Explore the Seafood Culture of Whitstable

Few places are quite as defined by a single ingredient as Whitstable. The Romans loved the plump local oysters so much that they sent shipments of them back to Rome. The Whitstable Oyster Company has been fishing Royal Whitstable Natives from the same beds since the 1400s. Furthermore, while the food scene here goes much further than the local bivalves, this area is first and foremost a seafood haven, which trades heavily on its history at iconic spots like the pastel-pink Wheelers, founded in 1856.

Moreover, Whitstable chefs are well-positioned to access the best farmed and foraged ingredients in the Garden of England. Consequently, unlike the exciting but largely nascent food scene of Margate along the coast, many of Whitstable’s leading culinary figures have been quietly honing their craft for decades. Esteemed chefs like George Begg at Samphire, or Stephen Harris at The Sportsman, represent the legendary locavore movement just outside the town. Here, you will find no fripperies or excessive trendiness, just high-quality cuisine done right.