The Anchor Inn in Swale

Was lovely experience, staff were very accomadating and great service. Roast dinner was delicious but bit too cold, my fault I should've said at the time

Lovely pub which oozes a friendly welcoming atmosphere. Great service and equally great food

We popped in for a quick drink,nice ale was served and they lit the fire to enhance the cosy atmosphere. Food looked nice that others were eating.

Our first visit but not our last - our lunch today was excellent, the bread with dips was far better value and tastier than other bread offerings we've had recently at a similar price. Our main courses were delicious, especially my wife's Tartan Butcher's sausages (she doesn't like gravy or mash which is why she's got skin on fries and dry-ish looking sausages in the photo). My pork belly was excellent, the crackling nicely done and the burnt apple adding an interesting (in a good way) tart taste. With pleasant staff and a nice atmosphere the whole experience was one we'll look forward to repeating when we're next in Faversham for the day.

Lovely pub, nice homely feel, 2nd visit and just as good. Odd apple sauce with the belly pork but good tasty food and beer.

Went for dinner, expecting to do the beer and a burger night as per their website only to be told they didn't do it anymore and no burgers were available on the normal menu. If an event is no longer happening, take it off your website! We left and had a lovely meal at Papa Bianco.

Great pub, a warm, cosy wood burning stove , had a lovely pie and mash , Really good service from the friendly staff

One of our favourite places to eat in Faversham, and show off to friends and family when they visit. The food from the new head chef is always really tasty, and the whole team are really friendly, making it the perfect destination for good vibes.

Very warm welcome, Large choice on menu, fantastic food, great service. Will definitely return when next in the area. Well done on running a great pub with honest food 😁

Went here for lunch today. Freezing cold although they did put radiators on when I asked. Asked for skin on fries which they didn’t have so I ordered chicken pate with sourdough bread. When it came I had one small slice of bread which was never going to be enough. When I asked if I could have another slice they said it was another £2! How on earth can they justify charging that for one small slice of bread.

We've always enjoyed The Anchor with it's tremendous charm, history and ideal location; today we discovered it has got even better. My daughter and I and Elsa (Labrador) arrived for lunch and were expertly looked after by Drew and the team. Amazing food by Jordan and we will be back again soon

First time having dinner at The Anchor last weekend and we're already looking forward to eating there again. The food was great and we particularly appreciated the welcoming, friendly and efficient service, which extended to Duke the dog as well as his owners.

Lovely pub for a drink, warm atmosphere and lovely homely vibe but the food was horrible. Chewy squid, over seasoned and drowning in a slick of ink. Steak sandwich soggy, cold and the meat wasn’t rare, just cooked in some places and uncooked in others.

Find this place a touch frustrating, as it could be really good, but just let down by attention to detail. We'd ordered the Xmas set lunch & thus Turkey main that said it was served with seasonal veg, but wasn't. Instead of traditional seasonal sprouts, we got under cooked brocoli, which is spring veg. Like my veg el dente, but had to force my knife to cut through it. Secondly, the desert said it was served with chantily cream, it wasn't just squinty cream on the side. ? I know the hospitality is going through a hard time & it must be difficult in the current climate, but these are minor details that could help elevate the place. On a positive note, roast potatoes were spot on, wine was v good & excellent ambiance, etc.

Excellent lunch with my Father today. Very nice room, service was fast and very friendly. Good menu. We opted for the steak, which was cooked to perfection. For visitors to Faversham it’s a lovely walk to the pub/restaurant showcasing some really interesting local history. For locals, this is now a top spot, well worth a visit.

Absolutely dreadful meal. Completely inedible. Everything was so over cooked that I couldn’t even cut into the pork. Shocking

The food here is on another level. The staff are super friendly. The atmosphere is like an old school pub. I loved it. I will definitely be back.

We were a group of 6 adults of three generations celebrating two birthdays, booked for 12.30pm. We had a warm welcome and the decor and ambience were lovely - including the roaring open fire. We ordered a round of drinks and some bread / baked camembert for the table....also very nice. Staff were accommodating and allowed my elderly mum to make a substitution - thank you for that. Then it went downhill. I wasn't going to write a detailed review, however when I wrote something vaguely negative on The Anchor's Facebook page my comment was DELETED and then I was BLOCKED. So I decided to write this instead. I will keep it factual. - Offered jug of water didn't arrive - We were not offered a second round of drinks at the table. No big deal, I have legs. - Main courses took 1.5 hours to arrive, and then one of the dishes was not what we ordered and was sent back. Fortunately the correct dish didn't take long to arrive, - Vegetables were so under-cooked they were mostly inedible, so they were also sent back. The replacements were clearly microwaved. - We had to remind staff of our side order of cauliflower cheese, which when it came was of generous proportions - but they appear to have forgotten to put any cheese in the sauce - We were not offered any sauces/accompaniments - roast lamb with no mint sauce, beef with no horseradish - Pudding orders were eventually taken after one of our party had to leave, and when they came the fruit crumble (x 3 portions) came COLD and the sticky toffee pudding was rather lacking in sauce - The table top was too big for its base and the whole thing was wobbly - we nearly sent everything flying as it almost collapsed and startled all other dinners (was quite funny). - Food was tasty, gravy was lovely. I could have forgiven all these things in isolation, but there were just too many issues probably caused by inadequate staffing on a busy Sunday service. The worst thing by far though was the overly long wait... Overall the meal took 2.5h.

Family group of 18 visited for Sunday lunch, celebrating an 80th birthday. Food was really good but was most impressed by the overall hospitality provided by Drew and his team. Could not have been nicer, was really impressed.

Meeting up with old friends. Didn't eat, so I can't comment. This is as close to a traditional pub as I've been in recently, long may it last. 👏

One of the best burgers I have had. Perfect size, juicy burger, well cooked. Crispy lettuce. The bacon was crispy & added to the burger. Delicious sauce. Service was excellent & staff friendly and accommodating.

Delicious Sunday lunch. Lamb cooked to my liking - thank you. 😁 Chocolate Torte was absolutely scrumptious and gluten free!!! To top it all a great, chill out guitar & sax playing. Perfect Sunday afternoon. Thank you

Food was second to none but as guests you have to be quite mindful and patient regarding the size of the kitchen as food can take a lot longer to arrive than you might expect, particularly at busy times. Leave at least 2 hours to dine in full.

Never again the master brew was like vinegar , About half what was on the menu was not available, all sorts of excuses what we did have was not not very nice . And the person in charge did not appreciate being told .

Had been recommended this pub but sadly our experience was far from good. We had looked at the menu online and it offered a range of dishes ( or as we thought ) to satisfy us all. But on being given the menu we were told the butcher hadn’t delivered so the pub classics options of all the pies, sausages and pork were off the menu. Leaving us with the more expensive a la carte dishes to choose from.we could also have burgers or a vegetarian curry. We asked for the bar menu which offered ploughmans , which two of our party chose, to then be told, there were no baguettes or ham !!! My friend said she would have just a cheese ploughmans, which arrived as a dried up cheese sandwich with a pile of salad bag on the side. When asked by the staff how the meal was, which we replied’disappointing’ there was no apologies, in fact there was an air of take it or leave it. Luckily our company made up for the lack of good food and hospitality shown.we wont be returning. Advice to diners, check before you go whether the butcher has been !!!

Very welcoming and cosy pub that is dog friendly. Nice selection of beers and wine.

It was dog 🐕🐕🤗 friendly ☺️. Great big garden at the back. Very clean and friendly staff too 😁.

It is not possible to write s negative comment about the quslity of food - it was lovely and everyone enjoyed what they ate. They were also great with gluten free options. However, the service wasn't so great. It was 1 hour 45 between ordering and mains arriving. There was sn admission half way through that the chef had burned one of our mains, however, no apology, which was disappointing. On top of this, after our mains, our plates were left on the table and we were left with no offer of dessert or coffee. Whilst we appreciated the small gesture of a discount, it unfortunately goes no way to make up for the lack of service and care pertaining to the delay of our meal.

Lovely pub for a drink or lunch .

Mark and co have a genuinely lovely pub here. Nice environment and the food was brilliant and well priced as well. Will be back soon

£17.50 for a bland vegan burger in dry brioche bun and a sprinkling of coleslaw. Mediterranean baguette had a bit more flavour so overall the food wasn’t the worst but it certainly wasn’t the best. The service was decent but there seemed to be little attention to detail.

Had a really nice family lunch for 5 , ranging from 7 to 70 years old. Food was great for all of us, great kids menu.

Had such a lovely meal here last Saturday. Seafood linguine was honestly to die for and a great crumble afterwards - very impressed. So lovely to see the pub returned to how it should be - warm, beautiful and with such history and character. Thank goodness!!!

Giving two stars because it's a nice pub but the food is terrible. Went recently for their BBQ and paid £6 for a kebab that consisted of mainly raw onion on a stick , a cherry tomato and a piece of pepper and small piece of raw aubergine all served in a raw pitta! Lady on next table also had a raw burger. Neither of us complained, didn't seem worth it.

Great selection of small plates for lunch. Friendly staff and a lovely garden

To celebrate my brother’s life with close family. We had a table in the back room, very quiet. The five of us shared a large plate of mussels, several plates of prawns, bruschetta, chicken liver pate, some fries and a helping of onion rings. My choice of drink was the 1698 beer, a favourite of mine. The food was very good, only the onion rings were so so. I think white onions are not ideal and the batter was undercooked. Everything else hit the spot, thank you. Will come again as we have family who live locally. Nice staff. Good loos. Parking tricky though.

Absolutely amazing service, food and drinks. The new owners have done an amazing job. Definitely one of the best pubs to visit in Faversham.

Took my daughter for dinner last night. The food and service was wonderful. The ambience was warm and calm . No negative points at all - well worth a visit !

A real find, this place. I was initially drawn to it by a review some chap left singing praises to the Anchor burger that they serve and, boy, oh boy, was that fellow on the money! The whole place is quality - it’s a kind of a pub that one would expect to see in of those romantic American movie (The Holiday comes to mind) - the chap who runs it knows what he is doing - but, more importantly, really makes you feel welcome and at home - and so does his crew: the ingredients are locally sourced and the Chef does them justice (that Anchor burger is simply superb and do as for a bit of extra burger sauce to be added to it - you’ll thank me later), the atmosphere is spot on (there is no TV and so you don’t get your usual Hooray Henries in here) and the beer is brewed just down the road from the pub. In short, if you are ever in this neck of the woods, do visit - you won’t be disappointed. Wish I could come here daily as it’s that good.

Absolutely brilliant. Mark and Paige are wonderful.

Fantastic experience. Great food, good live music and brilliant good service. Macie, our waitress for the evening, was very nice.

Over 300 yrs of history with a warm family atmosphere.

We went to The Anchor last night to celebrate our wedding anniversary. What a wonderful welcome we had. A really lovely evening with great quality food and service. I'm gluten free and i really appreciated the care they took in this regard. Will definitely be back soon. Thank you for making our evening great!

So me and my partner had lunch again and she had a wonderful seafood dish which had a mega amount of different seafood in which also tasted absolutely beyond words. I had chicken schnitzel which again was very big and tasted fantastic

Pleasant afternoon drink, friendly atmosphere

Friendly old pub packed with pints n atmosphere

Lovely little pub friendly atmosphere nice beer garden food is amazing love the place

A barking dog in the bar all evening, that you could hear in the restaurant, not a great experience

First time here and the food was amazing. My wife had the seafood linguine and said it was one of the best pasta dishes she's ever had. The service was outstanding, making us feel welcomed and were very attentive. It's definitely one of the best places to eat in Faversham for us so far.

First time here and the food was amazing. My wife had the seafood linguine and said it was one of the best pasta dishes she's ever had. The service was outstanding, making us feel welcomed and were very attentive. It's definitely one of the best places to eat in Faversham for us so far.

One of my favourite pubs in Faversham. Lovely garden

Thought we'd give the Anchor try, to see if word on the street was true about its return to form on the food front & new management. Can honestly say we weren't disappointed, roast poached chicken was perfect & moist, as was the al dente cooked veg. The Yorkshire puddings tasted & looked homemade from scratch. We both ordered sticky toffee pudding for desert with rum & raisn ice cream, which was tres bonne. Definitely got my future custom 😋

What a gorgeous pub! We popped to Standard Quay for a wander and decided to get some lunch in the Anchor because it looked lovely. We were looking for something light and, as we had a child with us, a children's menu. We were given a piece of A4 with some very tasty sounding, posh meals on that were too heavy for what we wanted and nothing on there, except perhaps some chips, would have suited our son. A waiter appeared after about half an hour to take a food order, but we told him we weren't going to order food after all and our son told him there wasn't anything for children on the menu. He walked away without answering. We ended up with some crisps from the bar - which admittedly were very tasty, but left a little disappointed. Upon arriving home (and getting some signal) we looked up the pub menus and it seems there is not only a great children's menu, but a sandwich menu also. Perhaps we'll try these on our next visit because this really is a lovely pub with many gorgeous old features and we do love a hippy decor and giant fireplace.

A simply wonderful meal! Great value, high quality cooking. The venison and cheesecake were perfect. We will be back 😊

Food was lovely,service a little slow though.

Fantastic experience at The Anchor! Warm atmosphere, delicious food, and friendly staff. A gem in Faversham and dog friendly. Highly recommend!

Visited the Anchor last night with a couple of friends. Had a great evening and fantastic meal in this welcoming and characterful pub.

Lovely food, great atmosphere. Had a fun evening at the quiz night last night. Curry was lovely! Went a couple of weeks ago also and had the roast beef which was amazing! Will defo recommend and will defo go back again.

Great atmosphere, good wonderful. Staff went out of their way to help. Ollie was outstanding and really made our evening special.

This is a lovely pub and has been done up nicely. It’s great to have a drink there and staff are very friendly. Unfortunately the roast isn’t the best and unfortunately was very disappointing. Not great cuts of meat and watery vegetables. The potatoes were nice though. We will return but not for a roast.

Nice enough. Not the cheapest as you'd expect for the location. Lacked atmosphere and welcoming staff.

Everyone need to try this pub run by a amazing team good beer friendly and amazing food

Went for lunch with friends. Had a steak baguette with side salad for lunch. Sad looking few bits of lettuce and a small half of a baguette. No dressing even though it was supposed to have some. When queried we were presented with a tiny dish of olive oil between 3 and not the honey dressing. No cutlery until asked for. Really slow service. And no atmosphere at all. Overall a really underwhelming experience.

At first we thought the pub was closed as from the outside there were no lights showing but when we tried the door it opened to what seemed a busy bar area. Unfortunately it was another shepherd Neame pub which meant the usual beers and lagers on tap ie. Bear Island, Whitstable Bay, no lovely locally brewed beers from Gadds or Goodies brewery. The staff were lovely and friendly. The interior has been redone to the modern taste of every revamped pub, grey although it has a very cosy feel with the fireplace and fresh flowers. We only wanted a light lunch so looked at the menu, there is a restaurant area which was empty if you wanted a more formal setting. The menu itself was very underwhelming, sausage and chips, soup of the day etc a retro style pub menu. We chose the scotch egg for £9 and calamari for £9.50 and a side of cheesy chips. The scotch egg was lovely obviously homemade and came with a tiny bit of salad leaves no sauce, dressing or chutney, the calamari was thin, pale and tasteless with no dressing or lemon just mayo. We thought both dishes were very overpriced. We would go back again for a drink but wouldn’t return for the food.

Received a warm welcome by Paige & Mark who recently took over this beautiful pub. We ordered lunch & the service was swift. I had ham, cheese & tomato chutney sandwich & hubby had asteak, onions& cheese with garlic mayo baguette. Would recommend this pub to anyone.

A really lovely place with a warm welcome and an open fire. Food quality was beautiful and nice to see such a variety on the menu. Its a little tricky ordering with food allergies, i was asked to choose 3 times for my main course as i'm gluten free, which did detract a little. Additionally, only 1 dessert without gluten. A little choice would have been hugely appreciated. Otherwise, a really lovely meal.

Lovely pub, great food, and good beer. Highly recommend.

Lovely old pub about 1/2 mile outside Faversham. Food is excellent and the staff and clientele friendly. The are happy with dogs too which was nice.

Best meal l have had in a long time. Super atmosphere and service.

The first time we went for dinner under the new management was December, it was so fabulous we had to come back. Paige and Mark are welcoming, warm and very friendly. They know their stuff re allergies etc and nothing is too much to ask. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced. I would highly recommend. Thank you for another wonderful evening. Hopefully Shepherd Neame will give Paige and Mark the opportunity to continue with the tenancy as they alongside the chef Patrick and Jo have really improved everything about the Anchor.

Devastating that the new owners are selling up. We can only hope that Shepherd Neame keep the tenants, they are so helpful and lovely. I thought for a while that we had got our Anchor back. I’m fed up being disappointed so fingers crossed for the future of The Anchor.

What a fabulous old traditional pub The Anchor is. Beautifully decorated in estate colours and furnished like a country house with mahogany, sideboards, solid wood tables, and Harley Quinn chairs. The stone and brick floors slightly uneven in keeping with the building of such age. My wife and I had booked in for dinner, as we had done Many times before, and were met by the charming and very professional Mark and Paige, who showed us to our table, already laid up with rush mats and quality cutlery. Our waiter Isaac was well presented, polite and charming. We ordered our drinks which were delivered in quick time, accompanied with warm, crusty bread, and an olive and balsamic dip. My wife ordered the cod loin with a crumb crust and seasonal vegetables whilst I plumbed for the stuffed pheasant breast in a creamy mushroom sauce, wrapped in bacon, with fresh vegetables and roasted new potatoes. Again we didn’t have to wait long before our beautifully presented dinner was laid before us. The food was perfectly cooked, Hot and delicious. Helpings were plentiful and left us with little space to sample the delicious puddings that were on offer. All the food is home prepared to order by a very good chef and the entire evening was extremely pleasant while our needs were attended to at all times. My wife and I would highly recommend this superb pub, which is clearly the hub of the community at the standard Quay end of Faversham, one of the most amazing mediaeval towns in England.

Great pub does,say,on tin good solid with decent beer

We only popped in for a drink but will 100% be going back for food. The food we did see, looked incredible ! Fire was roaring a perfect stop off for a pint and cheeky G & T

I arrived at 12 exactly on a Friday and asked for bar food, they couldn’t accommodate, as the chef was toooooo busy! It’s advertised as food from 12-3 , I suggest anyone who expects a normal kitchen to operate with walk- ins, rings ahead or goes elsewhere - it’s a shame nice looking pub on the quay and staff were nice enough >@ Shepherd Neame, this is home ground , and one of your top pubs! …… what’s going on ?

Went here with friends (and dogs) over the festive period for dinner. Food was exceptionally good, with an interesting menu. The service was so friendly. The pub was busy so nice atmosphere. We had a table in the snug area, so nice and relaxed. Favourite place I've been to in a while. Good value considering we spent the whole evening here and had a great 3 course meal.

Polite and warm welcome, The menu was extensive and we were spoilt for choice, our starters arrived and exceeded expectations this continued with mains and the dessert A must for people that like good food We will be returning

New owners have done an amazing job, spruced the place up to enhance the character of the old building, good bar, and amazing restaurant - some of the best food we have had in a while and definitely one of the best in the area - good value too considering the quality.

Christmas 2023 return visit: it's been taken over by a couple who've run other Sheps pub for years. It has much more restauranty gastro vibe but retains the main bar bar area (on the right as you go in) for drinkers. The place is whole lot more pleasant but only Master Brew and Spitfire on cask which was a tad disappointing. Not really fair to give a full review until lockdown fully relaxed IMO and bear in mind we visited on the first weekend people were allowed inside. I opened with that paragraph thinking the range of cask beer might be limited due to trade not yet running at 100%. A choice of Master Brew and Whitstable Bay Pale won't ordinarily float my boat. But the pub retains an authentic olde world maritime-themed charm, old wooden beams and multiple rooms. It felt like sitting in an old sailing ship without the swaying (only stayed for one not-particularly-well-pulled pint) or creaking of the timbers. Staffed by a friendly seemingly all female crew, they were more adept at sticking to Covid rules than pouring a pint; too slow a draw and more concerned with filling to the very top than giving it any hint of a head. There's a big garden at back through which we had to walk to enter the pub. So keen are they to ensure a one-way system, it was a challenge to find the permitted entry. It's handy for visitors (mainly tourists?) to Standard Quay.

Wonderful greeting from Mark who took our order effortlessly.The French bistro menu had plenty of choice! The food was absolutely delicious and atmosphere lovely. Prices were good value for money.Our guinea foul was stunning!

Food was delicious . Service was good with friendly staff but only awarded 3 stars because we did have to wait 45 mins for our starter .

Disappointing with mediocre food.

I and three friends came for a celebration Christmas lunch looking forward to delicious food at a favourite pub under new management. On arrival we were told that ‘the kitchen was closed’ and no lunches were being served. I was told ‘I would have been contacted’ but in spite of leaving my mobile number no explanation or apology was offered. Needless to say, none of us (all local) will be visiting any time soon.

We went to The Anchor on a very busy Friday evening for dinner. The food was excellent. We particularly enjoyed the Hake, the Game Terrine, the Poached Pear and Creme Brûlée. Despite how busy and crowded it was, the service was perfect with courses served at just the right time (not too rushed but not too slow either). All of the staff were friendly and welcoming. We would highly recommend it.

Beautiful and cosy pub with all it’s natural history. The new owners have done a fabulous job at keeping it as a pub with a large bar area but also serving honest, very good food in an inviting dining room. Patrick’s food is legendary … can’t wait to go back!

We held our works Christmas Dinner here last night. Staff were very attentive, food was amazing. We never felt rushed and all meals came out the same time. Good friendly atmosphere. An amazing night.

The Anchor is now under new management and what can I say. Beautiful food and really lovely friendly staff.I would highly recommend a visit you won’t be disappointed with the high standard of food and very reasonable price. Well will definitely be back soon.

The pub has lost a lot of character since the refit. Beer was good though and the garden is very nice Update: the pub is in new hands and back to it's old self!

If you were told you were going to visit a 300-year-old pub at the end of the loveliest road in Faversham, the Anchor is what you'd hope for. Lovely pints, beautiful pub, cosy fire, excellent food and a very warm and friendly welcome.

A warm welcome from friendly staff. Delicious roast beef with a lovely selection of vegetables. Great ambience.

Loverly pub with great historic feel of old Faversham. Located right near the quey. Great food highly recommend. Dog friendly

Just reopened after being closed for some time, and the chef that used to work at The Bowl Inn has taken over and 2 of the staff from the bowl are managing. The food and atmosphere were excellent

Visited just after it reopened, fantastic atmosphere and delicious food. It is a beautiful building in a great location, and the staff were really welcoming.

The anchor is so much better now it’s under new management, I had such a lovely meal. Food is great, service is great and good selection of beers.

This pub used to be pretty decent, but went today and it's really gone downhill. Food took hours, waiting staff didn't take down table numbers and served up to the wrong tables. Food was pretty rubbish and low quality. Will be back again to see if it's turned around, because it used to be a good place, but not any time soon.

Beer was OK, baguette passable but the nachos were VILE. Nacho chips covered in what can only be described as 'green tasteless gunk', tiny amount of what looked like tomato sauce, 3 jalopeno slices and all topped of with tasteless HOT CHEESE SAUCE. ABSOLUTELY VILE.

Nice little pub by faversham creek. Lovely garden gets the evening sun. Very welcoming. Reasonable prices. Only had chips but probs best chips we've had for a while

Only stopped for half, had a couple as yhe beer was excellent... and a dartboard. Yippee, Igot some practice in! Friendly staff, nice beer garden.

Lovely shepherd neame pub with amazing history

Very picturesque place, however food was awful, even managed to burn the peas.