I haven't written one of these reviews for a while and, to be honest, I wondered whether I ever would again. There are only so many times you can be bothered to write something about crap food served by people who don't give a damn about good food or customer service. And, anyway, every time I did write a review of a place I loved it always closed down shortly afterwards.............

Well, it gives me great pleasure to say that Sandbanks is truly stunning. I don't mind admitting that J and I were nervous. The East Cliff Pavilion will be well known to most Folkestoners, probably most famous as a place you came to for tea and cake with your gran on damp March Sunday afternoons. It wasn't, with the greatest of respect, known for its culinary expertise. But, once we got there, we couldn't have been more reassured. Its had a facelift and a redesign inside. The new restaurant and its stylish separate bar area have their own entrance, away from the function rooms at the back of the building. Even if there

were a wedding going on, you would have no idea from the restaurant or bar. The room itself is large, airy, elegantly decorated and with great views out across the channel and harbour.

But all of that is a bonus. What makes this place really special is the food. Its modern british, with a bit of french and italian thrown in as well and its classy. No surprise really when you discover the head chef is Chris, previously from the legendary Truffles in Hythe (now sadly gone and much missed). Locally sourced produce, particularly meat and fish, are transformed into dishes that are simply a level above the competition in Folkestone, Hythe etc. We both had the carpaccio of beef to start and it managed to be both light and gutsy. My main course of turbot with risotto and bacon foam was one of the nicest things I have eaten and J's rack of lamb proved what an interesting but great combination that lamb and black pudding can make. The desserts were pretty special as well. For the gluttonous or simply indecisive, we can heartily recommend the assiette, which is a combination of miniature versions of all of the desserts on the menu - the chocolate teardrop (which I am sure I remember as a Truffles' highlight) is to die for.

Unlike a lot of restaurants, the food isn't let down by a mediocre wine list. There is something for everyone here and a lot of thought has clearly gone in to trying to find interesting wine at a reasonable price that matches the food. For those with even more refined palates and deeper pockets, I understand that there is going to be a "reserve" wine list coming very soon which will feature an even greater selection of special wines for those that are interested. Sounds great.

I cannot speak too highly of this place. Iain, the general manager and Moira, the functions manager, have created an exciting environment and with the proven talents of the head chef Chris, it deserves to do really well. If you are thinking of eating out, just give it a try. I promise you won't be disappointed. Folkestone has waited far too long for a restaurant that is really special. I really hope that people will take the opportunity to support this place and keep it going.

Dominic.

The votes are in, these are the top ten best restaurants in the area as voted by you (so, the ten restaurants with the most loyal net savvy customers and regulars who visit this site then), a few surprises in there:

Botolphs Bridge Inn (9.10/10)

Bella Amalfi (8.59/10)

Chambers (8.27/10)

Curry Garden (8.03/10)

The Prince of India (7.86/10)

Riverview Diner (7.86/10)

Kalala (7.80/10)

The Dolphin (7.77/10)

Bar Vasa (7.63/10)

The Penny Theatre (7.63/10)

I've not even visited the number one slot there. Seemingly a pub, but one that does food (as are Chambers and The Dolphin that I certainly can vouch for, and The Penny Theatre that I could not.

Been to one of these places? Or any other place listed on the site? Please vote, you don't need to register or anything.

I'll be back again in a month to see how the list has changed.

The cafe above Canterbury Whole Foods is going to be under new management in a couple of weeks, so if you want to try the existing vegetarian + vegan cafe as it is now, you'd better hurry.

We visited on Saturday for the first time in an age; on our last visit it was busy and we found service far too slow. This time, not so busy, and quick service.

Perhaps it's part of the winding down of the old business, but the menu was a bit short. We arrived at two and there were not many options left. I had the butternut squash wrap, and as I ordered it that was removed from the board too. Do they only make one of each dish? Also I feel they could have been a bit more generous with the portions, particularly the salads. Meals were not really cheap at 6.95, and salad is practically free, pile it high I say!

I assume the new management will keep the vegetarian format and hippy vibe, but I hope they increase the portion size a bit.

I previously promised to write up a recent visit to Caffe Uno:

... the lunch not so. We did Caffe Uno, only because we'd like to have an informed opinion on everywhere, I really wasn't expecting much from it and it didn't disappoint.

It was Mother's Day, so everywhere was busy, including Caffe Uno, but they did manage to fit us in. Maybe this was a bad sign. Service was a bit wibbly, they were slightly unclear if we'd already had our orders taken or not, but we did order; hot bread and dips, arrabiata and courgette chips for me and a pizza for the good lady. There was no soap in the toilets, doubly essential when we're eating with our hands, the waitress said she'd inform the manager, but nothing was done by the time we had to eat, blee. "Luckily", they completely forgot to bring the bread so we didn't have to face up to our dirty dilemma, straight on to the mains. They were both a bit cold really and generally uninspiring, and the courgette chips were slimy and greasy.

It's not a big important review, but I thought I'd share. Coincidentally I heard from someone who visited Caffe Uno in Portsmouth and it was the best meal they'd had in ages. Caffe Uno is to be rebranded as a Chez Gerrard apparently, so I'm guessing this means a big change all round. I hope so.

We finally bit the bullet, and returned to the venue of our very worst Folkestone dining experience this weekend. And it was a success! I am very happy to report that Tim's Vinos and Tapas (the new (ish) name for Timothy's Wine Bar is great.

We picked about 7 tapas dishes between the two of us, including one meat, one salad, and one tomato and garlic toasted bread type thing.

One particular highlight was padron peppers, which looks like jalapeno peppers in salt, but without much heat. Interestingly the odd one here and there tasted quite hot, it made the dish quite lively. Beans in garlic and onion, and battered courgettes were also good.

It's a small but friendly restaurant, you might end up chatting with neighbouring tables, and you might also be graced with a table visit from the host. I would not always be in the mood for this, so will bear it in mind for a return visit.

With a twenty quid bottle of wine the lot came to about forty five pounds, so it does not feel the cheapest place to eat, but it was pretty tasty.

From my recent blog posting:

Friday night we had our proper birthday night out, taken out for a meal by Clare's bro and fiance to Truffles. I was a bit apprehensive, as we'd checked out the menu when it first opened (it used to be Panchos and La Bamba) and there was nothing for me, and I'm not usually the type to say "just make me something". Someone else was booking, so they did, and it was FANTASTIC. Shame to not see it busier in there, I don't understand it not being packed to the rafters, I heartily recommend it.

As I say, I wasn't sure about this place beforehand, seeing nothing on the menu at first glance I discounted it. However, the menu has changed since we first looked, and there were a few options to tempt me - throw into the mix the guarantee they'd sort something out for me and I was ready to go.

I'll run through my meal first, as this was the top priority for me, but everyone elses (non vegan) meal looked great too.

My starter was leak and potato soup, though it tasted far more exciting than that might sound. There was an exciting extra taste in the soup, something a bit lively, which gave me the fear that it might be BACON or something, but I am assured everything was good for me to eat. Presentation was excellent. Other starters included scallops in prosciutto, and pigeon breasts in something or other.

My main was butternut squash and othe vegetables in some fabulous flavourings or other - I think it was a bit curried - all wrapped in a "pancake" (more like a tortilla). Pud would have been just fruit, but I went for a glass of Sauterne instead, should have had it with something really.

Price; who knows. We had nearly a bottle of wine each and it came to about thirty-five pounds a head I think, but it was a birthday present so I didn't get too close to the bill.

Heartily recommended!

Slight repost from the weblog:

... got distracted by the thought of Thai food in Skuba. It was GREAT to sit out in their garden when we should have been at work, reading the papers while waiting for our lunch to arrive - this is the life I was thinking, I could do this every day, is there a way to make it pay?

The food itself wasn't the best, the vegetables in my red curry seemed tinned, and there wasn't any great heat to it either, bah. Nice enough though and I think if I go for a different dish next time it might be better. The location and atmosphere (helped along by what a lovely day it was) just about compensated for the lunch...

Not a review, but something I've done before... we're off to Earl Brownes in Hythe for a post wedding feast next month, and as we're such a huge crowd they've asked us to pick in advance from a set menu. So, here is that set menu, to give you an impression of the kind of food they do there... Just copy-and-pasting this has made me hungry.

Starters

King Prawn & langoustine potato Salad

Parma Ham, Fig & mozzarella salad

Chilli Tomato & Basil Filed Mushroom

Stuffed & Rolled Courgette Rolls

Stuffed Grilled pesto Sardines

Main

Creamy Parsley, Apple & Pork

Pan Roasted Rack of Lamb Filled With Parma Ham & Herbs

Parmesan & Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken

Fillet of Beef

Pan Roasted Mediterranean vegetable Pasta

Spicy Chicken Salad

Desserts

Cheese Cake

Cheese & Biscuits

Ice Cream Fruit Sundae

Coffee & Mints

Just been to The Jackdaw for lunch, and though the food was great again (one Indonesian vegetable satay, one roast beef and one roast turkey, not all me you understand) we had a hiccup with our starter. The main courses came before the starter, not ideal, and we were told "well, your main's here now, do you still want it then?", no apology or anything, like it was our fault.

Puds were good, and so was the wine, and again the bus was outside bang on time to take us back to Folkestone, all told a good meal for us. Less so for the waitress, who missed out on a tip.

We have both eaten here several times before... We both enjoyed our first course ( duck terrine etc and mussels and prawns + parmesan twist etc), However, the main courses were both disappointing... The vegetables were virtuallty raw (especially the beans and carrots) and also overcooked and greasy (the roast/sauteed potatoes).The waitress noticed my expression of disgust and immediately offered some more vegetables as replacement. Full marks as these were delivered in barely a minute.

However, accompanying my 'local teal'(Tasty and well cooked) my 'wild mushroom risotto' was almost non existent and the odd visible rice grain floated away on the vast pool of sauce i.e drowned. Worse, my partner's sirloin steak 'jus' was the most disgusting bovril flavoured gravy and completely ruined and swamped the very tender sirloin steak. This was almost inedible but it was my birthday and neither of use felt like complaining again....

I did enjoy my delicious date/ginger meringue dessert (what happened to the meringue though?) but was not so impressed with the sloppy grainy texture of the plum + port?? trifle. Penny's puds are usually the best but not 100% tonight. I noticed nobody had touched the pears - they looked rather sad and solid, surrounded by dull, fat like substance - where was the glisten?

The Vin de Pays Merlot was very drinkable, but I think you could improve your capuccino - ask an Italian, it's weak. The Irish coffee was delicious as was the nice little touch of mini Easter eggs.

I know it's Folkestone and there's a dearth of good quality eateries but please maintain and even raise your standards. The waiting staff are excellent, as is the setting - please don't rest on your laurels - or it'll be Tinto (Tapas) (Sandgate) in future!!

Best wishes

Jan Mackay (Ms)

P.S. We ate the night of April 15th 2006

A very nice review of Hotel Relish here from The Times... good they found a nice restaurant! Friends of mine stayed there too and loved it.

Went BACK to the Jackdaw this weekend, there's a bus from Folkestone goes straight there, of course, we've done the journey many a time on the way to Canterbury. Anyway, on to LUNCH!

Clare had the same meal she has every time we go, (steak and Guinness pie), it must be good. Take note though, the recipe of the pear and ginger pie has changed, it's now stuffed with cheese! Instead of a pastry based dish I went for the fruity vegetable curry, it was fruity indeed, I'd have preferred a bit more veg in there, but it was exactly as described on the menu, so no complaints really. Huge portions too, that's good. As we were bussing and not driving we could have a pint, and with one eye on the timetable we relaxed in front of the roaring fire, and stepped out the door just as our municipal chauffeur arrived to take us back to town.

Going back again for an evening meal this Saturday, and very much looking forward to it.