Category: UK

Giant Coffee : Ramsgate

Wow, yet another new Coffee Shop/Café has opened in Ramsgate. This new coffee shop Giant Coffee is located on the ground floor of the old wine warehouse in Charlotte Court not far from Staple. This almost hidden area is also home to the Ramsgate Arts Club in the old wine warehouse basement and to the very attractive Saltworks shop next door.

There is plenty of space for outside seating in Charlotte Court but it wasn’t in use on our visit during Giants opening weekend, but if they do have access to it, it will be a lovely spot in the summer.

The Giant Café itself is quite small and cosy with friendly staff, excellent coffee and delicious plant based cakes (amazing what a good baker can do without dairy). We had a piece of ‘Chocolatey’ banana cake with a hint of coconut and a very refreshing and tasty pineapple cake. We’re looking forward to returning to try more of their cakes.

 

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Quince : Westgate-on-sea

We have been making good use of the seasonal 69 Open Top bus to go to less familiar parts of Thanet. Westgate-on-Sea and Westbrook are an easy reach (Norman Road bus stop).  You can get there quickly by train too. Highlights are the beach cafes at St Mildred’s Bay and West Bay, the Sunken Garden, the Carlton Cinema, the Brocante in Ethelbert Street, Staple cafe (hidden away in a back street) and Quince. This local restaurant is well worth a visit, reservations are required so plan ahead. We had a lovely lunch there with excellent service. They have set and a la carte menus and a decent wine list.

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Njord – Scandi Style : Cliffsend Pegwell

Latest visit (September 2025) :-

Njord had to close for several months this Summer due to flooding, but thankfully it’s now open again, completely renovated and with a new chef and new menus. We popped in for breakfast, ordered a Full English and Chef’s Toast (almost a Full English on toast – it didn’t exactly match the menu description as it included Chefs rosti rather than pickled red onion, but I was fine with that). I also couldn’t resist some post breakfast Apple pie. It’s great to see this excellent cafe back on its feet.

The (seasonal) 69 Open-Top bus can be used to get here from Ramsgate, the Viking Ship bus stop is only a few minutes walk from Njord.  

First visit (May 2024) :-

I’ve wanted to try out Njord for a while now, I mean a Scandi style place overlooking Pegwell Bay is so intriguing. So we headed out on a lovely sunny day (it’s only a few minutes away from Ramsgate by car or bus) and about a 40 mins walk if you’re feeling energetic!

Njord is in a great location on the edge off the Pegwell Bay nature reserve, it’s rather lovely inside, with a mix of comfy lounge style seating & coffee tables, dining tables with bench seating and bar stools at the window overlooking the bay. There is also some outside seating and lots of bike racks for cyclists.

The breakfast/brunch menu is mainly muffin, sourdough & croissant based dishes. We rather fancied the less conventional breakfast of Cochon Pulled Pork with Sundried Tomato & Chorizo Tapanata and Poached Kentish Free Range Eggs on a toasted English Muffin with Hollandaise sauce & chilli flakes. However they’d ran out of pork and were doing a pulled Chicken recipe instead, so we ordered that and Americano Coffees. The Coffees were served quickly and were excellent, I even had some left when the breakfast muffins arrived, the pulled chicken muffins tasted as good as they looked too, nicely spiced from the Tapanata and very filling.

Njord is also a Bar with an excellent drinks menu, lots of different brands of rum and gin is always a good sign. They also serve a few cocktails to enhance your breakfast/brunch experience.

The cakes at the Bar looked really good as well, they’re from the Beardy Baker in Canterbury, so I’ll certainly be back to try those.

Attractions in the area include the aforementioned Pegwell Bay nature reserve and the Viking Ship Hugin, which is a great photo opportunity and I guess sort of in keeping with the Scandi style at Njord.

 

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Staple : Ramsgate

So nice to see a business like Staple Stores commit to Ramsgate. Moving from thier tiny shop at the bottom of York Street (which they have  converted in to a soft serve ice-cream shop called Scoop), they’ve taken over and revamped the former Corby’s Tea Rooms at 18-20 York Street. Which means they are now a proper café with plenty of tables inside and outside in the courtyard.

On our visit we had some of thier excellent coffee and shared a pastry for breakfast, you pick the pastries yourself and pay at the till. We bought two different pastries, a coffee yum yum and a filled cruffin, planning to share them, but we were so full from just one pastry, we had a takeaway as well. Staple are very much geared up for takeaway, with lots of pre wrapped items.

The Ramsgate café is open every day from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.

On subsequent ‘takeaway’ visits we’ve tried lots of different cookies (all good) and  a lovely mango custard & strawberry tart.

They also moved their bakery operations to nearby Manston Business Park in March this year and have another café and shop there.

Staple : Westgate-on-Sea

If you’re in the area, the original Staple in Westgate-on-Sea is worth a visit. You won’t find it in passing as it’s well hidden down an alleyway (St Mildred’s Walk) off St Mildred’s Road. Friendly efficient service and the usual selection of Staple treats.

 

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Lunch in the Kitchen Garden at The Pig Hotel : Bridge

On the hottest day of the year (27° on the first of May!), we headed off to have lunch in the Kitchen Garden Restaurant in the Pig at Bridge Place just outside Canterbury.

This Pig Hotel is such a lovely place and just a short taxi ride from Canterbury station in the picturesque village of Bridge.

Because the weather was so amazing, we decided like everyone else to sit outside on the terrace over looking a pretty little stream and the Kitchen Garden.  This is a  delightful spot with the sound of birdsong and the occasional visit from a robin and blackbird. Creating a delightful ambience.

We ordered from the Mid week lunch menu (£32.50 for three courses). We had some extra bits including some rather delicious Truffle potatoes and a couple of glasses of wine raising the bill to £140 for two people.

The food is fairly conventional, it’s well cooked using ingredients from the grounds and suppliers within a 25 mile radius (as explained on the al a carte “25 miles menu”). The wine list is good and there is an interesting selection of non alcoholic drinks. The service was excellent.

Be sure to allow time for wandering around the Pig Hotel grounds and the Kitchen Garden which is the location of another outdoor eating spot called the Garden Oven that serves flatbreads.

Overall the place reminded me a little bit of ‘Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons‘. It’s a different style of food, but the stunning location is comparable.

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Bedford Inn : Ramsgate

UPDATE : July 2025

The menu has changed, it has some (small plates) Nibbles & Starters, main courses include, Burgers, Tacos and Steak, see Bedford Inn website for an example menu.

Earlier visits before menu changes :

The Bedford Inn has recently been converted into an independent hotel that consists of 4 bedrooms with wet room en-suites, above a rather lovely Pub. The Bedford Inn also has a restaurant and an attractive outside seating area (with a sandy beach & deckchairs in the summer). We’ve visited a few times, indulging in their rather excellent cocktails, we were also very pleased to see that they had a Tapas menu (served after 5:00 pm on Thursday & Friday and after 12:00 noon on Saturday – and Sunday during the Summer), we just had to check it out. The Tapas was excellent, very authentic, definitely the best Tapas I’ve had in Ramsgate (and just as good if not better than some I’ve had in Spain).  We had six dishes for two people which is probably ideal for an evening meal. Two per person for a light lunch would work too, the Vegan Seaweed Croquettas and the Anchovies, Roasted Peppers, parsley oil worked especially well together. We also just had to order a couple of their rather tasty French Martinis. It was impressive that the lunch time staff made just as good a Martini as the evening staff. We returned for more Tapas, eating in the garden this time. The Serrano Ham, Manchego, Almonds & lavender infused honey was a real treat. The Calamari was excellent and the Cured Ham & Sobrasada Croquettes were so tasty. Just the perfect place for lunch on a sunny day. For more information on the Tapas see About The Bedford Inn Tapas. The Bedford Inn on West Cliff Road is a short walk up from the town centre. Addington Street & Spencer Square Tennis courts are close by. It’s also on the Loop bus route (Cannonbury Road Bus Stop) so it’s easy to get too. They’re doing Sunday roasts again too, and they elevate them to another level. I had the mushroom, lentil & root vegetable Wellington and I can’t recommend it highly enough. There’s a really lovely ambience in the basement restaurant and the service is first rate.

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