The Forge Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Great food, cheap prices."
• "Got to be the best battered fish I’ve ever had. An absolute slab of thick, flakey cod with a delicious batter."
• "The doughnut souffles are heaven on a plate! Two hot doughnuts, ice cream and a flake all sandwiched together."
• "Best fish & chips we’ve ever had."
• "Fresh shucked oysters to enjoy on the beach 🦪Beautiful & juicy at times."
• "THE most delicious, fresh doughnuts I’ve ever eaten."
• "The oysters were sweet and fresh. Cod and scampi are also highly recommended."

Cons:

• "Charge £10 for soggy fish n chips and then have the audacity to turn always customers who ask for a tartar sauce!"
• "Worst food poisoning in my entire life. Ate oysters here that were not fit to be sold."
• "The fish wasn't flaky but wooly and definitely not fresh."
• "Chips were somehow tasteless and the scampi was slimy."
• "Frozen chips out of a bag and some of the worst battered fish we’ve ever eaten."
• "Cod and chips was tasteless, could have even been frozen."
• "The batter on the fish also tasted sweet, like the donuts had been fried in the same oil."

Service

Pros:

• "Service was also really friendly! Would definitely go back again."
• "Service was first class."
• "Great service too, very welcoming and fast getting the orders through."
• "Service is good, it's usually the customers that slow the queue down."
• "The staff are friendly and very helpful."
• "Service was quick and prompt."
• "Efficient service and friendly."

Cons:

• "Rude, apathetic and unknowledgeable staff."
• "The cashier's demeanour was cold and unwelcoming however."
• "Staff has less customer service experience for foreigners."
• "We can hear everything the guys in the kitchen are saying, including comments on patrons appearance, and annoying repetitive shouting. Really ruined the vibe!"
• "Stopped here with friends for the first time recently, just for coffee... we still had to wait a while as some of the staff were just mucking about with each other, chatting and laughing instead of serving people."
• "Waited a good 15 minutes to be served."
• "We had to listen to the ignorant, discriminatory, silver spooned opinions of the wonderful staff of this establishment until 22:25pm though the window."

Location & Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Oysters were lovely, and the location was great to have a look over the waters."
• "Love this place. Extremely friendly and right on the beach front."
• "Location is perfect for the sea views."
• "A no frills hut on the whitstable coast with outdoor seating area."
• "Serene magical!!! Beautiful kentish coast with a charming appeal."
• "Lovely location right at the seafront, too."
• "Great location near whitstable harbour. Good value breakfast baps, quality produce."

Cons:

• "Shame they don't have any recycling bins for the bottles and cans."
• "However, it's important to note that parking is limited, and they only accept card payments."
• "Weather was a bit all over the place, and being an outside place didn't help much."
• "Only issue is you have to eat it outside and it was 0 degrees."
• "Not a good dining experience as just simple outdoor benches for seating."
• "Do not waste your money on lobster... A tourist trap with poor information, long queue with no social distancing marker."
• "Checked their opening times online, drove down from Tankerton and very disappointed to see them packing up 30min before closing time and refusing to serve us!"

Value for Money

Pros:

• "Fab price for how fresh the produce is."
• "Worth the price."
• "Generous portion sizes - check. Delicious food - check. Respectable prices - check. Friendly staff - check. Seating areas - check."
• "Pricy but fair enough as they’re fresh oysters!"
• "Fantastic fish and chips washed down by a beautiful pale ale."
• "The insanely low price for eair oysters."
• "Fantastic doughnuts @60p each, an absolute bargain."

Cons:

• "WARNING!!! I got TERRIBLE food poisoning from the oysters that I ate here (on 18 July 2021)."
• "If your looking to pay £10 for 1 portion of shop bought chicken nuggets and dry tasteless oven chips The Forge is definitely the place for you if you want a sea side experience the only thing they offer is the view not the food."
• "Bought two fish and chips for £21 to share... Really disappointed, quality of the fish was off, literally."
• "Amazing oysters but very pricey for the large ones."
• "Unfortunately, my friend and I both got food poisoning from the oysters here."
• "Cidre at £7.50 a bottle was a bit pricey but tasted good."
• "Nice position but the prices are beyond too expensive. They are obviously trying to grab back money lost during lockdowns which is very greedy since we all lost during the lockdown."