. We will most definitely be back, hopefully without a poorly child next time!

This place is very expensive with poor service it is not worth dining in. We ordered the beef ribs (menu stated with mash, mushroom, veg) that costs £19.50. The meal was served - after 30 minutes of waiting - was a plate of 2 pieces of about 3 inches of ribs. There were 5 slices of very thinly slices of mushroom and about 12 kernels of corn. I've also ordered a mocktail (6.50). That was a con! The mocktail they served was just plain, concentrated orange juice! The place is a disgrace! One server (old, fat, short one) didn't really care about service, it showed in her attitude and facial expression.

Good food and portion sizes. Nice haddock and chips and a dish of chicken with noodles and stir fried veg. Lovely sticky toffee pudding and a plum crumble . Nice decor and VERY good service. Plenty of parking and nice seating inside and outside overlooking the water, when sunny!

Been coming here since moving to the area 3 years ago. Not sure what's changed but since the new menu the food has become really, really good. The Sunday pub roast is among the top 10 I've ever had. Pies are yummy. Fish and chips really good as well. It has become our regular post sailing dinner spot.

Not such a good lunch today. We chose small plates with sides. My calamari were far too chewy and the batter thin and falling apart and very bland. Could not taste any garlic in the aioli . The broccoli side was very nice but not served as stated with sesame seeds - some other seeds used. Sweet potato fries and salad good. The aubergine small plate very nice but really really small!! A bit disappointing.

Oh my goodness. We took our mum's for lunch and the food was fantastic. Would fault nothing. First class meal. Thank you will be back

Calm neighborhood, small store really clode and a magnificent restaurant ! Very friendly and helpfull. -1 for the room because the banner next to my window was noisy at night. All and all , recommended ! Breakfast was delicious and fast!

We only dined, super beef short rib for me and my wife said her bangers and mash was fine dining. Bottle of Chateau Robin Lussac-St. Emilion was excellent. An espresso Brulee for her and a Rum & Chocolate tart for me. £80 so not cheap but excellent

Nice atmosphere, good drinks. Friendly hard working staff. Good quality food. Will definitely return.

the setting is lovely and as I live on St Mary's Island its very handy. But the food is mediocre amd the vegan offering is just bad. The service is average. I have no experience of the rooms so didn't judge those

We visited the Ship and Trades several times: An evening snack and drinks - the espresso martini chocolate orange, absolutely delicious, well worth trying and freshly made, so we could have decaffeinated ones. The snacks were ok: burnt ends tasted great but a small portion for the cost. The sweet potato fries were lovely too. Breakfast 1: 2 full English then Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine - the ingredients were quality and it all tasted good, service was swift and polite, sadly every one of the 6 poached eggs were hard, this was disappointing. Breakfast 2: 2 full English, vegetarian bap and American pancakes. Full English were just as good, no poached eggs this time, lesson learnt and ordered fried. The veggie bap was nice, good quality ingredients and allowed a slight change to the items inside. The American pancakes were tasty, light and fluffy and tasted home cooked, nice berry compote and cream was tasty. Returned for a few more special cocktails throughout the weekend. It has a great atmosphere, some good food too and great location. It isn't the cheapest but it is worth the expense when food tastes good. Highly recommend giving it a try.

Very nice place great food a good, running out of roast, but what we had was nice but a little cold, didn't say anything as we were hungry

Lovely restaurant geared up for the Sunday lunch trade. Roast available, plus burgers and vegetarian. Catering for families. Lovely view of the marina. Summer will be even better. Lovely, attentive staff, couldn't do enough for the diners.

Really nice place, good views and a great vegetarian roast dinner

Great place to stay, very friendly staff and rooms ok. Food excellent, especially the breakfast.

Really nice food, stunning view, price is a little up there

Disappointed with last visit for breakfast. Had salmon and scrambled eggs. Salmon was small portion and shredded (scraps) and eggs were not freshly prepared. Not up to previous standards and costly for what it was.

Disinterested staff who could barely say hello/make eye contact whilst being served. Kids from the local estate pitched up on the benches outside, no effort from staff to move them on. The whole area has the potential to be great, however it’s far from it. Won’t be returning.

Didn't use the hotel, just popped in for a meal and drink it is very convivial just a little bit pricey

Great Place, Loveley food, very friendly team.

Great food at reasonable prices.

Went for just a Sunday roast friendly staff tasty food nicely priced nice views