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Hours
Sun
12:00 - 23:00
Mon
12:00 - 15:0017:30 - 22:30
Thu
12:00 - 15:0017:30 - 22:30
Fri
12:00 - 23:00
Sat
12:00 - 23:00
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Ratings and reviews
Travellers' Choice 2024
RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
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PRICE RANGE
£15.00 – £55.00
CUISINES
Indian, Asian, Fusion
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
meals, features
Menu
Starters
Vegetarian Street Food Platter
Vada Pav, Bengali vegetable chop, steamed vegetable idli, tomato chutney, sambhar. Vada pav is an iconic street food burger style dish from Mumbai. It consists of a soft brioche style bun filled with a chickpea flour and sweet potato dumpling and delicious chutneys. Vegetable chop or beet chop are a very popular street food snack from the streets of Kolkata. Idli is a rice based steamed pancake stuffed with spiced vegetables. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Gluten, Milk, Mustard (Ask for vegan option)
£15.95
Mushroom Gujiya, Poppy Seeds (Posto) Patty, Tomato and Red Lentil Sauce
Gujiyas are fried dough pockets that are filled with sweet or savoury fillings. These little dumplings look like mini Cornish pasties. Mango and red onion salad, garlic and tomato chutney, mint and coriander chutney. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Gluten, Mustard
£12.95
Black Chickpea, Potatoes Kachori Chaat, Assorted Chutneys and Yoghurt, Fresh Coconut, Pomegranate
Kachoris are the king amongst Indian street food dishes and are seen in different forms and variants throughout India. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Gluten, Milk
£15.95
Dosai with Gently Spiced Potatoes, Mustard, and Onions
Sambar and assorted chutneys. Dosai is a South Indian crepe that is rich in carbohydrates and proteins. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Celery, Dairy, Mustard (Ask for vegan option)
£13.95
Cauliflower Manchurian
Manchurian is the result of the adoption of Chinese cooking and seasoning techniques to suit Indian tastes and has now become a staple of Indian Chinese Cuisine. Crispy and moreish nuggets of cauliflower wrapped in a hot, sweet and spicy Chinese style sauce. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Soya, Gluten
£13.95
Seafood Platter
Fish cake, tiger prawn, soft shell crab, kebab of kent coast eel charcoal smoked, cod steamed in banana leaf, crab pate, pickled samphire, tamarind chutney, sourdough bread. Allergen advice: Directly contains: - Molluscs, Crustaceans, Fish, Mustard, Gluten, Egg, Sesame seeds
For 1
£16.95
For 2
£28.95
Does this restaurant serve Tuscan food?
Details
About
The Cook's Tale Restaurant formerly The Ambrette Restaurant is located in the city center just a ten minute walk from the Marlowe Theatre and the 5 min walk from the High Street and the nearest car park. The Cook's tale formerly the Ambrette has received recognition from many major food guides for its unique and innovation food menus.
PRICE RANGE
£15.00 – £55.00
CUISINES
Indian, Asian, Fusion
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, After-hours
FEATURES
Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music, Gift Cards Available
Top 3 reasons to eat here
Sponsored by: The Cook's Tale Restaurant
1. Highly recommend a visit
"The Ambrette was recommended to me by a friend of mine."
jon6151
2. Best Food I have ever eaten
" I found myself recommending this restaurant to everybody"
AT0101
3. Close to Canterbury Cathedral
"I've been here several times and have never been disappointed."
Emma W
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4.5
2,153 reviews
Excellent
1,600
Very good
283
Average
131
Poor
77
Terrible
62
Patricia V
6 contributions
Favourite Review
Apr 2023 • couples
An excellent meal, great service and ambiance. The menu interesting and well explained from our waiter. Honestly, just as good as the south Asian food we have sometimes in provided by kind friends.
Written 5 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Ambrette Restaurant
Hi Patricia V,
Thank you for the kind words. We are glad you liked your experience at the Cook's Tale Restaurant. Looking forward to serving you again.
Kind Regards,
The Cooks Tale Team
Written 23 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Keith L
Wincanton10 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Nice tasty modern Indian food. It’s not like a traditional English curry house but after some hesitation on the menu I think most will find something here to love. It’s a bit odd that most mains came with dolphinoise potatoes but it kind of worked. For me the star of the meal was the rice byriani side which was delicious.
One thing to note is we felt the sharing starter plates could be a starter in their own right and maybe just get one per person , we got four between two people which was too much.
We went in at 7.00 and the service was great however as the restaurant got busy these standards dropped significantly with us looking at our empty main plates a long time. The table next to us had to chase their drinks and if someone had bothered to ask we would have had another round. Not sure if someone had not turned up for work or if this was the norm but my feeling was if this was policy they will be losing customers and profits so it’s a false economy.
That said the foods great and we will just go in at 6.30 to get the best of the staff.
Written 4 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, we hope to see you again
Written 14 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Chris-RHC
Dartford16 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
Having eaten in the first Rye Ambrette, we booked for the ten course taster meal in Canterbury (a great excuse for a night away!) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the first Ambrette restaurant opening in Margate.
This must be the most incredible taste experience of all time!
Every course had its own individual take on flavours which left the taste buds tingling. We were so pleased to meet the owner, who had devised the menus, and the whole evening was complimented with a good pianist providing the background music, as well as very knowledgeable waiting staff who knew not only about all the food being served but also gave some great advice about wines to compliment the various dishes (thanks Rita X).
All round, probably the best meal and tasting experience we've ever had eating out!!! We’ll certainly be visiting again in the not too distant future.
Written 2 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, it was lovely to meet you, and so glad you enjoyed. Hope to see you again soon.
Written 3 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jo H
1 contribution
Apr 2020 • family
I placed an order for 3 Sunday roasts which cost nearly £60 with the £9 delivery charge, I ordered it at 4.30pm for 6.30pm delivery. I recieved a call at 6.35pm to say that the delivery driver was still 20mins away from the restaurant and then by the time he collected our meals and drove to us it would be nearly an hours wait. One of the meals was for my young son so I asked to cancel as 7.30pm would be too late for him to eat. The restaurant agreed to this and said I would receive a refund. No refund and I've emailed with no response. Safe to say I wont ever be using them again and I'm £60 lighter and had to cook food anyway.
Written 23 April 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TheHoddingtons
Warwick43 contributions
Feb 2020 • none
Have debated whether to write a review of not here, but having read a couple of reviews I think it's worth noting. We dined here on a busy Saturday and can't fault the ambience or the decor. I would say though that toilets are pretty rubbish, despite being big and seem completely at odds with the wonderful eating area. The toilets are city estate pub standard. Anyway, the starters and my main were very good, however the wifes stir fried beef (as has been noted below by another review) wasn't stir fry at all, but a lump of dry over cooked beef. We felt the meals are in need of remembering that "less is more". You don't need rice and a potato dauphinoise and the odd bits of salad were completely out of place on the plate, i've no idea why they were there at all. The wine we had was very good.
Now, that's the negatives, on the positive side we weren't charged for a few things that we weren't happy about and we received an a-mail like many others to apologise for issues with service due to their till system which backed up orders. In terms of rectifying errors and being proactive the approach was excellent. You would like to think this means they have high standards and don't like to slip from them, which can only be a good thing.
So, would we give them another try? maybe. But we did think the menu needs to calm down a bit, fusion is all well and good, but you can over-do it, and this place isn't cheap compared with other areas and we expected so much more.
Written 28 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sunworshipper24
Canterbury9 contributions
Sept 2020 • couples
We ordered a meal to be delivered from here based on recommendations from fitness who have eaten in the restaurant.
As it as our anniversary we wanted to enjoy an evening with something special to eat, unfortunately the delivery was really disappointing.
We did expect to wait for longer than the average delivery would take, however we ordered at 7pm and hadn’t heard anything by 8:15.
When we called the restaurant the lady that answered couldn’t find the order, then eventually found it and could be heard in the background calling through to the chef to ask how quickly they could prepare a chicken. It was quite clear that they weren’t aware of the order until we called but rather than explain the mistake the lady stated that the order was nearly ready and there was no issue.
She then gave multiple timescales, varying from 30 - 45 mins more before telling us it could be ready at 8:30, knowing full well it hadn’t started to be cooked yet.
When the food hadn’t arrived by 9 we again tried to call in and query what was happening but multiple calls went unanswered.
The food arrived around 9:10 and fell through the bottom of the paper delivery bag on to the floor. The taxi driver at this point just proclaimed ‘ I am only taxi, they only ask me to deliver’.
The food was still within the foil dishes and so at this point we decided to attempt to make the best of it.
The food was ok but not good enough for us to order again when weighed up against the delivery issues and being deceived regarding the issues they were clearly experiencing.
Genuinely disappointed and will not use again.
Written 30 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CrawleyNicky1975
75 contributions
Oct 2020 • couples
Lovely food.
Lacked ambiance
No music playing so all could hear was plates clattering and staff running around.
Ordered a champagne cocktail
Which came out just over half full. I asked if it should be topped up to be told that was the measure. This would be fine if the bar tender had not just made 4 of these that were full.
Written 18 October 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy K
5 contributions
Dec 2020 • couples
I booked a take away 3 days before New Year's Eve for delivery between 7-7.15pm. It got to 7.30 no sign of our meal tried phoning 3 times to check on when my meal would turn up and all I got was an answer phone. So I drove into Canterbury to collect it myself. After I waited at the door for about 5 mins a young lady asked if she could help, I asked for my order she said it was down as a collection so I said why did Rebecca ask for my address if it was a collection and take £4.95 delivery charge No answer. She said your food has been waiting since 7 o'clock for you to collection. Not happy. I said my food must be cold no it's been kept in the warming area, but if it's a bit cold warm it up in the microwave. Not Happy.
Got the food home and guess what the food was luke warm tell me how can you warm up a chicken burger with salad and relish in a microwave? ( Which we never ordered). Ordered chicken thighs. I had duck spring rolls the pastry was so tough I had to use a steak knife the cut through it they were so chewey. All I wanted was for a nice meal to celebrate New Year's Eve with my wife after a terrible 2020 and this just top it off. Used to love Ambrettes food for special occasions but I really don't think we will ever have a take away from there again let alone a sit in meal ( if we are ever aloud too).
I bet I don't get a response to this message
Written 31 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jedibond
4 contributions
Jan 2020 • friends
I have to warn you off visiting this place as I had the misfortune of visiting this place tonight and the service is crap. Took them 3 hours to serve our vegetarian tasting menu which consisted of such delicacies as tomato soup ! Be warned! Only thing that they served pronto was the bill. £75 a head to add insult to injury. Avoid this place if you can - give mediocrity a bad name.
Written 11 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for taking the time to write this review, however, we do not feel that this is a true indication of the night or our menu. The vegetarian tasting menu is 7 courses and we assume 2 1/2- 3 hours for guests to enjoy. The tomato soup, is not just tomato, it is house-made with peppers and spices and served with assorted garnish, our customers greatly enjoy this and is also found on our main tasting menu, so find your description unfair. If there were service issues on a unexpected busy Saturday then I will apologise for this. The menu is £59.95 pp not £75.
Written 14 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lara B
4 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
My husband and I visited Canterbury for an overnight trip for his birthday and I booked this restaurant after a little research online. It was the best decision I made. The food was incredible. There was also a piano player and on a whim, when my husband left the table I asked our (very lovely) waiter if he could ask the piano player to play happy birthday when my husband came back.
Not only did they play the song, they also bought him a slice of cake with a candle in on a plate with ‘happy birthday’ written on it and sung to him. All within 5 minutes! I will recommend this restaurant to anyone who visits or lives in Canterbury.
Written 22 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, we hope to see you again soon
Written 3 March 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RetiredandLovingIt
Rainham96 contributions
Feb 2020 • couples
Have eaten here twice in the last week and in both cases have been very impressed with both the food and the service. The decor is pretty good as well, with nice background music that is low enough not to stop you holding a conversation.
Although the Pre Post Theatre menu is not your typical Indian, it does come with quite a spicy kick.
My only reservation would be that if you really do not like spicy food this is probably not the restaurant for you
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, we hope to see you again soon
Written 18 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MTB45
Folkestone38 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
We went for the Ambrette's 10th Anniversary 10 course Tasting Menu. We have been customers since the early days of the original Margate restaurant and this was the best meal that we have had, neither of us could fault any of the dishes. The service flowed at a good pace with no delays between courses and it obviously takes a lot of organisation and planning to faultlessly deliver 10 courses to a full restaurant. It was an outstanding meal and evening, our sincere thanks to Dev and his teams both in the kitchen and "front of house". It was a nice extra touch having the piano gently playing in the background.
Written 31 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, we are so glad you enjoyed, and hope to see you again soon.
Written 3 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
EHopkin
Margate29 contributions
Dec 2019 • none
I visited this venue for pre-Christmas dinner with friend, and was blow away with the wonderful service from kind and attentive staff. The food was perfect and we were not rushed, there was also someone on hand to play the piano lending a beautiful ambiance to the night. Most highly recommend,
Written 3 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The Ambrette R
Thank you for your review. We hope to see you again soon
Written 6 January 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Phil and Caroline
Canterbury3 contributions
Jan 2020 • none
An excellent evening of exciting food and smooth jazz with a voice and guitar. The restaurant is spacious so you never feel intruded on by fellow diners. Six very different courses that went from a vegetarian medley of street food, a fish then chicken dish, generous Kerala style slow cooked beef and a superb pudding featuring a crisp chocolate samosa and divine passion fruit and Guava frozen parfait. All dishes delightfully served for those who eat with a camera in one hand, we just looked and tasted. The amount of work that goes into these evenings is impressive and the results delicious. If there is not a special evening on when you are in town the a la carte menu is always excellent, and service attentive and friendly.
Written 23 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
A7844EDemmab
Thank you for your review, we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Written 3 February 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Anna F
Canterbury9 contributions
Jan 2021 • couples
My husband treated me to a takeaway from The Ambrette for my birthday and we weren't disappointed!
Everything was so incredibly delicious! We had the chicken thigh for starters and it was just as tasty and tender as it was when we last dined in the restaurant. My husband had the pork belly and I had the prawns for mains and everything was so flavourful and excellently presented.
The portion sizes were huge plus we got mango lassi, side salads and poppadoms for free so definitely value for money!
The Ambrette is definitely one of the best tasting and highest quality takeaways in Canterbury! We'll be ordering from there again soon. 😁
Written 20 January 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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