The Lobster Shack in Canterbury

Seated 11 of us. Food arrived on time. Great service and the best fish and chips I’ve had in years. Highly recommend. Especially for the sunset

The food was great. It's unfortunate that the staff were less than great. Offering table service and taking our order, then demanding payment including a service charge before we had actually received any service!

Such a shame that severe illness followed a lovely trip to Whitstable. Me and my boyfriend ordered a dozen oysters on Sunday and by the Monday we were both extremely unwell and this has continued to today. A beautiful setting in the Lobster Shack with the band playing so I would recommend just enjoying a drink there and skip the risks of the food judging from other comments this happened to others too.

I really cannot understand the negative reviews. It is different (which, as I am autistic, I struggle with) but I coped. The food was excellent (the "fish caught today" option was a little more expensive but, on my first visit, smelled so good on my wife's plate - whilst I ate lobster - that we just had to return 2 days later. I was not disappointed). The ordering system seems ludicrous but I would guess it is perfectly logical during the hectic summertime, so I just coped. The staff were, without exception, wonderful. Even offering an excellent choice of wine to pair with oysters (not bad for a waitress who doesn't like oysters, eh?). The local beer and wine were (surprisingly) quaffable. If I lived in Whitstable I would want to dine here every week. The only minor issue was an "invasion" of fruit lies (time of year) on our second visit BUT, they did not impair our enjoyment of the food/drinks. Thank you

We had a platter £105 not quite what was listed on the menu but items were substituted with other things, not sure why we had to drink from plastic glasses , the staff however were excellent, friendly and helpful We would visit again it is what it is,

An ok visit. The restaurant does not take reservations but we were seated easily enough at a decent table. Sadly - being a busy day in Summer - some of the dishes had sold out. Good was ok - lobster very small and expensive A good selection of local beers.

Lovely location for a drink with views across the sea. Bit awkward to find, but great outdoor space directly on the beach.

I am a regular to this restaurant as have a beach house nearby. I had fish(cod) & chips, and a few hours later I was vomiting it up and felt rough for the next 3 days from this food poisoning. My wife had lobster & chips and was fine. I contacted the restaurant and emailed the next day and recorded my experience, and was told they would respond. Obviously have heard nothing which is disappointing. Not a great experience unfortunately.

Went there on a beautiful Sunday evening, found a table ( dirty) at the back with lovely sunset view , Ordered Fish and chips for two , beer and water at the outside bar , it came to £52 !! And sadly the meal was not good , fish was rather thin chips were frozen chips , and drinks were served in plastic cups which surprised us knowing the environmental impact as they are all blowing around waiting to go in the sea . Been there before it was ok , this time we won’t be going back .

Avoid at all cost!! Fish & chips: fish was very mediocre quality, chips were frozen chips and not cooked through. No choice of any fries/ sweet potato fries. Salt & pepper squid was in batter and deep fried, no mentioning of this on the menu. Scampi Portion, no mentioning of them being in batter and fried either!! Half-pint of fresh prawns, disappointing quality. Wine/champagne will only be served in cheap plastic cups!! One can only order through their App. Payment needs to be done before food will be served. No mentioning that they will charge you a 10% service charge before they actually serve you!! Plus they charge you £0.25 extra for the online order. Which is the only way to get food!! If you want to order more you will be charged for both all over again! Ripp-off!! Avoid Avoid!!

12.30 lunch on a halfterm saturday and got seated inside with no waiting. Soon after, there was a queue. Lobster and chips and cod and chips were good. Actually reasonable prices. Don't expect frills. Staff were friendly and efficient. Beer was nice, the Aw Shucks is a very grapefruity one that goes well with seafood! Oh there was live music aswell, which gave it a bit of extra atmosphere.

This restaurant was a favourite but unfortunately today was a disappointment. We had the sharing seafood platter which was mostly defrosted seafood on a bed of water and ice. This took the flavour out of everything. The oysters were minuscule in a shell of water. The half lobster Thermidor had no claw so very little meat. The fish and chips were fine. Very expensive fir an unmemorable meal.

A huge disappointment. Never again. We woke up to a cold, grey, dismal day. "Let's drive to the coast and have a lovely lunch", I suggested to my wife. She suggested a lobster lunch would be very special. We were both taken aback by the approach to what we thought would be a very special restaurant. We had arrived via TomTom at what appeared to be a part derelict industrial site, near the harbour at Whitstable. We walked past a foul smelling tar and asphalt plant, then past a huge cement works up to the entrance to 'The Lobster Shack’. The entrance was blocked by a guy on a forklift moving building material. He courteously backed up his machine to let us through. The Shack proved to be a large shed with picture windows overlooking a windswept shingle beach. In one corner was a Woodburner and on the wall was a single bar electric fire. Neither could mask the fact that the shed was cold. The tables were bare metal covered long refractory type to seat maybe a dozen people each side. The whole place looked like a spring clean wouldn't go amiss. We ordered a single glass of 'Provence' rosé wine and half a lobster each. Whatever the wine was, it was certainly not ‘Provence’. We observed our lunch as it came out of the kitchen and was placed on the side awaiting the sole 'waiter' to serve. Without exaggeration the plates sat there for 8-10 minutes before they were delivered to our table. Unsurprisingly the lobsters by then were luke warm. Worse - they were both pitifully small and devoid of all taste. If the bill of £80 hadn't been demanded to be paid before the food order was given to the kitchen, we would not have paid for this travesty of service and food. The Lobster Shack is little more than a workman’s café with inflated prices.

Great destination venue hidden behind the harbour and we luckily sat by the log fire. But incredibly limited menu for somewhere supposed to be fresh from day boats. Expensive lobster, oyster or cod with Frozen chips and side salad, very ordinary in quality and portion. We tried to go off piste with crab starter at £25 .. which was incredibly disappointing had all the hallmarks of the small cling film wrapped ones we buy in the supermarket at £6. This should be a buzzing place full of blackboard specials and catch of the day but is really just a fish & chip shop plus lobster at £55 a head. Disappointing

Quite disappointed on my recent visit. Their online order system is difficult to use and by mistake order the wrong drinks. Ask if they could be changed as i had 90£ total order and they refused. I would have expected some latitude given thw online app are difficult to use. Also found the fish and chips to be not so fresh as expected.

Disappointed beyond belief. Sadly it would take seeing a lot of very good reviews on here before we ever returned. The place was empty, the staff all VERY young and uninterested, laughing and chatting amongst themselves. It’s an expensive treat for us but you don’t mind paying the price, if it’s top dollar. But it wasn’t, instead - poorly served and totally overpriced (£50+ for a lobster that was very small, £26 for dark crab meat mashed in a shell). It was very poor.

How poor, been coming here for years a lot of reasons. Drove 2 1/4 hours to go to my favourite seafood place. I should have known when it was almost empty. First thing I was served was a cloudy pint of beer and when I questioned this was told "well weve sold a couple already, no complaints"! I then ordered the dressed crab (£25) that just turned up as brown mush in a scallop shell. When I questioned this I was told thats how they serve it, she tutted and walked off. If you are a lover of seafood and like polite staff, avoid at all cost.

We only went here for a couple of drinks, the man convinced us to have some Oysters…so we did. They were great, it was just a lovely place where we sat in the little armchairs just chatting to each other over our wine & oysters. We didn’t actually eat a lunch of dinner but we’re definitely going to soon

Great spot for a cosy lunch on a bitterly cold December day! We sat around the fire while our food was cooked and then enjoyed oysters, mussels and melt in the mouth fresh cod and perfect chips. The only disappointment was the lack of lobster in the lobster mac n cheese which was a shame.

It was SO disappointing given that fresh fish and chips should just be a given. Chips were tasteless frozen unappetising and service was not great. It felt liek they rest on layrels of the location but attention to detail poor. They need a front of house person to greet and add energy. Local musician was a nice touch but too loud : (We also got a parking ticket when the parking appeared to be just for restaurant users - staff should advise.

As seasoned visitors to Whitstable, it had been a few years since we'd last visited the Lobster Shack for lunch. Previous occasions had always been great. The restaurant is looking great and had a lovely ambiance. BUT After ordering we were asked to pay in full for everything?!? New system it seems. We did even thou' we were a bit thrown...consequently we didn't order anything extra, drinks, desserts, coffee ..what a loss for them and us. Didn't get it at all. Sadly won't return 😞

I won't lie: I had my reservations ( which is ironic, as it is that they don't do pre-booking ) before coming here, based on the raft of negative reviews below. In the interests of fairness I have to say that overall, I was very pleasantly surprised. In our case, the first-come-first-served thing wasn't a problem, as it wasn't too full when we got there ( early Saturday evening ) and we were able to choose a table easily. No mention was made of needing to order via the app; although it's an option, we were greeted quite quickly by a waitress who was happy to take our order 'old-school' ( i.e. by writing it down ). Again, I don't know what it would have been like if the place had been busier, but our food arrived quite promptly. As to the food itself, once again, I can't find fault with it. I decided to try the 'day-boat' cod & chips; the fish certainly tasted very fresh and neither it nor the chips were over-cooked. As someone who likes my food, I would say that the portions were quite adequate ( I often find myself ordering an extra side portion of chips, but there was no need in this case ). Whilst not doorstep-sized, at least the chips were proper chips and not French fries or similar. The two friends with whom I was dining both had lobster, and they were quite happy with what they got. If I was going to look for gripes, I'd have to say that they're not cheap, but having done a bit of homework before we came, I was quite prepared for the prices. They do ask you to pay on ordering, which I wouldn't normally expect to have to do; at the same time, as one of my friends quite rightly pointed out, it's no different from eating pub food where you're expected to pay at the bar when you order. They do add a 5% service charge to the bill, a fact which was not actually mentioned to us at any point; once again, I came prepared for that. To be honest, if they hadn't added it to the bill, it's probably only about the same amount I would have tipped anyway, but I'd prefer that choice to be left to me after I've had the benefit of experiencing the service that I'm tipping for. There are ( presumably ) no starters, which is to say there aren't any listed on the menu ( although we weren't that fussed about starters anyway ). I don't know whether or not they do desserts; again, none were listed on the menu. They do appear to serve ice cream, but I don't know whether they serve it with anything or just on it's own. Overall a very enjoyable experience. Based on this visit, I would be happy enough to eat here again.

Unfortunately ate lunch here Saturday 5 out of 6 people (1 person who didn’t eat oysters wasn’t ill) the whole party came down with food poisoning that night and was extremely ill

Overcooked and small lobster. Wasn’t impressed at all - would not return. Maybe okay for a snack and a drink but I wouldn’t come back for the lobster at all. It was expensive for the very overcooked and chewy lobster we received. Restaurant and outdoor area look nice, and clean. But that doesn’t justify the pricing for low quality food.

Myself and my family visited on Saturday. Me, my partner, my dad, my nan and my grandad all had oysters. We have now got food poisoning. My mum didn’t eat any oysters and is absolutely fine. We have all been up all night with vomiting and diarrhoea, body aches, shivering and temperature. Such a shame because we had a really nice experience in the restaurant. Clearly a bad batch of oysters? I’m not sure.

Standards have dropped dramatically since i last had fresh fish and chips at the Lobster Shack a year ago. The size of fish was half the size, it was overcooked, cost more, the chips were dry. Very disappointed

Although I've been here a few times before.. doubt I'll return .. I had a half of lobster with chips ..salad . If you want to pay for what amounts to a thumb Size piece of meat ..even with a claw .. this is the...

Although the cos and chips were good. The Somked Salmon Ploughman's was poor. Not really a ploughman's more like a do it yourself sandwich. I have never in all my 60+ years had one with ordinary sliced wholemeal bread. Especially as those on the next...

Great restaurant with very fresh shellfish and fish options…perfect spot to enjoy the sea views..staff very friendly and professional..loved the oyster farm too

Great place for oysters but that’s about it. Nice staff but still managed to serve mouldy bread. And tepid chips. Crab tasted as if previously frozen - ie mainly tasteless. You pay as you order in case you don’t!

Gorgeous food, lovely staff and all in an idyllic location. Outside live music added great atmosphere in the autumn sun but instead of lovely background music, it was sadly too loud and you felt everyone take a sigh of relief when the (very good) singer...

The dish was unrecognisable as lobster Thermidor. Remarkable pricing as it was so much more expensive to order 2 half lobsters rather than 1 whole one and split the dish! Shall not go there again. We were so looking forward to lunch having travelled on...

The entrance area is confusing and looks a little abandoned. It was very quiet when we attended mid week in the afternoon. Staff not overly welcoming, and all looked a little bored. The food is expensive, and at £32 for half a miniscule lobster tail,...

Good location and service. Poor value for money . Ordered 2 lobster dinners and got the smallest lobster I’ve seen. Had better value in other places.

We paid 60 pounds for 2 stale lobster rolls, 1 chips A beer and a thimble of wine We felt robbed Very insulting to be served such poor quality Food. We left feeling angry

So surprised to read all the negative reviews. Don’t accept cash, got served in a plastic tumbler, the queues, the wait, blah blah blah We stood in a 30 min queue for lunch. Can’t blame the restaurant. It has limited seating! The fish and chips...

salmon salad was very nice. Friends had scampi. Sat outside, singer was there at our lunch, nice touch. Surrounded by sea and fresh air. Rustic feel.

Absolutely fabulous location on the beach, really helpful and friendly - but more importantly - fantastic gluten free fish & chips! Batter crispy and crunchy, cod firm and beautifully cooked (separate j t fryer) - served with generous portion of chips, house tartar sauce and...

Lovely location with a sea view. Good oysters, but no different from other local locations that’s accept cash. The fact this venue does not accept cash means an instant one star review from me. I find it discriminatory against vulnerable people who rely on this...

Disappointed with having to drink from a plastic thimble. Apparently you can have a glass water bottle or wine bottle but not a glass to drink from Also we paid in excess of 12 pounds for two drinks yet the staff totally ignored a group...

My family and I visited today for a coffee and some sea air (and some prawns) after going to Wildwood Nature Trust Herne Bay. This has been a favourite location for years. Their fish and chips are amazing, but there are plenty of other options...

Excellent food, great service, reasonable price, lots of gluten free options, lovely outdoor seating area, dog friendly, child friendly

Very odd to pay for your meal before you get it when sitting inside with service charge included before you even experience the service. My £60 lobster Thermidor was awful, overdone chewy no sauce caked in cheese. We weren’t checked on throughout the meal so...

Wifey, mumsie, dragon in law, wifeys friend and I visited here for wifey’s birthday. From the second we walked in we were made to feel welcome, not rushed, and our server was excellent and attentive and really really friendly. Thank you Charlie !!! Xx Our...

Having been a few weeks ago and had a lovely fish and chip lunch, we decided to take our friends here. We ordered the Large platter as a treat and a nice bottle of wine. We had to pay on ordering and a service charge...

Fish and chips ok, Shrimp & Lobster roll had no visible lobster and staff tried to say it was mixed in with the sauce! Obviously an excuse and at over £20 this was not satisfactory so they brought a small side dish of lobster to...

We popped to Whitstable for an impromptu late afternoon visit to grab some food. Fancied oysters and lobster. Our favourite go to place in the past was the Crab & Winkle but unfortunately that was destroyed in a fire so decided to give the Lobster...

Good food, place has a nice feel although a little canteeny! What I did object to was paying in advance to include a service charge when service hadn’t even taken place. Bit of a con as I didn’t check the bill until after I’d left....

It was a hot day when we visited and it was lovely to sit over looking the sea with a cold drink and some fresh prawns. Would definitely visit again.

Very mediocre food and service for the price, an upfront service charge was added to the bill on ordering the food, which was a bit presumptuous.

This spot used to be great - somewhere to show off for its location and ambience. Sadly it has become more of a caféteria - patrons churned in, mainly battered food churned out. Little choice if you can't eat fish and no traditional pot of...

My wife, I, and our adult son visited the Lobster Shack on 26 Jun 23 for lunch. We were shown a table, but no one came to take our order. We noted other people who came after us were seen too but we were ignored....

Super spot on the water front,Blake Sonet was singing live and he was great. Lovely food and service. Highly recommended!

I don’t understand all the moaning about the App. I am a pensioner and had no probs using the code thing (even in full sun) and downloading using 4G. Food was excellent - very fresh, tasty and served by super friendly staff. Can’t wait to...

The restaurant looks good & quite quirky however the customer service is poor. You can either download an app to order your food or wait for the staff membe however the app doesn't work on newly updated android software devices! We waited for 25 mins...

We were first greeted very kindly and sat down, we were first told to order through an app but our waiter Luka was very kind and Professional a long with his manager and solved our problems. We went to the lobster shack on a Thursday...

We went on the Monday before half term and dining options in the town were limited. We wanted to eat out as it was our first night in Whitstable. Nick had lobster which was served with chips . The claw meat was very tasty but...

Spent an hour waiting for a seat indoors, both had lobster was nice but personally think it’s over rated and over priced for the portions. Sure the lobster was frozen lacked taste.

Without doubt the absolute BEST cod and chips that we have ever had. Incredibly fresh. Amazing service. First class. Yes, pricey - but worth it. Take the waiter’s advice and order the cod caught that same day and you won’t be disappointed.

It’s our trip out from London lunch stop. Paid parking is slightly difficult but worth it. Completely authentic fishery area, nets, creels, rope, and an unmistakable tang of fish and sea. A short walk opens up to the oyster boat, and seashore littered with disgarded...

Lovely venue and food. Amazing service. Hats off to our server Luca who was attentive, knowledgeable and first class. All round. Amazing. Thank you.

Lacking atmosphere and service disappointing You have to order from an App and then the food all arrived at the same time. Food quality was average.

Nice place. Bit on the pricey side for what it is, but worth a go. Oysters are cheapest here compared to other restaurants if that's your thing.

Wonderful location right by the sea. Amazing seafood, plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors, weather permitting. Good menu and friendly service.

I don’t know what I expected but the way it’s written about on various travel websites, I didn’t actually expect it to be quite so basic. There is no love in preparing the food. When that food is oysters and lobster, I expected some tlc....

It’s our 5th time here. Went on spec as it was a cold day & too chilly to stay outside. We had to queue 15 mins. Not a problem as we’d managed to stand in porch. We were greeted by a waitress to explain the...

Very poor quality fish and overpriced with a service charge added My baked bean as an extra 3 pounds were served cold Masses of cheap chips and small cod My wife had scampi no better than a box bought from supermarket drinks also overpriced

It's a nice spot, the sea view was lovely as the sun set, but the staff aren't exactly warm. A plastic plaque on the table asks you to order via an app. Daft idea when the location only has 3G so it takes an age...

Mediocre at best for us. Ordered food once we managed to download the app and set up our details. No ordering without it and no checking if we knew the process. Food arrived quickly, all battered and fried with a strong taste of oil. Service...

Mediocre food at high prices. If you like your food fried straight from frozen it’s fine. On the plus side it was open on a Sunday

Me and my friend visited for oysters and fish and chips. We both came down with sickness and diarrhoea within 24 hours. A bug was ruled out as the other party we were with also had diarrhea and sickness, however her child had no symptoms....

We had lunch on 15th March. We were told we could not book but on arrival there was a table reserved. It was very cold in the restaurant and we were seated near the door. We got moved eventually to the table that was reserved....

We have been here several times and always receive such friendly service! The food is delicious and everything is so efficient. Will continue to be visitors when in Whitstable!

Visited while on holiday in Whitstable a few times, warm, cosy and welcoming. Great views over looking the sea, we didnt want to leave.

Almost don’t want to share this as such a lovely restaurant. Food delish and can recommend lobster,Oysters,fish n chips! Great vibe and dog friendly

We stayed in Whitstable for a few days. A lovely small town. Great location and lots of restaurants. We looked forward to dine here the first night. We knew there are no reservations, you just wait in line until a table of your liking gets...

Seven of us visited on Sunday 11th December. We brought along one very large German Shepherd and managed to bag the table nearest the fire! There was a reggae guy there, playing all sorts of songs in his own unique style, just as a few...

Friendly welcome, live music and great little place at the end of a walk. Oysters super fresh and good value as well. Would visit again.

We had an enjoyable time but that was because of the company rather than anything else. I don't expect to have cockles in vinegar in the Fruits De Mer - possibly out of a jar? I would expect fresh ones. We have had the full...

We downloaded the app before arriving and found it really quick easy to use. We chose our table and had placed our order within a few minutes. Drinks arrived nice and quickly, and lunch maybe 5-10 minutes after that. Good quality, nice location, nice view...

We had a few drinks on the jetty and then came in. Very friendly and a most enjoyable meal. Could not fault it. A true taste of the sea, perfectly cooked, with great service. We followed the the instructions and ordered on line, but ordered...

My family of four visited The Lobster Shack during October half term. We found the food to be below average. I also having an issue with ordering food and drink via an app from the table and having service added on. There were enough staff...

Location right by the sea, staff friendly and professional, food excellent. My first visit but certainly won’t be the last, very impressed. The manager not only cares about his customers but his staff as well.

Real Chips please!?…..Fish was great but frozen chips just doesn’t cut it. Staff were great and venue too….

All ordering is through an app! When scanning the QR code, a different app starts to download - this took an age. Staff didn’t offer any guidance and instead were milling about doing nothing. We finally downloaded the app to discover that we would be...

Hadn’t checked the recent reviews (live and learn). We arrived early on a very wet day, usual struggle with the app. Don’t mind app service at all. The frustration came as we had conversations about dietary requirements and placed the order as requested with notes...

I love fresh seafood and was so excited to try this place. It’s in an amazing location but the menu was super limited in terms of fresh seafood (cod, scampi, lobster and oysters- I feel this is all pretty basic) and you just order through...

Despite reading the poor reviews we decided to give the Lobster Shack a try. Visited this restaurant on Friday 23rd September - it was early evening and not at all busy. Some front of house staff milling around. Absolutely no greeting nor explanation of how...

Three of us popped in for lunch on Thursday afternoon. You have to download an app to order and pay for your food which was frustrating to use. The prices charged on the app were higher than advertised on the menu that we were looking...

A delicious dish of lobster and chips was just what the doctor ordered to blow away the cobwebs following a wedding the night before. I was very surprised that the seagulls didn’t hassle us when eating out in the pier either. Highly recommended.

Complete shambles. Such poor organisation, getting the basics wrong. Stood for 30 mins in a queue waiting for a table, and no-one was responsible for greeting customers and organising the front of house. So we, like many others, got fed up of standing in the...

We were told we had to down load the App to order. Trying to navigate the app and then going through the Menü for 6 people from 1 phone was inconvenient at best taking the best part of 40 minutes. No cash excepted!! Fish was...

We visited over the weekend as it was the Oyster Festival. A lovely restaurant, all the staff were very helpful polite and friendly. However food could have been better. The seafood platter was large, however no cockles or mussels. Price was £55. I didn’t like...

On a recent, lovely hot summer’s day we took a trip to Whitstable for a seafood lunch and decided to try the Lobster Shack which didn’t disappoint. Overlooking the sea this restaurant is well worth a visit. Our party of four ordered oysters to start...

Loved this place. Exactly what it says on the tin, fresh seafood in a relaxed atmosphere, no need to book and pay via an app. I had the oysters and 1/2 lobster with a pint of stout, delicious! Highly recommend.

Very poor, fish menu cod only. Cooked so badly that the batter was verging on burnt and very bitter. Chips soggy, grossly overpriced for inferior food. This place used to be very good, now a sad reflection of the past. Avoid

We stopped off for a family lunch on a day trip to Whitstable which we’d visited deliberately for seafood and this place certainly delivered! The table ordering app makes service quick, simple and easy to pay too. A great idea as it helps turnover tables...

What a lovely little spot! We came here for Friday evening drinks, food and music! The location is stunning with sea views, beach up to the border and the sunset! Lots of tables available when we went. You order food via the app which you...

Visited on a Tuesday lunchtime and had no problem getting a table. Ordered an oyster and a half pint of ' Wrack and Ruin' Ordering was done through an app and was a quick and easy process (even for someone in their 60s like me)...

We visited today after a recommendation (in hindsight wish we'd checked TripAdvisor in advance) . I was expecting so much more. We were seated quickly but there was no follow up at all after 10 or 15 minutes waiting until we realised we had to...