The Court Yard Oyster Bar and Restaurant in Dover

Went in this lovely quaint restaurant again for a Sunday roast but was somewhat taken back by the decline in service, we felt rushed by the front of house manager who I found to be quite abrupt and rude and unfriendly towards customer and staff. Cannot fault the roast. But I certainly can find fault with the FoH manager. A real shame she put a negative spin on what could be and should be the opposite to that.

I really wanted to like it more but unfortunately I’ve had better. Tried to book a table for Sunday lunch at our favourite for a roast namely 81 Beach Street. Fully booked so this place has a very high four and a half with TripAdvisor, called and reserved a table here. The food wasn’t bad so don’t get me wrong but it could have been so much better. An amuse bouche of bone broth with truffle oil was a nice touch and really tasty so off to a good start. My black pudding scotch egg was equally tasty with nice runny yolk. Unfortunately the main course was a bit of a letdown. At £17.50, fair enough topside was served rather than more expensive sirloin which in my humble opinion is much better suited for roast beef and to be fair the meat was of fairly decent quality and was tasty. However besides the cauliflower cheese which was excellent the vegetables were pretty inferior. The carrots, haricot vert and the cabbage were overdone to the extent that this accompaniment reminded me of school dinners and the roast potatoes were hard and tasteless. Par boiling and roasting in duck or goose fat would have made all the difference. I may be wrong but I suspect they were heated by throwing them in the deep fat fryer. As I said I could be wrong about this but the vegetables brings my rating down from a solid four to a three. The gravy didn’t at all taste like it was made from the meat juices. It was more reminiscent of Bisto. I really wanted to enjoy my lunch. Call me fussy but this aspect let the place down. Or maybe they weren’t having a good day in the kitchen. I would love to recommend this place but I’m really sorry but feel that based on that meal that I cannot recommend it.

Lovely place. We went for a Sunday roast and really enjoyed the food, including the complimentary bit of mushrooms soup- delicious. We were given a recommendation to try the pork and it was fabulous. Lamb was also nice but is pulled lamb rather than the piece of meat. Vegetables were varied and tasty but roast potatoes were dry. Desserts were great, in particular the cheesecake with butterscotch sauce. Friendly service.

Five of us girls came for dinner last night, firstly, what a beautiful, magical setting. The service was fantastic and with me being coeliac, there was a great variety of choice for me, I loved that the staff were knowledgeable about the menu, a magic egg, who knew 👍 our food was served in great time and was delicious and really well presented, I cannot find any fault at all with this place, and you can tell it has a good reputation, as the restaurant was full. We will certainly be returning when we visit Deal again, it will be our number one choice, thank you to you all

Have enjoyed meals before. So I went back for a wedding anniversary. Lots of choice in all three courses. Absolutely delicious. Service attentive with a personal touch by all staff. Throughly recommend 👌

Tip top restaurant, 'rammed' , but went out of their way to accommodate us. (a table for four) Quality efficient well trained staff. Great roast beef/lamb/chicken meals. Thoroughly recommend.

Fantastic reunion at the Courtyard. Food was amazing and plenty of it. Staff were great nothing was an issue. Great place for a get together or bigger party.

Very busy good roast beef and apple crumble

We enjoyed a lovely meal with friends whilst on a weekend break in Deal. The place has a lovely atmosphere with friendly locals. The food was superb (we had the chicken schnitzel, brisket and salmon) and the service was brilliant. Special mention to Harry behind the bar who really looked after us and made sure we had a fun and memorable evening. Give that man a raise!

Amazing roast dinner, lovely staff, great atmosphere... 10/10

Perfect for lunch. Warm sunny day, retractable roof was open and it was a lovely ambience in the dining area. Food was very tasty. I had a wrap and I couldn't believe the abundance of chicken in it. They certainly weren't tight with the filling. Had a lovely hour or so in there. Staff were attentive without being pestering, which I think is important. Very enjoyable.

First time to this restaurant would highly recommend for special occasion meal. Service and food quality excellent above all great atmosphere. When in Deal will return.

We walked in & sat at the bar area, no one was around, we thought it might be closed. We investigated further & yes they were open but staff were not attentive or very welcoming, more of an intrusion, this should have set alarm bells ringing! We were seated next to a full table of around 20 yet the whole place was empty?! No Kent gin but hey! Scotch egg was good, couldn't have the prawns because they were marinated with chorizo (?!) so had the prawn cocktail, disappointing, no flavour to the sauce & very few prawns. Burger was OK but chips soggy & the plaice was disgusting, swimming in oil & so overcooked for such a delicate fish. The potatoes which were advertised as crispy were a soggy mess, absolutely foul. We were asked how everything was & I pointed out the potatoes, the waitress agreed & asked if I'd like an alternative, just some boiled new potatoes, no problem. What arrived was old new potatoes & they were microwaved, equally horrible. Staff didn't know how to deal with a genuine complaint & they didn't offer anything, needless to say we did not pay the ridiculous "service charge". Would not return.

This is a great place to come to in Deal. We have been 3 times in 5 days and it is very good indeed. The staff are very friendly and professional. When I mentioned I love Halibut but usually find it sold out. They specially kept some for our next visit on Sunday. It was fantastic as was all our food there.

An excellent meal served by well trained cheerful staff. We were there on Sunday evening so a roast was one of the options, and it really was the most delicious I have eaten for a long time - here is a chef who takes trouble with flavors and really knows what they’re doing. Highly recommended.

Superb. The food gorgeous as ever and what a great team. Hospitality at its best. Warm, friendly and relaxed. Great atmosphere too!

Me and my husband had been here once before and really enjoyed it so thought we would go back for our anniversary lunch. The staff are all very welcoming when u arrive we both had a smaller bite and main off the lunch menu. The service was very quick and the food was spot on I couldn't fault it whatsoever we will definitely be going back in the near future.

Great staff lovely food very good set menu recommend this restaurant

normally i come for Sunday roast which is always amazing, i decide to try lunch chicken fajita, mouth watering flavour. polite staff great service around. thank you.

We very much enjoyed our evening at this restaurant; it's very casual and buzzy. The food was really good; we had sea bass and pork steak, both delicious but first we were presented with a very small cup of scrumptious leek & potato soup as an amuse bouche, a very nice touch. The staff were very pleasant and efficient, particularly Izzie who served us for most of the evening. Would definitely visit again if I ever found myself in Deal and would definitely recommend.

Really good evening spent here - took my dog who was made very welcome and food and service was brilliant- will definitely be going back

Great menu, well prepared. But it’s the service that makes it. Such a brilliant, friendly staff!

Excellent dinner, dog & child friendly! Lovely staff, excellent service and a superb meal for five people Highly recommend a visit

This place has never disappoints. Highly recommend

Busy for a midweek with a large party using the function room adding to the mix.food was excellent, and our waiteress was certainly on the ball.Big selection of gins and cocktails ,so something for almost everyone.

Spent the day in Deal, been told about The court yard, so we thought we give it a try. Well we are glad we did try it. The staff were nice and friendly, the food was excellent, and the drinks were good as well. I recommend this place to anyone. 10/10 👍👍👍

the food is just the best so much flavour, we had ribs the scotch egg fish and chips and steak.The only issue was steak didn’t come medium rare it was cooked however it was a lovely piece of steak service from Izzy our waitress was first class to warm friendly welcome . She read out the menu specials and the menu changes all by memory . Give Izzy a promotion she is an example to first class service . A great sales person great fun knowledgable passionated and convinced me and to have five Long Island iced teas. Ha The singer Sam Brothers is very talented and has a beautiful voice. This was a wonderful evening and we can’t wait to come back and hope Izzy will be there an employee to be proud off 100%

A hidden gem serving excellent, delicious food. Polite efficient service. Good vibes.

Beautiful place, staff are so lovely and welcoming. Would definitely recommend to a lovely night out and the food is amazing!!

I don't often write reviews but The Courtyard deserves recognition. We have visited the restaurant several times for a roast on Sunday. This is the only place we have found that is better than cooking a roast of our own. We are admittedly a bit fussy however The Courtyard delivers time and time again. In addition, the portions are absolutely huge and even my husband who has a big appetite leaves absolutely stuffed. They are very accommodating of our 2 year old and the kids portions are equally as generous. The staff are kind and attentive, literally cannot fault this place. Keep it up!

Couldn't fault this , delicious food and genuinely helpful staff 😋

Quirky space with a cool bar once side and airy restaurant. Service is very fast and efficient. The food is fresh, delicious and high quality with generous portions. Fish and mussels are delightful. Scotch egg was bang on.

Food was not as expected, warm not hot, have had better food exleroences for the price. Will return only if tjere is nonotjer option for a meal out.

Disappointed by the Plaice dish we ordered but the Eton Mess was delicious. The owner apologised for the fish and gave us a £60 voucher to visit again.

Great food, nice menu choice. The food was piping hot and well presented. We were served by Harry. He really looked after us, and made amazing cocktails. Thankyou Harry for making our experience here complete. We would definitely return again. Highly recommend this establishment

Really great restaurant. We visited on a Sunday evening and enjoyed live music and a great choice of food and drinks including cocktails. The staff were attentive and incredibly warm and welcoming. Was pleased to see that in their own words, they are 'very dog friendly'. We hope to visit again soon!

Never had a bad meal, the staff are pleasant and it's always busy.

Lovely restaurant with good food, friendly service and ambience. Highly recommended.

Absolutely amazing Presentation of the food was impressive and the taste was even better Service was brilliant with lovely cocktails We went for a meal but ended up staying all night in the bar afterwards Fantastic

Beautiful space and excellent food with lovely staff, AND dog friendly too!

We have always enjoyed our visits to the courtyard. Sadly yesterday we were sat adjacent to a family with two dogs one of which decided to urinate right next to our table consequently we left without ordering a sweet or enjoying a cocktail or two. Unfortunate.

Always a treat , yet always made to feel at home. Great food, great people, great prices.

Beautiful setting with excellent waiting staff. The food is great. I would like to see some more plant based options. All of my meat eating friends love their meals.

We had a business event dinner here recently, and the staff are super helpful, the food is awesome. Can't recommend them highly enough! Thank you for taking such good care of us!

These are my own opinions and may differ to others, I accept that. I felt that the service was rushed and some ingredients possibly pre-prepared. The Amuse Bouche was too hot to hold and the monkfish overcooked. That said, it's a busy thriving restaurant, so I must be the exception.

How did I not know this place was here? One of Deal's best kept secrets. Lively and vibrant with great food, served by fantastic people, what's not to love.

Chose to visit here for lunch (hadn’t booked) stood in a queue of people waiting to be seen. Sent to a table and after 5/10 mins went back to reception area and asked for a menu. Lunch time menu was given but no drinks menu. Then had to guess what drink we could have when finally asked. Ordered lunch, was a little too salty but ok. Wouldn’t go again though, as food was disappointing. Watched people around us having cocktails etc………. yes could have asked for a drinks menu, but felt as we’d not booked, maybe we weren’t important enough to bother with??? Won’t come again even though local

Best food in Deal, with excellent service.

Good food for my dad's birthday good service

Superior quality food and cooking, lovely refurbished building.

The fish and mussels were great, however the cheesecake dessert was an absolute abomination - no cream cheese in sight, tasted like dense whipped cream on top of shortcrust pastry. The service is average mains were delivered at different times, the water was forgotten and some of the dessert orders were also missed and were wrong (vegan request was delivered with dairy ice cream, so had to be replaced).

Casual dining with some interesting choices on a modern menu. Local cheese selection was excellent.

Booked for 6 people and 2 dogs, very nice service, welcoming and professional. Open air kitchen and well presented dishes. Food was very nice and freshly prepared and reasonably priced. Highly reccomend the schnitzel and fish and chips.

Been here 5 or 6 times now and every single time has been amazing. Food is always spot on, staff are always super friendly / helpful and the atmosphere is very nice. They’re also very good with our little Cockapoo Alfie! Highly recommended and looking forward to the next visit.

A little disappointed in the size of the serving for scallops. Mo

Didnt even get a table, the waitress refuse to serve us after waiting there for ages and decided to serve only those elderly white couples. If you are young and an ethnic minority, you wont even get noticed

Little pearl in Deal, good service, better food and very nice atmosphere!

I can only review the roast dinners here such are really lovely and great value for money

Lovely staff and food. Made our dog really welcome.

Very nice food and friendly service.

A private event for the Cinque Ports Mayor's Association fantastic venue. The food was excellent will recommend to friends and family.

Second time ive visited. Great menu and presentation. Would recommend

We all had a roast dinner. The food was put on the plates with bare hands. Veg and meat the lot. It was cold. And over priced. They got the drinks wrong. Was told its a nice place.And its not.

With a group of 6. Friendly staff and great service. Had the Scotch egg with black pudding which was delicious then Beef Burger with pulled pork as my main. Again delicious but filled me up so couldn't fit dessert in.

Lovely little restaurant. Food was amazing, really well presented. Service was great, nothing was too much, staff we friendly and quick with orders and drinks. No music in background though, but with everyone talking I don't suppose it really matters, but I do think it adds to the atmosphere.

Lovely Sunday lunch. Great food, good service.

Second time I’ve been to TCY my kids took me there tonight for my 60 birthday food amazing and staff exceptional

Love this place. The food is always good and it’s such a cute little restaurant. Atmosphere amazing and service is always friendly and timely. I have been a few times and will keep returning as it’s my favourite place to visit! Try it…you won’t be disappointed.

Always enjoy visiting this restaurant. Can't go wrong.

Fabulous roast - both the beef and vegetarian Sunday roast were delicious. Service was very friendly and attentive. The four cheese cauliflower was incredible. Lovely ambience too with the big skylight. Will definitely be back!

Great place, Fabulous food, friendly staff, served our party of 16 people, everyone had a lovely time.

Salad leaves with the starter pate not great.not great vegetables with the roasts apart from the Cauliflower Cheese.. Good.

Greatsunday meal.. and live music..

Really lovely restaurant! Great staff, food and atmosphere. Couldn't fault it.

Great food and catered well for a large group, great night.

Great service and food - really looked after our party of 8.

Very pleasant, old round. Good service. Nice stuff.

Amazing food. Really well considered. The roast beef was impeccable. Good attentive service. Expensive but you get what you pay for

We booked for Sunday lunch - what a fantastic restaurant- from the moment we arrived with our dog( medium size bull terrier) everything was perfect. Without us asking, the manager moved our table so our dog had space to lay down! We sat near the kitchen which was perfect as you could see how freshly cooked everything was. Food was amazing- we had roast beef and vegetarian roast- both fantastic. Veg selection was super tasty and Yorkshire puds were perfect. Great selection of wine and drinks. Very busy but service was spot on- friendly, helpful and proactive. Great atmosphere and wished we lived in Deal so we could go every Sunday.

The food was fantastic, and we loved the atmosphere. However, me and my wife were made uncomfortable when our waitress (who is 16) was groped by an older gentleman behind the bar which put her in clear discomfort and seemed upset which ruined the experience.

A comfortable welcoming restaurant. All of the staff were friendly and welcoming. The food was very tasty and we all cleared our plates. Would definitely recommend and will go again when in the area.

Great restaurant. Great food choice. Really quick service. Attentive and friendly staff. Food looked appetising. Food tasted lovely, arrived quick, was hot. Can’t grumble about anything. We hadn’t booked but we were seated even though it was a busy Friday evening. Staff were really accommodating. We will definitely return. Would recommend to anyone thinking of going here for sure.

Blue Orbit Web Design were asked to create a new website for The Courtyard. We created the initial site and then set the system up so that it could be easily updated by the client. A pleasure working with the Courtyard Team.

Fresh fish and chips, attentive staff.

100% perfect, setting, food, staff... all excellent 👌 delish. We had a selection of the starters, pork belly bites were gorgeous, camembert, bread board, scotch egg...all superb

Always a lovely evening in The Court Yard. My family all love it there. Top food and service always.

We had our wedding reception here and it was fabulous and the staff were great, food was scrummy. Highly recommend.

Was on the list of restaurants recommended by the owner of our holiday let - he said excellent Sunday lunch so initially had not looked at the restaurant for dinner - what a big mistake - atmosphere brilliant - staff so friendly and chatty and as for the food - AMAZING 🤩 we both had mussels to start with followed by smoked haddock with their special Magic Egg ( you have to try it 🤪) we really didn’t need pudding but of course we did - chocolate brownie and a blondie brownie all washed down with a very nice bottle of white wine . Highly recommend and the staff and chef on duty on Wednesday 4th October are a credit to the restaurant

We had lunch for four on Saturday 30th September, it was excellent. Food delicious, service not intrusive.

My 2nd time here and was even better than the first. We had dinner, excellent food, well presented and delicious. Harry served us and was pleasant and attentive. Looking forward to another visit.

A gem of a place. Great food and lovely friendly staff. We had fish dish dishes which were perfectly cooked and around £20 which included vegetables which we thought for the quality was excellent value. Plaice with capers and green beans and new potatoes with herb crust was delicious. Two members of staff Harry and Katie (the latter recommended a great place for us to eat in Sandwich) were both charming. I had a waffle desert which was indulgent! The only thing I don’t like about the place is the copious amounts of fake greenery! Other than that I would definitely recommend if you’re in Deal.

Went for a girlie lunch, was very well looked after, food was very nice,good food choices ,good prices, was a quiet time when we went but ambience still good, great, happy, attentive staff,definately would return

Gorgeous place tucked up a side street - lovely atmosphere. Fully booked but happily found us a seat in the bar and served up a delicious light lunch - genuinely friendly service

What a find!! This is a truly lovely restaurant! Trendy and very atmospheric but not pretentious or overly done, so it offers lovely relaxed, light, surroundings too. The food and drinks are absolutely stunning… we just popped in for cocktails and had three each - all different- but all spot on and beautifully presented. The bread and dipping oils were divine and best we’ve had in a long time. And we saw little mini soups going out as appetisers which guests were raving about. The service was very attentive but non intrusive too. Extremely clean too! Loved every part of it, will definitely be back - thank you!!

Walked in to find a dog and nearly left. To keep us there the waiter said they're going soon and he sat us some tables away. Barely started eating our meal and another dog arrived - he seated them one table away. Two seconds later two women arrived with three more dogs - again he sat them adjacent to us. We got up and left. Paying our bill we told the waiter we had mentioned our aversion to dogs in restaurants. With over three quarters of it empty we could only deduce he had no concern for us as customers. The owner was in the place but nowhere to be seen at that point so we told him to report back that we would not return. He was unmoved and we assumed our feedback would fall on deaf ears as the owner had already made a fuss of the first dog despite its owner commenting "he really needs a bath", and, after eating his own lunch the owner promptly walked back into the kitchen without sanitising his hands!

Great place, food and staff were great. The prices were very reasonable, decor was fab and a plus was the live music on a Sunday night :)

Great place to dine. Well cooked food and the waiting staff very attentive. Good quality food and priced well too.

We went to The Court Yard (T.C.Y.) on 17/09/23 for Sunday lunch. The atmosphere was good and the restaurant was busy. Our starters were fine (the scallops were beautiful) but the main courses weren’t good at all. The roast beef looked great (medium rare and thinly sliced) but was so tough that you couldn’t cut it or chew it; the chicken in Parma ham was dry and stringy; only the shoulder of lamb was worth the money being charged (£17.50 for one course and £24.50 for two). We mentioned the issue with the beef to our waitress but got no reaction other than ‘oh’. An expensive lunch with significantly below average roasts - maybe we were unlucky, but I’d suggest you try elsewhere.

We came here today for the first time for a Sunday roast and it was delicious. My friend and I had the shoulder of lamb and it came with roast potatoes, roasted root veg, cauliflower cheese, seasonal veg, a huge yorkshire and a boat of gravy. The food was fresh, it arrived to the table piping hot and the portions were generous. We agreed it was great value (£17.95) for a first class roast dinner - can’t wait to come back for my next Sunday roast.

Been here several times before and has been nice, although not been for a couple of years. Thought would bring friends as they hadnt been to the area before. There are now no specials and we ordered a variety of food which was nice but not amazing. There were no desserts that interested me but 2 of our group had the eton mess which was just a small bowl plonked on the table with fruit and cream and barely any meringue. The whole experience was extremely rushed which was a shame, as soon as mains were finished we were given dessert menus, then almost straight away asked twice within 2 minutes by 2 different people if we were ready to order. Very disappointing.