The Gate Inn in Canterbury

Friendly atmosphere and nice garden. Pizza's were amazing!

How the mighty have fallen, this once magnificent little pub/restaurant was once a beautiful retreat, where one could enjoy the quiet of nature with one of many magnificently crafted meals. Now, not so much, service seems to have gone downhill aswell as the quality and care with which food is prepared. My family and I have loved visiting the Gate Inn since I myself was in nursery, it is a great shame to witness its decline, not to mentioned the abrupt disappearance of its star side dish, Noggins.The Burger:The once unique house burger, namely the 'Gate Burger', is now a fraction the size they once were, the bun has gone from almost bakery fresh with a unique and memorable swirl design, to the same plain glazed bun you'll find anywhere else.Contents are about as standard as it gets, a single piece of lettuce, one remarkabley thin slice of tomato, one satisfactory beef patty, topped with a slice of chedder and a single small strip of caramelised bacon. Nothing to write home about, a wonder it's still considered the house burger.Service:I received a warm enough welcome, however a couple of mistakes where made during my visit, my drink order was incorrect, the dietary request in my order was neglected, which could have potentially lead to a serious allergic reaction.Little effort was made to rectify these wrongs, I did however recieve my requested drink after a brief interaction.Service was very slow, I was informed that this was due to the kitchen having undergone a recent deep clean.Why you would give the kitchen a deep clean mid afternoon one can only wonder, it is, for many establishments, one of the busiest times of day, more-so when the sun is shining.This said, the atmosphere is pleasant, the recent felling of trees is very unfortunate as they not only sheltered the garden from much of the wind but helped the garden feel enclosed and safe. The animals that wander about the grounds are a delight, lovely rabbits that children love to watch hop about in their enclosure, and ducks that have been a joy to see for many years of patronage. I was also glad to see the return of chickens as I was informed by previous ownership that the previous flock had been assaulted by a fox.I ofcourse recommend a visit to form your own opinions, afterall, I'm just a person on the Internet.

It's such a nice pub in a fantastically tranquil location that I'm almost reluctant to talk about how good it is! Great interiors and beautiful riverside garden where you can enjoy drinks and food from a varied and inexpensive menu.We chose to enjoy our drinks in the large and pleasant beer garden directly adjacent to an impressive Weeping Willow tree and the slow moving waters of a small stream complete with a resident family of 'well-behaved' ducks.

Lovely pub, next to a small river, in the countryside well worth a visit

Bar area unchanged since our first visit forty five years ago. Excellent food and beer. Attentive service.

Always super friendly, warm welcome and homely. We don't go here often, but they not only remember us,and our order. But type of glass we like them in! Excellent.

Being the grandson of one of the previous owners of this pub, I have grown up visiting this fine establishment. However under the new management I was appalled by the owners disrespectful demeanor. After playing a friendly joke upon my sibling outside the pub, the owner, who I have been informed that their name is Alice, was nothing but outright rude and informal when addressing regular customers such as me an my acquaint. Alice quickly arrived at our table and overtly addressed that her children had been petrified by my humorous attempt to scare my sister. Ironically her children where let back into the garden of the pub seemingly unfazed by our “terrifying, ill-placed screams in the dark.” Additionally, a member of my party made a witty remark on a staff members attire, in no attempt to humiliate him whatsoever. Alice saw past the alleged humor of the situation and presented this as a vicious attack. Seeing that my party was indeed younger than her, she abruptly spoke down to us even after we had purchased our drinks, telling us not to answer back much like a teacher would their students, even using mal language in-front of my underage sister and her friends. After Alice exited from our table, the oldest of our group excused himself to the lavatory only to find the fuming owner of the gate inn disclosing the event to other customers. Furthermore, the food is greasy and unhygienic, especially for the extreme price. Insight of this appalling display of events, we will not be returning unless action is taken and Alice is removed from ownership; if zero stars where an option, my company would Hastily review as such.**Edit regarding owner's response**For a badly written and unsympathetic response from the owner, riddled with fabrications; enjoy the read below.My final word:If you want to go for a family friendly meal and be served overpriced slop, by a man wearing a grey, Nike tracksuit and sliders, step right in.Otherwise, I would just eat at McDonalds - at least the food and service are good there!

Beautiful food (we both had the Belly Pork) fantastic friendly helpful and efficient service.Also welcomed our 2 Cocker Spaniels with open arms.Sooooo good we have booked a table for another night

We decided to visit having been told this pub was renown for its fantastic pies. Having booked and arrived at 6pm, we were told the pies had ‘sold out’. Not a great start! Even the scotch egg starter was not available!The alternatives on offer were good (nice chicken wings starter) but the initial disappointment takes the shine off the visit.The staff were friendly and very attentive which is always the benchmark for any decent establishment. I would visit again in the hope of sampling the food I had wanted to select.Nice, spacious garden for the kids to play, good seating area.** Update ** a pleasant response & explanation from the manager - thanks for taking the time to respond - I’ve upgraded your score purely on your customer care - I hope to sample the pies and other delicacies in the near future!

Hands down had the best scotch egg of my life there. Will remember that meal for a while!