Canterbury's Best Food, Coffee and Bars

Hey!

I'm Nathan. I've lived in Canterbury for 4 years, and having studied at the University of Kent this whole time, I want to share my best advice and recommendations towards food, coffee and bars here in Canterbury. Let me know what restaurants you like, and what cuisines you want me to add! :eating:

Best Asian food:
Happy Samurai is truly my favourite restaurant and I visit it far too regularly. They serve incredible ramen - in particular I highly recommend their tantan ramen which is delicious and spicy. But if katsu curry is your style, they do a mean katsu curry. Their sushi is also phenomenal. It's a great spot to meet up with friends since it's reasonably cheap, and they've got large tables for big groups of up to 8.

Mr Miyagi has amazing sushi - and it gives some great competition to Happy Samurai. They're located right near the Cathedral, so it's beautiful when you leave and look to your right and see it glowing at night. Their green tea is spectacular, and it comes in really cute animal mugs and teapots.

Kokoro! Dare I say the best katsu curry in Canterbury? I do dare. I wasn't aware, but they are actually a chain restaurant. Their portion sizes are big, and the price is super cheap considering. Their curry sauce is amazing, but they have other great dishes such as beef bulgogi and spicy tofu!

Best Burgers:
Mungo's! Our own campus restaurant is represented in this list of best burgers. They are so insanely cheap that I don't know how they make a profit. Every Tuesday is a burger, fries and a milkshake for £5! Everyday they offer the insane "Mountain Burger" which is FOUR patties, TWO cheese slices, TWO bacon rashers, onion rings, a hash brown, burger sauce and fries for £10. I have never managed to eat a whole mountain burger - there's just so much food. They also have awesome pub quizzes, and make themed nights!

Chuck and Blade. They are new to the Canterbury burger scene, but boy do they show everyone else up. *Everything* is sourced locally, from buns to burger patties, to their incredible mouth water brownies and fudge cake. These burgers are HUGE, but the flavour is just so worth it. Their poutine is immaculate as well... The beef gravy is just - amazing.

7Bone. Another newcomer for burgers, but they've given Chuck and Blade big competition. Their menu is incredibly quirky, with items such as "Prince Charles is overrated" and "Ronald's Revenge", but their menu is American finest, with amazing tater tots and the best fried chicken you'll find. If you go there, make sure to order some truffle mac and cheese, because you will die in food heaven!

Draper's Arms. As a student, eating out can be hard to afford - but Draper's Arms offer 20% off their entire menu of food - AND DRINKS! It's student heaven. Their menu has Asian fusion, so they offer items like bao buns and tonkotsu ramen - but also amazing cha shu pork burgers and gyoza. Their fried chicken is so flavourful but their desserts really get me... They have a chocolate vaccine - it's gooey chocolate in a vaccine needle (Plastic obviously) and oh my word it's the best.

Best Coffee Shops
Fringe & Ginge. Truly my favourite place in Canterbury. It opened just over a year ago, and the couple that run it are the sweetest people you'll ever meet in your life. Not only is the coffee and tea incredibly, but their sausage rolls are to die for. I have multiple every week, and I'm not ashamed by it. They're intensely flavourful at a great price. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, they offer so many different sweet and savoury snacks for you to gobble your way through. And if you're wanting an amazing sandwich, you should just try them all - because they are the best in Canterbury - and the best I've ever had in my life.

Garage Coffee is another local coffee house with some great cups of joe. They're constantly winning awards for their coffee and food, and it comes as no surprise. Their cookies are to die for. I mean it literally. They sometimes do cookies with curly whirly, marshmallow and smarties in - like come on, that's amazing.

Best Pubs/Bars
KBar. KBar is located on campus so it's super convenient to get to. There's countless TVs to watch movies, television, music videos, football - you name it. There's massive sofas that you can fit groups of 10+ on, what's more to love? Oh yeah. Their cocktails. Their CUSTOM pitcher cocktails. You can create your own pitcher! Or order on of their own amazingly curated ones, I recommend the trash can personally. Feeling hungry? They also do toasties and pizza. When I tell you that you'll be here everyday, I mean it!

Cherry Tree. This pub is famous among students and Canterbury residents, and it's for a drink name which I probably can't say on the student room. I will simply called it 'The Pig'. This drink is incredibly fruity, and incredibly deadly for it's amount of alcohol. They mix various flavoured vodkas - which they don't tell us the recipe for sadly... to create the most perfect pre-drink drink you have ever had. It's a small venue, so go early, but you'll be stumbling on the way out

Wetherspoons. We have two Wetherspoons. Two. Prepare yourself for 2 for £12 pitchers, really good food for cheap, and amazing nights out. It's perfect if you want a quick drink with a meal for lunch, or to prepare yourself for a night out at Club Chemistry, Tokyo Tea Rooms or any other club or pub.

Draper's Arms also receives an honourable mention for it's cheap drinks thanks to it's 20% off for students. Oh, and they've got loads of seats including a rooftop table which is amazing in the summer.

Nathan
UKC Rep

(edited 2 years ago)

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