Whitstable Oyster Company Reviews Summary

Atmosphere & Location

Pros:

• "The atmosphere is good and the staff were hard working."
• "Lovely waterside location in an historic building."
• "Service very welcoming and lovely atmosphere in the restaurant."
• "The restaurant itself has a bright, airy, seaside shack feel (albeit it is quite big) and is right on the beach."
• "Lots of lovely seafood right on the sands. Very atmospheric property."
• "On the sea front, great atmosphere."
• "Located on the beach front, which has a wonderful ramshackled feel to it."

Cons:

• "Slightly drafty (so layer up!), but worth it!"
• "Nightmare car parking, best to park streets away and stroll to the beach."
• "Floors a little uneven, decor a little ramshattle - which I guess you could argue is part of the buildings charm."
• "Only downside is there is a lovely wine list, but they use the same bog standard wine glasses for every wine."
• "As it's a historic building, it's not really accessible."
• "Not easily accessible if you are disabled."

Service

Pros:

• "Service was friendly and prompt despite being quite busy."
• "The service was excellent too."
• "Staff were very well informed regarding the menu and provided friendly and attentive service."
• "The waiter was really friendly and helpful."
• "Staff was very friendly and nice to everybody, even under stress as it was pretty busy!"
• "Our server was lovely and asked if we were ok a few times."
• "Staff were lovely, attentive and helpful."

Cons:

• "Appalling place. We ve been threaten to be asked to leave if we do not order a second dish for the table."
• "Staff didn't seem to give a toss."
• "Service was very slow as well."
• "Food was good, but 1 Staff was very rude, treated us like naughty school kids only because I put my drenched gloves and hat on the radiator to dry off."
• "Sadly the hostess seemed quite bored and rude."
• "The staff were sour faced, front of house greeting non existant."
• "The service was absolutely dreadful! Not the usual friendliness or attention to detail and we felt unwelcome and rushed."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The oysters are amazing and fresh as they are grown locally."
• "Had an excellent time here, service staff were great and the food was on point 👌! I'd have to give a shout out to the oysters, they were superb."
• "The food (almost all fish and seafood) is always fresh, well cooked, simple and delicious."
• "Nicely cooked fish."
• "The dinner was truly excellent."
• "Excellent fish restaurant. Superb fresh fish that was wonderfully cooked."
• "The food itself was superb! I'm a big seafood fan and had my fair share of it on trips world wide, but this topped everything."

Cons:

• "Less tasty of all the lobster, which I had great expectation."
• "The dessert selections could be improved on, if I’m being picky."
• "As I was driving I had a mocktail with my lunch and despite it costing almost a fiver, it was basically soda water with some lemon juice."
• "The sole was fresh too. I highly recommend twice baked chocolate cake with clotted cream. It’s divine! Chips not crispy enough."
• "The crab and lobster were too small for the cost."
• "The Dover sole was a big disappointment. The fish was very small for over £30 and swimming in butter which took away all the taste."
• "The mussels were overcooked resulting in dry and chewy tiny lumps."

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Some say rather pricey, I think not, you get what you pay for and it was well worth it!"
• "And really good price, especially if you compare to London."
• "I bought a dozen closed for £12. If you get a knife is £15. Good value."
• "The meal was affordable! Would definitely recommend this to everyone!!"
• "It was not cheap but you get what you pay for in life."
• "Not cheap but great value for the food and service."
• "Great surprise the bill, absolutely not overpriced."

Cons:

• "This is an expensive restaurant, on a par with London seafood restaurants but with none of the bells and whistles."
• "Despite the ordering fiasco the food was good. The company was even better. (Note: it is a bit pricey so it may not be for everyone.)"
• "Drinks a bit on the pricier side."
• "To warrant a cost of £58.50 for 2 very basic and unusual cod portions with chips and 2 cokes it needs to be a lot better and cheaper."
• "overpriced £25.00 and it was very small and bland."
• "At £60 ahead for 2 courses I wouldn't eat here again."
• "However I object to being charged 12.5% service charge."