Where the Chefs Eat: Tom Kerridge shares his favourite Whitstable spots

Tom Kerridge is a national treasure. Always smiling, his signature Gloucestershire accent and perma-happy demeanour make him one of the country’s most popular culinary personalities. But, despite being a bloke you naturally want to nestle down and natter with, he takes his food very seriously.

His Marlow-based pub The Hand and Flowers became the first pub ever to receive two Michelin stars, and, as the standard of dining in pubs, both rural and urban, continues to surpass expectations up and down the country, he has championed those in their kitchens who are producing beautiful, locally-sourced and always exciting food. While we have seen many closures in recent years, those thriving are doing so with serious gastronomic flare: “It’s unbelievable the way pubs have changed,” he says with his mile-wide grin.

A decade has passed since his Proper Pub Food was published and, as Britain’s chef synonymous with the finest of pub fare, Tom Kerridge knows what separates the finest of informal British grub from that which is best avoided. “I decided to write Pub Kitchen to showcase that pubs have changed a lot and the food is only getting better and better, showing lots of fresh twists and global fusions on their menus. Some of the dishes in my new book will appear in my places like The Butcher's Tap or The Coach, but this reflects national British pub food as it now.” And there isn’t, he is quick to point out, quintessential pub food in this country anymore. Yes, you’ll find the requisite Sunday roast, but pubs “are now often the only places where you can get so many different food cultures in one space,” he says. “You might get a Thai starter, a roast beef main course and then a passionfruit sorbet for pudding, and that feels completely normal today, but you’ve covered the globe in that one meal. This is all about embracing global food as it’s found in pubs in Britain.”

And when walking into a pub, what makes one stand out head and shoulders above the rest for the man who has spearheaded the public house revolution since the Hand and Flowers opened in 2005? In one word: energy. “It’s one of those unquantifiable things. It’s all about energy and atmosphere. Even if the pub is quite empty on a Tuesday lunchtime and a few people are in, it can still shine. It’s not enough just to put in a nice wooden bar and some real ale. It’s all about the people and the energy within the brickwork. It can be in a brand-new building or an old one, but it’s very important that you have a vibe. It’s all about the connection with people that are found within those four walls.”

And while Tom is well-known as a Marlow man thanks to his various restaurants and pubs on the town’s riverside, Whitstable in Kent pulls him and his wife, Beth and their son, Acey, when they have time off together as a family. “We’ve had a place there for about 15 years, and I’ve been going with my misses for more than 25 years. It’s an easy seaside town, and it’s not cheesy. Now, don’t get me wrong. I love arcades and all that stuff, but Whitstable is actually a working harbour in an area that celebrates fishermen and local produce. It has a sort of Padstow vibe, but it’s a bit more gritty because it’s just outside London on the north Kent coast. I love it, and then you can go to nearby Margate for the arcades if you want them. I love historic British seaside towns, but I also love the communities of the working seaside towns. It’s got a big artistic, bohemian community with a lot of people who have moved out of East London, people who work in film and media. I just love it.”

So, herewith, we have Tom’s favourite Whitstable places to wine and dine a day, or a weekend, away.

The Sportsman

“The Sportsman is in Seasalter, about a mile down the coast from Whitstable, and it’s one of Britain’s best-known pubs. Michelin-starred Stephen Harris is a phenomenal chef – one of our generation's most important British chefs – in terms of using food and ingredients from the local terroir, and I just love this place.”

Who comes here

“The clientele is a mixture of repeat guests and global foodies because it’s internationally recognised and has such a good reputation. You could be sitting there with tourists from Japan and London-based highflyers alongside some local people who are super proud of the place. It’s a temple that people feel they have to go to, but it’s not pretentious.”

Best table in the restaurant

“If you’re lucky enough to get a table, then go – any table is good.”

Best time to come

“Stephen very much works seasonally and, if you can, you should go in the spring when he does his wonderful lamb and celebrates British spring vegetables, like asparagus. I’d say go in the spring and do a mid-week lunch. Make it long and then go on to the beach afterwards for a walk.”

Dish to order

“Everything is really lovely, and the staff are so welcoming, serving up exceptional food, but you can’t miss the slip sole with seaweed butter; that’s a signature dish, and Stephen makes the butter himself with seaweed from the coast right outside.”

Jojo’s

“Jojo’s is about a mile outside of the centre of Whitstable, and it is run by the lovely Nikki Billington. She specialises in mezze-style dishes and embraces Mediterranean sharing plates with lots of specials that change every day. And she is another one who celebrates all the amazing local produce. There is a vibrant open kitchen, and the whole place has a brilliant energy.”

Who comes here

“Nikki’s been there for years, and so Jojo’s is very much a locals’ favourite. Everybody in the area knows she’s a brilliant cook. It’s not Michelin-starred, but she doesn’t want it to be.”

Best table in the restaurant

“Take a group because Nikki’s got this big table you can jump on and share plates at, which really works with her food. Order up a mezze, and you’ll have everyone digging in. And don’t forget that kofta kebab.”

Best time to come

“I think a really good time to go is for Sunday lunch.”

Dish to order

“I love the mutton kofta kebabs. They are absolutely beautiful and served on a metal skillet. She does them as meatballs on a skillet with crumbled feta on the top. Delicious.”

Macknade

“Now, this isn’t a typical restaurant. Macknade is a farmers’ market meets supermarket space that has grown and grown and grown. It started as a produce place, and it’s now turned into this incredible supermarket. It’s all about local produce, and you can get brilliant fruit and vegetables there. It’s like a dream and what every supermarket probably wants to be; it really represents the area, and you can get anything you’d ever think of. There is a brilliant, in-house butchers, a fantastic deli with all the cheeses and charcuterie and it’s a lovely place to get foodie gifts at Christmas. It’s the kind of place where I’ll pop in just for a pint of milk and some local raspberries. But there is also a café towards the back where you can have a delicious soup of the day with crusty bread and great cakes, and everything is made in-house. Then, if you walk outside, they have a street food bit where you can get curries, pizzas, anything. It’s just amazing.”

Who comes here

“This is loved by people who live in the Faversham area. It’s flooded with locals in the know.”

Best table in the restaurant

“In the café, there really isn’t a best table, but if you grab street food from outside, there's no seating. This isn’t fine dining, but it’s absolutely fantastic for food on the go.”

Best time to come

“This is definitely a lunch spot because it’s not open in the evenings.”

Dish to order

“For me, it’s all about the burger; they do a really, really good burger using beef from the butchers on site. It’s got aged meat throughout, so it’s got a very deep flavour to it. It’s fantastic. I’ll have a burger outside and then get inside and do some shopping.”

The Lobster Shack

“The Lobster Shack is owned by a company who have quite a few buildings along the harbourside, but if you go past the concrete ones onto the other side of the harbour, you’ll find The Lobster Shack. It’s on the furthest point right on the seafront. It’s a brilliant setting where you can have fish and chips and oysters if you can eat them. I can’t eat them because I’ve got a shellfish allergy.”

Who comes here

“It attracts mostly holidaymakers, but you’ll always find locals there who know it and love it, too. It’s all run by locals but, especially in summer months, it’s often full of day trippers who have headed into Whitstable.”

Best table in the restaurant

“Personally, I’d order food and sit outside. They don’t take bookings, though there is a bit of inside seating. I love the outside seating in the sunshine where you can just watch the boats go back and forth and, in the summer, you’ll see lots of people going crabbing in the harbour. We were there a couple of weeks ago, and there was a live musician playing just outside. It was fantastic.”

Best time to come

“I actually love this place in the winter. It’s got this kind of glass-covered area so you can hide from the wind. And then, in spring or summer, it’s a great space to be in the sunshine outside.”

Dish to order

“For me, it’s all about the fish and chips right on the harbourside or on the beach, no matter what time of year it is.”

Samphire Restaurant

“I just love this place. Samphire is another Whitstable staple that likes to celebrate local produce, and it’s a tiny little independent restaurant that is family-run. Samphire is a small space with a slightly open kitchen at the back so it’s got a brilliant energy to it. A self-described bistro, it is all about seasonal produce, meat and fish and, deservedly, it’s well recognised for that. The guy who started it converted it from an old shop space and, by day, it’s a relaxed breakfast and lunch spot. but by night it’s somewhere people will go for a nice supper. But I love it because, aside from having a wonderful atmosphere, it is all about celebrating local, Kentish produce, loud and proud.”

Who comes here

“Because it’s on the main drag a lot of people who are down for the weekend will walk past and then wander in, but it’s also a real go-to for the locals.”

Best table in the restaurant

“If you can get in and get any table, you’re onto a winner. There’s no particularly good table because it’s so small but get any table and settle in.”

When to come

“They do a really good brunch. The food is lovely all the time, but if you can book in and get brunch, I would do that.”

Dish to order

“They do an amazing bone-in bacon chop, and they make exceptional coffees.”

Pub Kitchen by Tom Kerridge is out now (Bloomsbury Absolute, £27 Hardback)