The Ship Inn in Canterbury - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Excellent place to visit and for everything else. Strongly recommend. The oldest Place in Herne Bay a real piece of History and Culture. Should be on The kent Tourist places to visit ..

I've not been to Ship for years. I have to say the menu is extensive, The food tastes really good. I had minted lamb pie with new potatoes, and seasonal Veg. highly recommend.

Staying local whilst visiting daughter, thought we'd give the ship a try, glad we did, we both had the dirty chips with steak was delicious and very filling, but still had room for dessert, staff very obliging and good natured, pub had a nice feel about it, good value for money

Easy to book online, excellent menu, yummy food and fantastic staff. Only reason I have given it four stars was the lack of an accessible toilet for my mum who couldn’t manage the steps. Highly recommend otherwise ☺️

Just moved to the bay and we're working our way through the pubs! Pub #1 was top class! Food delicious. They do pie and mash! Great views of sea, super dog friendly, and cold beer. 👍

You've done a wonderful job with the Reno, looks fantastic

Bright, welcoming staff, lovely big and clean tables. Food was very good - great value for money as the portions were very generous

Lovely tidy traditional pub nice atmosphere and good staff, outdoor seating area facing the sea, worth a visit.

Very nice meal plus live music .. excellent..

Great service very helpful and very friendly old pub would recommend

Traditional town centre seaside pub producing good pub fare using local ingredients. However the kitchen can be a little grazzled and despite advertising itself as open at all times may suddenly decide to close. Best to book in advance if you want to eat there.

They were kind enough to open the kitchen a bit earlier for us. Everyone there was super nice and the burger 🍔 I had was FANTASTIC. It felt fresh and homemade. Real meat, real bacon, 🥓, real chips 🥔 I really enjoyed it.

We had a really lovely meal here. The food was great and the portions were big, so it’s definitely great value for money. They also have a big selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes. The inside decor is very nice, and we had a beautiful view from the window overlooking the sea. My dad would especially recommend the crunchie sundae (pictured) We will definitely dine here again!

Just popped in for a drink so cannot comment on their food. The building is quite old so the pub has a nice character. There are plenty of tables and in some areas they were layed for dining. There is an outside area too with several tables. There is a good selection of drinks on sale from mainly well known commercial brands. There is paid parking nearby and they have limited free spaces in their car park around the back of the pub

Love this place. Amazing food and very reasonable. Very friendly attentive staff

First visit ta ship inn amazing service friendly staff atmosphere was warming food was fresh and plentiful well worth the money

Visited here with the Mrs and daughter for a well deserved dinner after walking from Reculver Castle to Herne Bay and back (lovely walk by the way). First time visit. Upon entry, staff seemed a bit tense and sort of fumbling around. Food was ok but expensive. At almost London prices, I was expecting better. The atmosphere was lively due to the customers.

Very welcoming staff, great food and service. Thank you, would highly recommend

First of all... Actually 4.5 out of 5 Half a star deducted because my wife's linguine with chili & garlic was so hot that the guest should either be asked beforehand about the level of spiciness or should be informed of an increased level of spiciness. I then swapped dishes with my wife because I like spiciness and my second beer was on the house, so it was solved well and easily by the really attentive and nice staff! Otherwise it was really great! Eat good! Delicious beer! Very nice service! Cool atmosphere!

. No seafood no stake no muscles no fish & chips we would have gone elsewhere but it was late so couldn't waited 45 mins for a cold starters another table they forgot one of there mains . There was a sign saying no dogs allowed beyond this point . A couple sat had a meal with a dog that wouldn't stop barking . Never again awful place the Turkish restaurant looked lovely wish we had gone there if we didn't wait so long for our starters

Lovely place, great service but food was cold when arrived at the table.

Great food and amazing staff. Very welcoming. Dog friendly. Would definitely return.

Food very good staff friendly and helpful, Tony the manager is a good guy well worth a visit

I've been here a few times , nice pub and good food

Lower your expectations because most of the items on the Sunday menu weren't even available. What we could order was simply of a poor quality, and Luke warm. Most of the staff are very young and lacked experience. I suspect the management have a recruitment policy based on cheap labour rather than ability, which highlights the old saying "pay peanuts and you get monkeys" I feel sorry for these kids that wander about like grumpy sulky teenagers who lack any social engagement skills. It's clearly obvious that their managers simply don't train them up properly. None of the staff we encountered seemed to have an ounce of common sense or ability to think for themselves... We had to leave the table after our meals were served to fetch cutlery that had been forgotten...after dinner, an ice cream dessert arrived complete with a knife & fork?? Seemingly it was too complicated to work out that a spoon would be required. Two drinks (G&T+ a Red Wine) were ordered on 3 occasions because the 10 steps from our table to the bar was too much for the lad to remember what we wanted. Eventually someone else with a better memory retention came to take the order, only to deliver a glass of Rose'. The experience made us laugh at the calamity...but on a serious note its very damaging for this business because I'm afraid we won't be returning any time soon.

Our first visit to this lovely restaurant. Very dog friendly, food was lovely, great portion sizes. We had the best waitress, unfortunately I didn't catch her name but she was absolutely brilliant and couldn't do enough. We will definitely be visiting again

Good food. And lovely atmosphere. And best off all its a dog friendly pud.

Lovely old pub on Herne Bay seafront

Very nice pub, great pint of Hurlimann 🍻

Personally I didn't enjoy the food at all

We absolutely loved The Ship Inn. Staff were friendly and really accommodating, even turning the music down on the speakers for the autistic members of our party to feel more comfortable. We enjoyed the "Filthy Fries" and "Not so Filthy Fries", the gnocchi and the pork belly, as well as two starters (sweetcorn ribs in BBQ sauce and halloumi fries). Really tasty food and a nice atmosphere. They had a space where dogs weren't allowed which was helpful too. Highly recommended!

Our meal was delicious ...tasted like a good home made roast. Will certainly eat there again if in the area.

Excellent food and excellent service

Lovely pub. Great food. Fabulous staff and atmosphere. Highly recommended and well worth the price and visit. Go...you will not be disappointed. Gerry Colvin.

We popped in on the off chance. This is definitely a hidden gem. Food was great and ‘6 star’ Karen served the table quickly but not rushed. Will definitely return when next in the area

Had a lovely roast lamb diner. Good portion size, food was delicious. The waitress was very attentive and the prices were very fair.

We went on Friday we were welcomed by friendly staff. We ordered the fifthy fries. They were delicious the steak was tender and it was moreish. Then they had a lady singer who had a great voice the atmosphere was buzzing the whole evening was fantastic. Thank you to Nikki for great table. We will be back again.

Didn't even get in through the front door! Promoted as being accessible for wheelchairs it's not!!!!

Such kind and helpful service offered to us, on a very busy day. Lovely vibe to the place. Dog friendly..couldn't be more welcoming.

Local pub, great food and beer. Highly recommend the buillebase! Staff were friendly and grabbed good advice on the food

Great night at the Ship. Food was incredible for the price and the staff were friendly.

Wonderful experience from booking to dining. Friendly and attentive service, great menu choices, delicious freshly cooked food. The new owners are doing a wonderful job and this is a much improved dining experience.

Had the Bay Burger, so tasty! Cooked perfectly, even the chips were so good! Staff were really friendly and attentive. Recommend definitely!

Lovely atmosphere, dogs aloud, very attentive staff and good food. This time they didn't have the wine we wanted and the one we had taken instead was warm. But anyway a lovely place to go! 🙂

After a few culinary mistakes over the last few days, we really enjoyed the food at the Ship Inn on our last evening. We had delicious fried salmon with excellent potato gratin, homemade onion rings, fried mushrooms with baguette, baked cauliflower, “Not So Filthy Fries” - fries with peppers, onions and spinach, baked with barbecue sauce and cheese, and the Vegetable Stew. The service was very friendly and helpful.

The filthy fries are worth driving miles for!

We celebrated my husband birthday yesterday at the Ship , I would like to say how friendly Kelly our waitress was , she was so good with my grandsons . The roast we all had was very yummy , will definitely be back .

Very disappointed at being charged £9.50 for a medium white wine this is my local and I will have to think twice now especially if I have a meal too😕

Another visit to this superb restaurant today !2/3. for lunch. Excellent food (and chef)) and service, which I still think the best restaurant in Herne Bay. Thank you all Tony Green

FANTASTIC FROM START TO FINISH! We attended as a group of 4 for Mother’s Day lunch, followed by live music. The service we recieved was brilliant; the staff were so attentive and the food was so tasty and huge portions for Sunday lunch. The live music provided was fantastic! The singer was brilliant and really got every one up out of their seats to enjoy the evening. We had a blast, we cannot fault this place: the food, the service and the entertainment were all second to none, we will be back for sure. Thanks again The Ship!

Overpriced, average food. In terms of more info, most of the food looked anaemic, in terms of microwaved to be warmed up, and not fresh. Hard for a burger not to be a winner, it wasn’t. Skewers was in fact one skewer and a pita. Nachos unimpressive. For the prices would expect better. Sorry , just my take.

We had a very disappointing experience here today, mother's day. We were seated right in the middle of large party who were very loud and very intrusive to what should have been an enjoyable family meal. The seating layout was at fault, a large L shaped table for the party and our table was sited in the middle of this table, with the large party standing, chatting and generally being loud. I don't blame them they were enjoying themselves but no one should have been seated right next to a party of 20+ Ruined our rare family gathering. Apologies were made by the staff but poor table layout is to blame. Lesson should be learnt. Unfortunately we won't be back to find out.

Lovely pub with views out to sea. We visited 7th March (table 26). Really relaxed atmosphere, the staff are really friendly and attentive without being over bearing. We'd booked a table and we're pleased we did as it filled up fast and we can see why.....The food and drink was superb, we both ordered Sirloin steak with all the trimmings, one of the best steaks we've eaten, with chunky chips, garlic mushroom, tomato and side salad all cooked to perfection. Thankyou to all who looked after us. Steve, Michelle, Oliver (cocker spaniel)

Our table was booked for 6 people at 14:30 on March 3rd to celebrate my wife's Birthday. When we arrived it was busy the only food availabe from the sunday menu was Lamb, no pie & mash, beef or chicken. The Lamb Sunday Roast was the worst we had ever had, just a load of gristle, raw potatoes (2) and dried up veg. Paid a lot of money and all left hungery. Will never go there again, we live in Herne Bay and thought our family would have a good afternoon. Waiting staff were five star, but could not help.

My husband and I decided to drop in to see if we could get a table on Sunday afternoon. We were in luck except the place was quite full. I would have given 5 stars other than, we wanted the roast beef, but sadly, they had run out, so we both opted for the roast pork which was delicious. A good quantity of meat with succulent crackling, 2 Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes on the plate This was accompanied with a large dish of fresh mixed vegetables as well as mashed swede and a large jug of gravy. We were also asked if we required any sauces. I had a huge dish of tasty apple sauce which looked homemade. We washed this down with a glass of wine and a beer. Having enjoyed the main so much, we decided to have a dessert and was not disappointed. I had blackberry and apple crumble with custard and my husband had strawberry cheesecake with cream. After that we had a tea and flat white. It wasn't a cheap meal but worth the price and we left a tip. The service was good, once again I would have given 5 stars buy they were very busy so it was a bit slow. However, the staff are all very pleasant, polite and welcoming as soon as you walk through the door. We will be visiting again next time we're in Herne Bay.

Had the seafood platter. Was super nice. Ultra friendly staff made me feel welcome as soon as l walked in. Enjoyed the sea view. I'll be back soon to try the pie mash & liquor.

Just had a really impressive vegan roast at The Ship. What a great surprise! Gorgeous food and the waitress was really lovely & helpful. We will be back! Highly recommended 😁

Good food, good coffee in historic place. Totally recommended.

We were looking forward to a good Sunday roast. We both ordered slow cooked pork, it was certainly not slow cooked as it had a lot of fat which would have melted in slow cooking. The vegetables were all so undercooked and so hard you couldn’t cut them with a knife. In fact we couldn’t eat them. We told the waitresses and they said they’d told the kitchen and they had said sorry. It was expensive as we couldn’t eat the veg. Drinks were expensive too. The waitresses were very pleasant and apologised for the veg problem . Two other tables complained about their food whilst we were there. It was so disappointing and we won’t be going back for another meal.

really good service and food was amazing and would definitely go again. only thing im really disappointed in is theres no wine list at the moment. although theres new wines coming in you should either have the old one and cross off the ones you dont have. or have a new wine list ready. there was a table next to me and they were very annoyed there was no wine list aswell. the look on their faces was not pleased. £10 for a large glass of newzeland is silly money! i could get 2 bottle of wine for less that stupid price.

Place looks shabby from outside, but was very nice inside, nice suprise. Staff were very attentive and helpful, we hadn't booked but wasn't a problem. Everything was spot on apart from the food, was mediocre, very large menu, I'm sure kitchen staff struggle with such a large menu. Skewers tasted like sausage on a stick not lamb tasting at all, mushrooms starter on ciabatta was swimming in butter and not very tasty. Salad with garnish was missing from my meal, so they brought it out in a small dish. Portions were large though if you don't mind that. Overall was still a nice afternoon.

Lovely food. Friendly staff. Lovely atmosphere. Wonderful afternoon

We had a birthday lunch for my husband who is 18 but 72 leap year. We had a lovely day. Food amazing staff so lovely. Husband now asleep on the sofa. Too much excitement for an 18 year old. Thank you so much xx

Fab lunch of prawn baguette and steak baguette. Both upgraded to chips.

We had a lovely evening with friends and the meal was excellent 👌 service was excellent 👌 👍 😀

Went for a ride found this pub what a lovely pub food was excellent and the bar staff was very helpful will definitely go back the only thing wrong we came out and found we had a puncture. Hi I'm not sure why you thought I was on a bike lol, it was my wifes car, and the puncture repair kit did not work as the hole was too large. Had to call breakdown and because it was New Year's day it cost £250 for a replacement. We will be back though.

For my 70th birthday I8 of us dined at the ship. Excellent service, great food. Nothing too much trouble. We all had a lovely evening,thanks again to all the team at the ship

I'm usually not fussy with food but the meat portions were extremely small, bland and the service slower than most places I've been.

Absolutely lost for words about our experience on Friday 2nd February, but I’ll try my best to summarise. 1 hour 30 min wait on food, very loud music and quite possibly the most rude and unprofessional staff I’ve ever come across. There was a group of drunk staff shouting, swearing and throwing drinks (yes you heard that right!) absolutely unbelievable. Do they not have any managers?! Totally spoiled our evening. Cannot believe this is the sister pub of the Chestfield barn as have never had a bad experience there, and their staff are very friendly and professional. This pub is ruining their reputation. Unbelievable…

Down for the weekend to visit some family, was our first time in herne bay. We was out looking for somewhere to have some dinner and stumbled across The Ship Inn, As you walk through the door you could see it was a very busy Friday night. We thought we may not be able to get a table, however the two young waitresses were very accommodating and found us a table. We could see that they were a bit short staffed, but the staff they did was doing their best. We ordered that lamb skewers and meatballs for starter, both were very nice, then had the boullibase and pork tenderloin, and wow what can I say...pork was tender, pink in the middle cooked to perfection. All in all would recommend The Ship Inn to anyone visiting Herrne Bay. Thank you for a lovely evening.

Had a lovely evening out with my husband for his 50th birthday meal on Friday arrived just before 7 and was served by a lovely young girl. Food was amazing and the lamb starter was so tender. What a lovely atmosphere for my husbands birthday.

Visited on Sunday as visitors from outside the area. Hadn't booked but staff were very welcoming and found us a table. I had turkey roast, 2 of us had gammon roasts and one had pie mash that they were advertising. Turkey and gammon were all that were left. Turkey was nice, gammon looked so so, like two slices of ham rather than off the bone carvery type gammon. Veg was fine, roast potatoes were not quite warm enough and a tad dry. The pie mash was heated up so wasnt bad apparently but I didnt think it looked great. Its a difficult dish unless fresh I think. Overall not bad, drinks were fine, desserts were OK too. Staff were great

My daughter took me there for a birthday meal ,food was exellent ,well worth a visit

Not sure where to start! Lovely waitress to begin with but then she went home so was left with the dregs of "staff." Rowdy table of staff members who were a few hours into an after shift sesh with a random kid with them running about as well. Spilling drinks, stumbling into our table and then throwing a drink and soaking 2 of our party and then laughing about it. Complained to staff behind the bar who just laughed at us. Moved away from said table only to have them follow us and sit nearby. Kid behind the bar and drinking out of pints on the table... others swearing, shouting, staring, intimidating...all in and out of the door marked Private doing god knows what 🤦🏻‍♀️ awful atmosphere. Waited an hour for our food and was never offered any more drinks or dessert menu... They made it clear that they just wanted to get rid of us to carry on their session. Put loud music on and went out of their way to make us uncomfortable. Sent a young waitress over at the end to give us a discounted bill. If they hadn't have been staff they would have been thrown out for sure. Absolutely vile bunch of people.

I've been looking forward to visiting the Ship Inn since moving to Beltinge 12mths ago and last night was our opportunity as we visited Kings Hall after , pub was busy for 6pm , nice and cosy thought this is good , drinks order straight away and food chosen , could see tables were waiting for food , but no food , no apology for waiting , by 7.15 I ask service and they said soon but with that we had to leave . Waiting an 90minutes or more for food was not acceptable, I complained the young girl apologies and then had to pay for our drinks (£8) would of been a good gesture to say don't worry we're sorry !! No signs of a manager overseeing the tables and we were not the only table waiting and who also left with no food. Gutted . I was hoping this cosy pub could of been our local restaurant. I never complain as I understand being busy it's hard but we booked a table and many others were booked too so they knew it was going to be a busy evening . 🤔

Not sure where to start with this one. As the atmosphere created was clearly for us (and the rest who either don't live or work there) to stay away. We will 👍

Where to start!!! What an awful night. Probably the worst we can recall anywhere for years a if not ever. Arrived at 6 and was told that we could eat - all good. Ordered food at 6.10 - by 7.15 no sign of it. Asked the waitress and she said ours would be the next meals out. Three more table served and we just walked out. It was shocking. Avoid at all costs. Behind us were a table of incredibly drunk, rude and unpleasant individuals who were clearly staff. They were throwing drinks everywhere, colliding with customers, swearing and generally being the most disgusting people I have ever seen. Do not even think about this pub. It’s beyond terrible.

We had a table reserved with friends and when we was given our table we was sat next to staff members who had obviously been there from early afternoon. We was told there was a ten minute wait on the food which was understandable but...

We had pie ’n’ mash tonight and it was delicious. The best I’ve ever eaten in Herne Bay. We will definitely be having it again soon.

I've been there before and will go again. Sometimes, during the daytime, they lack serving staff. One poor bloke was doing it all the last time I went, and his table 'radar' when you want him to come over wasn't working too well

Wanted a nice lunch with our Family over Christmas. Newly taken over by Shepherd Neame, and appreciate good things may be going to happen was very disappointed. The Ship was nicely decorated, with plenty of Staff for the number of Customers. Sadly the menu let...

New Years Day we got together with friends for a dog walk along the seafront. We had coffee on the pier and on the way back to the car, decided to call into The Ship for a quick snifter. We were greeted with a warm...

Nice pub opposite the sea. Fairly standard menu but nicely cooked. The steak and ale pie was really good.

We had lunch at The Ship on Christmas Eve and it was a wonderful experience! The staff could not have been more friendly or more helpful - they were fantastic despite the pub being so busy! The food was excellent as always and a terrific...

Hi all, just returned from Xmas lunch at the ship, WOW what a day, the welcome was warm and friendly the food was superb , and so much of it! All 4 courses were fantastic and I repeat, so much of everything, the staff, every...

Booked a table for 5 to have a catch up with some friends before Christmas. On arrival we were met with a warm welcome and shown to our table. From start to finish all the staff were attentive polite and making sure we had all...

Had a lovely meal here last night, I had the chicken supreme and my husband had the lamb cutlets, both dishes were amazing! Staff are very friendly and made us feel really welcome going out of their way to make sure we had an enjoyable...

Lovely meal but yet again let down by the lack of heating and ended up wearing my coat during the meal. Why is the log fire never on? Won't be going again as fed up with the cold!

From the moment I walked in the three lovely bar ladies were attentive and very accommodating, lovely vibrant atmosphere! Staff were very friendly and were smiling the whole night. Pub is decorated ready for Christmas with a warm environment. Food was absolutely fantastic, beef stew was hearty and a generously sized portion however the dumpling could have been better as it crumbled and was not fluffy, but I won't mark down my score because everything else was fantastic! Starter was breaded pork with apple, tasty and flavourful and pork just pulled apart nicely, desert was lotus biscoff cheesecake with cream. Definitely recommend this place for a meal and a cosy drink. Thanks to the barmaid for giving me her spare lighter as I'd forgotten mine 10/10 all round. Also dog friendly, plenty of parking along seafront

Great service. Had a good burger 🍔

We booked a table for 6 people, we are local and had 4 friends visiting from Cambridgeshire and thought The Ship would be ideal. How wrong were we. The background music was so loud we could not hear the waitress or our friends. We waiting...

We travelled from Cambridgeshire to see some friends who live in Herne Bay. There were six of us in total. One ordered steak,one chicken supreme, one hunters chicken, one fish goujons and two beef stew. After a long wait the food came. Unfortunately all of...

Really lovely food, great atmosphere and the staff were really attentive! Also has dog friendly areas!!! We loved it here and would definitely go again!

A midday visit for a relaxed pint. Best pub in Herne Bay in my opinion.

Great eatery all food good and fresh service was great .

Wasn't very busy the weekend evening we called in. Food was good, service was okay. Not much of an atmosphere ! perhaps because it was quiet. Will probably try it again, it is a nice old pub.

Had a lovely lunch at The Ship with my brother and his partner who had driven down from Pembury. The waitress greeted us to let us know there was a delay on food as a member of staff had called in sick (so not their...

The staff are lovely, and the food is always really good. The Ship Inn itself is stunning inside and out. I really want to love this place as the new restaurant is a terrific addition to Herne Bay. We've been a few lunches now and...

We had a lovely meal here. The food was delicious. The main meals came with a generous bowl of vegetables. Staff were friendly and helpful. We hope to return!

Nice restaurant by the sea, the interior is warm and welcoming. The burgers are quality and generous, the fries great! (Remark from a Belgian 😉) My only remark would be the service is a little too fast (this may seem like a strange thought but you don't have time to sit and look at the menu when you are already asked for your order)