The Drapers Arms in Canterbury

Overpriced, tasteless, tiny portions. 9£ for 1 small Bao bun!

Traditional English pub with wooden decor

They have a great pimms on offer for the summer, if you know you know

Only a three for atmos cos we were about only people there at lunchtime and don’t want to blow my own trumpet… SPECTACULAR barbecue. Get the Pit Master and some wings. It’s enough for two. Best brisket ever. It’s all great. Going back.

Went there for the latest football game. It was good fun with a nice projector and drinks. The "Filthy Fries" dish was amazing!! 😋 Do recommend, though a bit pricey. I was interested in some non-alcoholic cider though they didn't have it. Hence the 4-stars. But overall great 👍

Popped in for a quick drink and was served by the lover Zach! Extremely friendly and very helpful. Will 100% return!

Great food and nice atmosphere! Had the corn ribs which were very tasty!

We called in on a Wednesday evening after our dinner reservation got cancelled. We stopped in for a drink and to make alternative plans but ended up eating there and staying until they closed. Between us we tried the Outlaw and PBJ Bao buns, the Korean chicken wings and the pork ribs. The wings were the biggest we've seen in a long time but our eyes were certainly bigger than our bellies so we couldn't finish it all. We were lucky enough to be there on the first ever Bandaoke night with Phat Gandalf and had a blast watching and listening to the other customers joining in. The bar had a great mix of clientele and Johnny and Zak made us feel really welcome. Overall we'd definitely call in again if we're in Canterbury and especially on a Wednesday night.

Was lucky enough to attend the kitchen relaunch at the drapers. From start to finish the night was amazing. Welcomed at the door by the general manager Johnny, his happy nature and huge energy was such a great welcome . Went inside and was given a drink by one of the lovely team, we headed to the bar area were the was a buzzing atmosphere and met up with some friends . Now let’s talk about the food . Probably the best Smoked brisket I have ever eaten and the absolute show stopper is the giant ribs with meat so tender it just falls off the bone . After stuffing my face and making my way through the amazing Asian street food menu a live band started to play and everyone was loving it . We danced the night away and left feeling very happy very full and a little bit sloshed . For me as an avid pub goer this place has it all. You can go in alone sit at the bar and the staff are always super chatty and friendly or on a group a grab a big table enough to fit everyone on , great drink selection and delicious food . I have already been back for the food many time since, including a cheeky takeaway . Cheers to the team

Sat down at a booth for ten minutes and waited to order by the bar. Didn’t see any employees walking around except some people drinking at the bar. After a few minutes standing there people at the bar asked if we wanted to order. They went up to call someone who was helping out. Not sure what type of operation they are running but it is not customer focused. We went to another pub and just ordered about 70 British pounds of food.

I love this place it is great the food is amazing, the staff are great, the food is amazing. It is a card only venue

We’ve been here a couple of times for bottomless brunch as a couple and with friends. Both times have been brilliant with the service being amazing and the food always top notch, particularly the Big Mac bao which is out of this world! Well positioned in the centre of Canterbury, if you’re looking for a lovely meal with a great atmosphere then this is the place for you. We will return.

Must have picked a bad Wednesday afternoon at 5.30pm. Waited over 10 minutes to get served although the bar was quiet. Seems they enjoy watching people waiting to be served while sitting on a bar stool using a computer. Eventually came to serve me at £29.50 for 4 drinks. Think you need to up your game a bit. We do have a choice in Canterbury and those that live here deserve better. Sorry but we won't be back in a hurry.

The food was great especially the Korean wings, waiters were friendly and atmosphere was nice

I have been using the pub since it opened. Now due to an isolated incident with my dog she has been barred. Loyalty to the pub is meaningless. I hope that dog owners boycott the pub.

Pleasant atmosphere and good service!

Attended a Christmas quiz. The quiz master was comical and got the crowd involved. Hard questions but great fun. The food is lovely but pricey. Food came out fairly quick but dishes weren't cleared for a while.

Whenever we are in Canterbury we stop in at The Draper's Arms for a light lunch, but sadly not today. As we entered there was a customer sitting at the bar with a dog. The dog launched itself at us growling & barking (thankfully it was on a lead). No apology from the dogs owner. My husband went to go to the bar to order some food and drinks, again the dog launched itself this time a cats whisker away from getting to my husbands leg. So much so that my husband threatened to hit it with a chair. Again no apology from the owner, but more disappointing was the lack of response in any way from the bar staff. Sad to say we won’t be going there again

A group of us shared the upstairs room....very helpful staff

We had our works Xmas party in the top room last night. A sharing buffet for 40 people. The food was really tasty and the staff, including the managers were so helpful throughout the booking process and on the night. Will definitely be going back!

Really tasty food, thoroughly enjoyed it all! I had the sticky pig bao bun and egg fried rice, followed by the loaded cookie dough. Waiters were friendly too.

Stopped in for lunch while visiting Canterbury. Has a South East Asian inspired menu and Serves an excellent and slightly unusual smoked beef rendang curry.

Came to the drapers arms for my birthday in august for cocktails and I was AMAZED. Tried ordering a strawberry daiquiri however they had run out of strawberries so the lovely Izzy asked if I liked blackcurrant. Izzy made me the best drink I’ve ever had in my LIFE! Came back tonight and asked for the same and this time she put cherry and blackcurrant. Izzy, you are the best. I have never had anything remotely as amazing as what she makes!

Celebrating my daughters 30th birthday with bottomless brunch, the food and service was excellent the staff made us feel really welcome and the prosecco flowed. Thank you tk all the staff for looking after us so well, would recommend to anyone

Gemütliches Pub mit schöner Einrichtung. Hab Cider und frittierte King Prawns bestellt. War lecker.

Quick visit. Good selection of after dinner drinks. Staff were friendly. Tables outside on the cobbles. Pretty area of town.

A delightful pub with a warm, rustic and welcoming atmosphere.

Great cocktails! 15% student discount ;)

The staff are very rude, they vape behind the bar and sit there “gossiping” about you and other customers, one of the managers seems very lazy sitting down all the time and the other seems very aggressive. Do not reccomend(the food was alright but could be better)

Nice place with a good kids menu option. And they also give us an extra scoop to kids ice cream 🍨. I like the food and the price is good.

Amazing staff! Super friendly every time I'm there. The menu us crazy good with some wild Asian fusion options! Def worth a go

The food here was very tasty although took a while to get to us (40 minutes). Surprising considering there was only 2 other small groups there for lunch. I suspect that was because we had ordered 3 of the rendang short ribs however. 3 starters came at the same time as 3 of the mains after the 40 minute wait which was frustrating and the last one 15 minutes later halfway through us finishing the mains. Satay chicken wings didn't taste of much, I would probably go for a different flavour next time. My wife said the bao buns and ramen were very tasty. I would definately come again but probably on a Friday/Sat/Sun when hopefully areas other than the food would be more on point.

Sat outside- could hear the church bells. The staff are wonderful and lovely- got served immediately and food took only 5 minutes. Food was super delicious too.

Nice outdoor seating area in an ideal location. Great for dog/people-watching. Selection of drinks was good, would visit again

Filthy! Not much more to say about the place. Looks a lovely spot for a drink or a snack. However, from the tables to the rancid toilets…top to bottom…filthy. Stay away! Not even one star but had to put something in to place the post.

Nice ambience. Good collection of drinks. Lots yummy food options. Friendly staff.

Great location for refreshments while shopping didn't get a chance to try food but looked pretty good.

Un super endroit pour boire un verre ou même manger ! Prix très abordables et serveur/euses adorables !

It's nice. Friendly staff. Great views. Lovely atmosphere

The food quality, service and setting are excellent. The problem is there is limited choice as the menu is very much inspired from East Asia - which is very good! Worth a visit!

Loved everything about this place! The food is amazing, great vibe and great staff! Also dog friendly!

Tried to book bottomless brunch for Good Friday, email clearly states booking was only an enquiry and confirmation of booking would be sent shortly. 24 hours before our booking we had no confirmation and emails/instagram messages ignored so went elsewhere. Shame as it looked like it would be good! Ended up having a great bottomless brunch elsewhere in the town

Really overpriced for what it is. I had a fried chicken bao bun (pictured) which was £8 for a single bun with one small piece of chicken, that was smothered in a sauce that tasted suspiciously similar to sriracha. The fries were £4 and were essentially just oven chips with a bit of seasoning on top. I had some chicken gyoza on the side which were nice but seemed like they were straight out of a packet. The staff were efficient but didn't even crack a smile. After paying £19 plus service charge, I left still hungry. I get that prices are rising everywhere at the moment, but this was really not up to scratch.

Cool spot with chilled atmosphere Very Good Guinness on tap, clearly seen on photos 😀

Very friendly staff. Highly recommend. Great experience

Pleasant atmosphere and reasonably priced.

They do not specialize in coffee but you can get the best latte with a shot of baileys for more than €1 less than any of the coffee shops and they don’t serve theirs with Bailey’s 😮😎💕 served by the most handsome and accommodating Matt and Shea . Matt actually went next door to get me an extra large mug. Now that is service Check it out!!!! ••••such a great deal for a latte; went back again a second day. Izzy took great care of me. Made a wonderful latte and of course accompanied it with a shot of Baileys PRICE €2.70. Everywhere else without the Baileys €4. SERIOUSLY!

Excellent customer service and the cauliflower bao buns were delicious!!

Really great that they do 20% discount for blue light card holders. Should note cocktails are on daught not hand made so still pretty expensive even with the discount. Good food and loads of seating.

Visited on a Sunday for a drink and a bite to eat. Food was good, if a bit pricey for what it was. However, was very disappointed by a 10% service charge being automatically applied to our bill. There was no table service, we ordered at the bar and then returned to our table. Not sure what the service charge was for and how you can justify automatically adding it to customers bills.

Only stopped for a quick drink, but it seemed a nice atmosphere

Beautiful place and amazing food. Very nice workers and very good closing and opening times. 👍👍👍 loved it and would recommend 💯 💯 💯

We have been going to the drapers arms for at least two years for their amazing Korean chicken wings. Tonight we go order as usual without paying too much attention to the new menu or the order we have made time and time again. Much to our dissapointment they have changed the wings to a breast of chicken, wtf? Absolute madness! Who ever made this decision should look at themselve really hard and fully understand why Korean chicken wings are popular and not Korean breast. Dumb! We will never be going back again and these guys have lost a regular customer.

The food choice is limited in respect of the type of food; this being a shame as the menu was previously very good. The staff who consisted of one person who really tried; hard;obviously this effected the service on a busy Sunday.

Nice location in the city centre. Staff uninterested. Shame really

One of my favourite pubs in Canterbury

Good vibes , friendly staff. Hadn't been here before and would definitely recommend!

Nice environment for a midweek lunch. We arrived at midday, and were the only customers there which meant it was a peaceful atmosphere. The menu is not extensive, but we went because we wanted to try the Korean style food anyway. The soy garlic chicken and egg fried rice were raved about afterwards, and the buddah bowl was surprisingly good considering it is really a bowl of salad with dressing. The fresh flavours, and the quality of the meal were worth the £25 we paid. The chicken was moist, crispy with a delicate flavour and the egg fried rice 'was probably the best rice i have ever had'. If we lived closer, this place would be 'dangerous' according to hubby! Visiting here was a pleasant surprise. It is a large pub, but with a variety of seating available, big glass windows so it is quite light and feels roomy. The decor is well done. When you think of pub grub, you certainly do not expect the great quality of food we received. I can be a bit fussy and am not too keen on pub grub, so to have an unusual and inviting menu where i would gladly of had a few of the offered items was exciting. Even the brunch options were a bit different and enticing.

Spacious place, quick service, clean bathrooms, and very very delicious poached eggs with avocado and chilli 👌

When it comes to brunches, I'm mainly concerned about the alcohol. It came at regular intervals for the 90 minutes - pray for my liver. They provided lovely additions of orange, peach and apple purees to be added at will to our prosecco flutes. This, and and I suppose the main element, was ticking every box. Then our selected food items came out. Wow, wow, wow. Colourful, cooked to perfection, crispy, sweet and savoury, just a dream. I'm not the biggest fan of breakfasty foods, so went for their "for the table" option, consisting of prawn crackers, crispy gyōzas, ribs and sweet sriacha fried wings. Divine. Combined with bao buns with a shredded beef ribs. Ahhh take me back. Overall, to anyone travelling to Canterbury, or even local to the establishment. If you're looking for a fun afternoon with friends, whether to indulge in the brunch, or there separately for food and drink, I would definitely recommend.

I was not expecting much for a place like this (pubs with various options of world cuisine) and surprised by good ramen and noodles. the only thing I didn’t like much was the saltiness.

I visited before a theatre show . Once again the staff were brilliant I wanted to play a joke on one of my friends that was with me by ordering some thing that was not on the menu . I asked the manager Jonathan if my request was doable & he said " we can make that happen " & they absolurtely did :) :) they went above & beyond to action my request & to make sure that the whole of my party had a fabulous time. If I could give the service & food more than 5 points I absolutely would.

Went there with my kids (aged 9) and although the restaurant is probably less suited to younger children, the customer service was excellent and the staff couldn’t have been more helpful to the slightly awkward needs of our kids! Nice food, nice beer, nice atmosphere.

Does the job, food isn't the best but the quizzes are always well done

The drinks are decent but they don't carry an extensive range. Food is excellent. Prices are a little high but not astronomical. Overall, a pretty good night out. However, I discovered after the fact that the staff had added an service charge to our bill, automatically and without informing us. Disgustingly unethical. Avoid this place. Additionally, hugely disingenuous reply from the establishment, pretending not to understand the issue. It's completely unacceptable and unethical to automatically add "optional" charges to a bill. Blaming their "till system" as if this is something they have no control over is bizarre and ridiculous. Would reduce from 1 star to none if it were possible.

My first taste of Korean street food and it was fabulous. A great location for watching the world go by while you eat, drink and chat. A well stocked bar and friendly staff. We were there on a Sunday afternoon so it was quiet.

The menu is Korean Asian fusion, I have not tried it yet but I am going to. The service is great, really friendly and the place gets busy.

What a lovely place, literally popped in for a quick drink on Saturday and thoroughly enjoyed it. Will definitely be going back next time we are in Canterbury.

Service and staff are pleasant enough but the food is awful. The Korean fried chicken turned up as just luke warm chicken balls liberally slathered in a sickly sweet Naga chilli sauce (which I don't believe is a particularly Korean 'flavour'). The Korean fried cauliflower was much the same. Both dishes a tepid soggy mess, with no hint of the double-fried crunchiness promised in the menu. The only suggestion that these items might be Korean were the sesame seeds. Those were very good. The Asian slaw and Buddha bowl, unfortunately did not fair any better. I'm aware that Asian style 'slaws' and salads are supposed to be a bit 'tangy', but I reckon half an inch of vinegar at the bottom of the bowls is possibly a little excessive. It's not all negative though; the sesame seeds, once again, were delicious. The fried rice was tasty (with its garnish of yummy sesame seeds...) but I think I might have accidentally ordered the one from the children's menu as it arrived in a tiny bowl one might use for dipping sauces. A tempting menu that offers so much more than the kitchen can deliver. We left our meals mostly uneaten. I know this is a pub and not a restaurant but even the likes of Wetherspoons can manage to microwave up a tolerable plate of food. And the gents' toilet smells like it needs a good scrub with a bit of bleach.

Great food and atmosphere, gota go here 🤪

Korean chicken wings served under cooked. Very few f•••s given apparently telling the kitchen will suffice…………………….

Great food, friendly service. Ordering only at the bar, no app or table service. Menu did not specify that spring onions would be on the food so if you aren't a fan then be warned

Good array of gins, nice outdoor space.

Had a couple of drinks here in the sunshine over the weekend, very relaxed, friendly staff, well maintained bar and outside area. a lovely little pitstop.

Stopped here for some lunch and have to say that the food was absolutely delicious!! Korean/ Chinese inspired and so good. Cocktails were delicious too!! Highly recommend!

My daughter, her two friends and myself visited the Drapers Arms yesterday. I’m happy to say that we have visited here in the last couple of years and it’s had a cool vibe with the food and service top end. Unfortunately yesterday was different. A very tall, slim, heavily made up young lady involved herself in our service. Immediately she was tight lipped and dismissive as if we were flys to swat. If her goal was to come across as moody and magnificent ( too cool for school) , this was a dismal display and she failed. Instead her petulant, moody and childishness came to the fore. The eye rolling and angry stares helped us make the easy decision to move to a more hospital welcome. What a shame

The wine was good, if pricey. The beer was just ok. Food was nice but portions were small. Staff were friendly but there clearly wasn't enough of them and service was slow. They only take card payments which is silly.

Food was good, however ordered at the bar and service charge added automatically, no choice to opt out, when questioned later on the price, staff member was quite short with the explanation, still no option to make service optional, just wrong! Overpriced for what we had.

Lovely varied food menu all cooked amazingly. The drinks and cocktails are well made and service is quick and pleasant. The terrace is quaint and provides a lovely place to drink in the sun.

Staff were great a bit under resourced and food not brilliant needs a bit of investment I would suggest

Very quiet when we visited, lovely friendly service and relaxed atmosphere

Canterbury Christchurch University graduation evening out with our son. Few drinks and a meal in Canterbury so went to this bar for a last couple of drinks at 9pm . . ....1/ drinks are almost QUADRUPLE tge cost of anywhere else, 2/, they made such a MASSIVE issue about us leaving at 10pm we just left as we felt so awful about staying any longer than this 'very late tine'!! 😶😶😶😶😶 ... DON'T USE THIS PLACE...

My how things have changed – what was once a respected gentleman’s outfitters (“Deakins”) renowned for the quality of its merchandise and attentive service is now occupied by The Drapers Arms, a bistro offering “lip-smacking Asian ingredients” in a kind of fusion seemingly randomly blending the aforementioned elements with supplementary items of indeterminate origin. Would that there had been some continuity in the metamorphosis from Deakins to the Drapers Arms whereby quality and service had been maintained. But this was not the case in our visit of 20th June. The Drapers Arms (part of the Mosaic chain of “premium gastro pubs”) pays homage to its former occupier and aspects of the décor have been allowed to remain whilst the rest of the place has been dressed up in what passes for low budget “shabby chic” in this part of the world. Within the exposed brick walls and bare wooden floors there are random unstable tables and 57 varieties of rickety chair at which to sit. The place looked and felt slightly grubby, several tables were not wiped, the one next to ours not touched in the time we were there. Only two staff were apparent, a rather disaffected girl taking orders at the bar and a pleasant, earnest youth who approached out table (twice). They looked like students. We should have been alerted at the outset – in true Berni Inns style, one had to order food at the bar and to pay in advance – this ought to have been the indication that this was less of an eatery and more of a watering hole (despite the extravagant gastronomic claims). I was going to describe the food as merely “disappointing”, but, to be honest, it was worse than that. Believe me, I take no pleasure in writing this review, but neither could I take anything from any aspect of this costly and unpleasant experience. Neither my wife nor I could finish the meals that we were presented with. I think we had a worse meal in Bala, Wales, in 1998. This achieved a new low. I have experienced the Asian fusions offered by other corporate outlets which, although usually fairly anodyne, at least manage to serve meals of a uniform standard that are edible. We started with a shared Southern Fried Popcorn Squid with a jalapeño mayonnaise. OK, I’m prepared to accept frozen squid in breadcrumbs, but I’m not sure where the notion of “popcorn” came into it. It was “Southern” by virtue of the jalapeño mayo, presumably a nod to the lower Mississippi area. This was edible if uninspiring. My wife opted for the Tonkotsu Ramen consisting of noodles, bak choy, bamboo shoots in a pork marrow broth and black garlic oil. The meal that arrived was insipid and tasteless, the constituents flooded in a thin, greasy soup without a hint of aforementioned garlic oil. There were some tasty slivers of pork (not dissimilar to that that composed the substance of my meal) in amongst the bamboo shoots and floppy noodles. In an attempt to add flavour my wife went to source some condiments – not possible. They didn’t have any, no salt or pepper available to the public in this dining place! I ordered the Smoked Pork Belly with vegetables in a hoi sin sauce and BBQ sauce. The congealed lump of rice at the bottom of the bowl was eye-wateringly acidic and the hoi sin sauce obliterated by whatever else the meal had been smothered with. The forkful of fresh grated carrot that topped the offering was excellent and uncontaminated by the other corrosive fluids. The pork belly tasted as if it had been smoked. The young waiter passed by and enquired if everything was alright – he was already turning away, expecting an affirmative, when we stopped him and informed him that everything was not alright. He asked what was wrong with the meals and we explained. He apologised and said he would pass on our comments to the chef. He took away our half-eaten meals. He returned with no explanation, but asked if we would like a complimentary desert or glass of wine. We declined, having already spent over £50 on stuff that was inedible, we had no confidence that we would get anything worth prolonging our stay for. We finished the expensive carafe of house white* and the young waiter apologised again, but we hardly felt that this fiasco was his fault, and so we left. I notice that the Drapers Arms are advertising for a manager. I can only hope that this was an off day and the food and service we received might be improved with a fresh hand on the tiller. I suspect not. Quality and service do not appear to be high on the agenda for this eating place. As for fusion, forget it.  (A Viognier priced at £14.50 for 500ml which incidentally retails currently at £8.56 a 750ml bottle – “disappointingly austere, too much acidity and not enough fruit” – Paul Lloyd).

Honestly, the food was a little worse than I expected. The eggs were salty and the ribs were a little sweet. We waited for a while after the order was completed.

We regularly pop in for a casual weekend lunch and thoroughly enjoy our visits. It’s an excellent people watching spot. The food is really tasty and interesting. The staff friendly and welcoming. Plus, this is a dog friendly venue! Definitely recommend!

Has a lovely terrace, good cocktails and a student discount. Definitely recommend.

Did the Jubilee afternoon tea brunch on Thursday 2nd June very disappointing, no atmosphere and the waiting staff less than cheery, bottomless Pims when asked for 2nd jug was told had to wait then it arrived with the bill. Overpriced for what we received

I came here 9 years ago and had the worst restaurant experience of my life. So bad I'm still mad 9 years later! Mad enough to write this review. I waited 90 mins to have my order taken despite asking quite a few times. Food may have been OK but my word I just can't over how rude the wait staff were. I asked for a discount but apparently that service is acceptable and was refused. Why am I still so mad about this?

I went to The Drapers Arms a couple of times over the course of a weekend when I was in Canterbury for a wedding. I lived in Canterbury when it was previously La Trappiste, and was intrigued by the new style and menu. It didn’t disappoint. The food menu has quite a lot of Asian-inspired dishes which are very, very good and there’s a decent selection of drinks. Above all though was the service. The manager practically bent over backwards looking after us and was exceptionally attentive. He could definitely give lessons to a few other business owners/managers in customer service. Very friendly staff too. I was genuinely impressed and I’ll certainly be back.

Unexpectedly fabulous!!! Stopped by after my step-daughters graduation yesterday and was pleasantly surprised with some interesting, tasty and generous helpings of asian/american inspired dishes served with a smile by staff who were obviously understaffed but doing a great job - highly recommend! Thanks for helping make the day pretty damn perfect

We visited the Drapers’ Arms last weekend for an inter-generational family brunch ahead of my wedding on Saturday and the manager and staff couldn’t have been lovelier or more patient! The food was incredible and everyone - from grandparents to teenagers - thoroughly enjoyed it. Our dog joined us indoors and was very well looked after with a bowl of water. We had such a good time that over the weekend several of us returned on an ad hoc basis between guest arrivals/shopping as we knew there was plenty of space, everyone would find something they liked to eat/drink, and the dog was welcome. The pub’s located in a very central spot with the option to sit inside or outside, which was also a winning combination. Highly recommend a visit - we will be back!

Super delicious and generous portions! The ribs were very good! 100% recommend!

Always a lovely place for a drink, friendly staff, dog friendly and good prices

Lovely pub, great staff, really clean, great atmosphere!! Havent eaten there yet, but some of the regulars say the food is superb!! I'll be back x

Nice to see the venue trying to do alternative cuisines but parts of the meals were inedible due to being absolutely soaked in vinegar. The venue did however provide substitute dishes, which was nice of them. Ambience was very loud and a bit overwhelming for a dinner with family. Staff 4/5 Food 2/5 Ambience 2/5

Try the small roof top terrace while the sun is out. Good pub altogether.

Really good food, and a very relaxed atmosphere, great place to go for lunch especially if you prefer Asian style food

Beautiful spacious place. Good beer, good food and nice people!

Good selection of drinks, central location, bright and airy. Didn't eat there.

I'm trying hard to replicate the sweet chilli barbeque duck chow mein - so so good! Everything else was really good too - would highly recommend. The staff were friendly too.