The Granville

Someone from this business manages this listing.

698 reviews

#52 of 223 Restaurants in Canterbury££ - £££, Bar, British, Pub

+44 1227 700402+ Add website

Hours

Sun

11:30 - 21:00

Mon

11:30 - 21:00

Tue

11:30 - 21:00

Wed

11:30 - 21:00

Thu

11:30 - 21:00

Fri

11:30 - 21:00

Sat

11:30 - 21:00

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Ratings and reviews

4.0

698 reviews

#52 of 223 Restaurants in Canterbury

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub, Vegetarian friendly

“and Coffee cheesecake, walnut praline, biscoff ice cream.”

“Best Fish and chips in Kent”

Special Occasion Dining, Groups, Bar Scene, Business meetings

“... to it since booking a number of weeks in advance for a special occasion.”

“The meal which was as birthday celebration was disappointing and I couldn’t r...”

Location and contact

The Granville Faussett Hill Lower Hardres, Canterbury CT4 7AL England

+44 1227 700402

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Does this restaurant offer highchairs for toddlers?

Yes

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Details

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About

The Granville is a country pub just 10 minutes from the historic city of Canterbury. We’ve been at the leafy heart of Lower Hardres for over a century, offering real ales, great wines and outstanding food in a relaxed and cosy setting. Come for a drink and some nibbles at the bar, or settle in for a lunch or dinner - and if the weather's good, make the most of our beautiful garden, complete with kids area. Open every day, we also offer a daily set lunch menu weekdays from 12-5pm.

PRICE RANGE

£10.00 – £35.00

CUISINES

Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Validated Parking, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Live Music

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4.0

698 reviews

Excellent

388

Very good

130

Average

Poor

Terrible

1982piglet2891

Canterbury43 contributions

Eat Out to Help Out

Aug 2020 • none

We've not been here before but a colleague has recommended them before so we thought we would give it a try. Unfortunately we had a very frosty greeting, presumably from the lady in charge who continued to be unhelpful and unfriendly. She looked very stressed but unfortunately this did not give us a good first impression. We were told that we could not order food for 'at least' 30 mins and when we said this was fine she looked disappointed but showed us where the tables were outside. We ate outside and could see that some thought had been put into a one-way system and social distancing outside so that was good. We ordered mains and puddings after our 30min wait, but unfortuately it was all very mediocre, even for 50% off. The burgers were dry and nothing special (coleslaw was the best bit) and the chocolate mousse was nice but small (especially for the full price of £6 each!). Unfortunately we won't be returning and won't recommend it either. Perhaps if we had been welcomed the whole thing might have seemed more positive but we weren't. We also nearly ended up payng full-price for some items (non-alcoholic drinks they didn't reduce the price on and pudding I had to ask for them to be reduced in price) and they seemed to be having issues with their system. All in all a rather negative experience.

Written 13 August 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.

KateSBSR

Thank you for reviewing us. We are very sorry to read how disappointing you found our service on your visit. This is not normal for us at all. We have a weekly meeting with our front of house and kitchen team and reviews are discussed. Please be assured your review will be discussed, our host is trained to be welcoming and attentive, but this was obviously not the experience you received. Once again, we are very sorry.

Written 19 August 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

chrisnashoakbloke

London12 contributions

Best Cod in Years

Aug 2020 • none

Chanced upon The Granville near Canterbury en route to Hythe near Folkestone . Huge amount of effort has been lavished on this restaurant, staff welcoming and friendly , visited with wife, first eating out experience since Covid lockdown, very nice ambience, chose Cod,Chips and Peas x 2 ,pint of San Miguel and Master Brew plus Bottle of Iced Tap Water ! £36.80p very reasonable ! The Cod was the best I’ve had ...extremely fresh and cooked to perfection in what appeared to be a tempura batter, the Peas appeared to be fresh from the pod and served with mint and chunky chips...highly commend this place and dish..clearly a good proper chef and accent on quality at a very reasonable price, very interesting menu which if the humble Cod , Chips and Peas is anything to go by will probably be extremely satisfying. I would visit again ! I would choose to be seated within the restaurant next time rather than the outside garden area. Overall very happy , and I would urge folks to reward the efforts of the Granville team with custom, I consider they deserve it and try the Cod...delicious !

Written 1 August 2020

KateSBSR

Thank you so much for your great review. We are delighted you enjoyed your visit with us and thank you for recommending us. Hope to see you again soon!

Written 3 August 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

DBaruch

Great Yarmouth18 contributions

Very nice pub

Aug 2020 • friends

The pub is conveniently located close to Canterbury and is easy to get to with a large car park. The ambiance of the pub is very relaxed with acoustic music in the background. The COVID specific measures in place were extremely clear and easy to follow. The food was excellent I would highly recommend the Granville burger and also the ham and leek pie that my partner had. The desserts were equally as good the chocolate pot was very nice, a tad sickly but very rich and flavourful. Even without the 50% off the prices are not outrageous, £85 for 4 people with alcohol and the other members of our party having starters is very reasonable, overall very good. My one tiny gripe is that the wooden bench style seat we sat on had no cushion but other than that, excellent experience and will definitely be going back.

Written 26 August 2020

KateSBSR

Thank you for your review. Delighted you enjoyed your meal and really pleased to read you will be coming back. Sorry about the bench - we had removed all cushions for covid reasons, however we have looked into fabric sanitisers so will hopefully be reintroducing the cushions soon.

Written 7 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Linda_80

1 contribution

Very poor service!

Feb 2020 • none

Were to begin! After being seated for only 5 minutes we were asked to move as they made a mistake and needed the table for a party, not a problem. But we then had to wait for someone to take a drink order, which took so long to arrive we had to chase the order. When ordering the food we enquired about the chargrilled aubergine and chickpea meal to be told with sarcasm “it’s chargrilled aubergine!” No mention of what it came with or the spice level. Then the starters were left waiting on the kitchen pass, we had to alert a waitress to get our food. Whilst this was going on two members of staff spent 30 mins faffing around with balloons and glitter for a party, which they set up for an hour early. The mains was below average, the mash was cold and lumpy. The homemade beer battered fish was definitely from a frozen packet. Asked for the bill to pay, then we were over charged for the drinks we had to chase earlier. Waitress did remove from the bill. Whilst paying we mentioned how bad the service was, waitress replied with “would you like a free coffee?” Which only costs £2 when we had spent over £100. Would not visit again and would not recommend, your better off going into Canterbury for a nice meal. Would of given a zero if allowed.

Written 1 February 2020

jeremy h

Canterbury31 contributions

Exceptionally Good

Oct 2020 • none

This is a beautiful restaurant which would benefit from that tudor period embellishment, a vomitorium! Not because the food is egregious, quite the reverse. It is so good and served in such enormous quantities that for some it would be necessary to make room for more! Weatherspoons is ok for a cheap meal but it has its limitations. For not a lot more money you could go here and enjoy peaceful secluded surroundings and enjoy excellent food served by very friendly and helpful staff.

Written 5 October 2020

EmNapes66

Canterbury10 contributions

I would avoid at all cost

Aug 2021 • family

It was bad from the get go to be honest. Rang the restaurant to book a table to drive over there on time to be told that they do accept cash under any circumstances because they’ve kept the rule since covid… but no one has to wear masks anymore but they can’t touch cash from your pockets makes sense, when said to them well why wasn’t I told this earlier today when booking? They said it is on out website.. that’s good to know we called you didn’t look at your website 😂😂. To then be seated in the most tiny booth there was 4 of us me and my partner and my brother and sister in law our other half’s are big lads they were more or less on our laps.. the restaurant was empty so I said don’t suppose we could be moved to another table please as look we have no room what’s so ever and she said no sorry fully booked.. I said it’s empty 😂 surely we are here first so your next table of 4 due to come can sit here unless they have required space for disabilities say so then we were moved to another table. I asked for mussels they said sorry we don’t have any, the boys ordered doubles for the drinks they only got singles I asked for a rare steak instead (£30) we waited 30mins for our food and while I’m waiting three other tables ordered there’s after ours and all three tables had mussels coming out??? Thought they didn’t have any. Anyway our food came my steak came and it was well done I asked for rare when saying to them I asked rare it’s Grey inside she said ahh sorry we will remake it which is good I can’t knock them for that but said we will give you a free dessert so I said no it’s fine I won’t be eating dessert but you could knock some off the steak bill instead. The manager came over an older lady and said you can’t have that steak taken off the bill I said I didn’t say that I said instead of a free dessert you could take a percentage off the steak as I won’t have dessert.. she said I can see what I can do and your food will take around 4 mins to cook. 15 mins later my whole table had finished their food I still hadn’t received mine although for 5 mins it was sitting on the bar in the kitchen waiting to be given to me. When it finally got given to me it was rare which I wanted but an all in all hour wait to eat and be the only one eating on my table I had enough and didn’t finish it. When the bill came they took my £2.95 drink off the bill 😂😂 everyone else’s food they said it was alright but for the prices the portions were tiny all in all our came to £120 and we’ve all gone and grabbed more food on the way home because we were all hungry still. I do not recommend if you want what you ask for and you hold out on eating before hand but want to spend loads of money to still be hungry when you leave. The place is ran by kids.. the chef looks about 18 can’t cook a steak to save his life, and the waitresses although really polite didn’t know how to deal with situations. It wasn’t as if the place was thriving and it was packed it was dead. Never again will I go there.

Written 21 August 2021

81BeachStreet

Thank you for reviewing us. I am very sorry to read how disappointed you were with your visit with us. We have met as a team and gone through your comments and investigated what happened, as we very rarely receive a review so unhappy. From talking to the team I believe that when you first visited you were seated at a bigger table but then you chose to leave as you were unhappy about not being able to pay with cash - unfortunately when you then returned a little while later that table had gone and we offered you what we then had available. The kitchen team have apologised for the steak not being rare - we did remake you a new one, which is good to hear you said was good. And just to confirm our chef is a lot older than 18 ! But he was delighted you thought he looked so young! Having spoken with the duty manager now we agree we should have taken the steak off your bill, as a goodwill gesture. We have checked our system and we actually took off both the drinks that customer with the steak issue had, not just one drink. Sorry for any misunderstanding. As I said though we should have taken the steak off instead. Thank you for bringing these things to our attention and once again we are sorry you were so disappointed.

Written 24 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jonna S

1 contribution

Awful

Aug 2020 • family

Very disappointing. The starters were great, however the mains were not as anticipated following great presentation and taste. The chips that came with the burger had clearly been fried more than once. They were hard and we left them. In fairness we should of returned them. The tiny cod portion was listed as coming with charred lemon. The lemon was simply a slice placed straight on plate. Presentation was lacking, cod was very greasy although the batter was tasty. The childs sausage and mash came with cabbage. It is not a criticism but possibly peas would be more appreciated.

Written 11 August 2020

KateSBSR

Thank you for your review. Really sorry to hear how disappointed you were with the food though. Please do let us know at the time, if this happens again, as we will always aim to rectify the situation. Sorry about the cabbage with the kids menu - I completely agree with you, not sure I know many children who like cabbage! Will check with the team who worked that day, but I imagine they may have been out of peas! Will certainly pass on all your comments to our kitchen team. Once again, please accept my apologies and I do hope you may give us another try at some point.

Written 13 August 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Mary S

Canterbury28 contributions

Good Value, fabulous food

Oct 2020 • friends

Lunch visit, booked on line via open table. Covid safeguards noted on arrival. Taken to table and did not have to wait long for drink service and food orders. There were two of us for lunch and we both ordered from the very reasonably priced lunch menu. My friend ordered whitebait, served hot and crispy with a dip followed by ham, egg and chips. The gammon was beautifully cooked, home made chunky chips and 2 eggs. Excellent I ordered Thai beef salad followed by Thai vegetable curry. Both dishes were nice and spicy and resulted in me visibly melting in the restaurant. The chef sent me some homemade coconut ice cream to help quell my heat. Kind gestures like that are always appreciated and makes you want to return. Highly recommended for many reasons ⭐️

Written 21 October 2020

Tina U

Canterbury7 contributions

Very Disappointing

May 2021 • friends

Booked with intention of having a good Sunday roast. Unfortunately I have nothing good to say about the food it was awful. The chicken was raw, 3 tiny potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding that needed a chisel and hammer to cut through. Puréed carrots that looked like slop. I had to share vegetables which consisted of 4 tiny parsnips a finger bowl size of peas and some peculiar finger bowl leak and cheese dish. I complained about the chicken and it was removed from the bill. The wine was equally disgusting, I chose a white Australian Chardonnay which is my normal choice when having a meal, it tasted like vinegar I almost spat it out. I was invited to test a thimble of two other wines which were equally disgusting. I finally accepted a Pinot which was passable. I think the Granville seriously needs to change the wine they are ordering in preference to more palatable blend. Also the measures were well below par, we ordered two medium and one large, when the wines came out the measures were definitely not large or medium more small and medium. Really disappointed will not dine there again.

Written 2 May 2021

sw200

Canterbury24 contributions

Customer service issues.

Feb 2020 • family

I have been 4 or 5 times. The first few meals were good, hence the return visits. I have been disappointed, however, on the past 2 visits with the attitude of the staff. We were there today for Sunday dinner with the family and although the food was ok you just can’t help feel that the staff are doing you a favour. No requests are met with any enthusiasm or courteousness, and the responses make you feel as though you are putting them out. I wasn’t alone in this perception as I went to mention it to my partner and she was thinking exactly the same. No one us rude or anything, you just feel like you’re a but of an inconvenience to them. The same could be said for our last visit. It’s a shame as it’s a nice place and the food isn’t bad. Perhaps I have high expectations but when I go out for a meal I want to feel as though my custom is important and valued. Probably won’t go again for a while and will keep my eye on other reviews.

Written 2 February 2020

Tiggyoo

4 contributions

Poor table service

Sept 2021 • family

Very disappointed with my visit to the granville. I booked a table for the restaurant but was then seated on sofas in the corner of the room behind the bar, when asked if we could move was told no sorry as fully booked yet noticed that the same empty tables when we entered were still empty when we left so why we couldn't have been seated there I'm not sure. Bearing in mind we were there for a roast dinner too it seemed very impractical to be eating a meal from what was basically a coffee table and two sofas. From there on the service just went down hill I'm not sure if the waitress was annoyed I asked to be moved and from there decided not to bother with us? Drinks were ordered straight away and we asked politely if they could be kept on a separate tab to the food from here the waitress rolled her eyes like that was a big issue but said ok still.. Food arrived quickly.. possibly the only plus about this experience. However was soon ruined by the lack there of, we ordered 3 roast dinners where a 'sharing plate' of veg came out... Between 3 people we ended up with a carrot each, a spoonful of cabbage and cauliflower cheese (later noticed this same amount was shared for a table of 2 near us why we weren't allowed a few more carrots or something I'm not too sure) the beef was tough as anything... either that or my knife was blunt but I could hardly cut it! Would have complained at this point but we had not one waitress walk near us the whole time to see how we were, if we needed anything else etc. The usual table service you'd expect from having been here already for around 30 minutes. After finishing we waited patiently for 20 minutes with empty plates on the table as again no one even glanced our way so in the end we got up and paid for the bill at the bar cause we could have been sat there all afternoon with no one noticing. Whilst waiting at the bar we watched the staff buzzing around the restaurant serving people... again adding to my point of we were put in the corner hidden and basically forgotten about the whole time. Will not be returning and highly disappointed in everything that happened today. Poor service.

Written 5 September 2021

Kim B

Canterbury39 contributions

Great place to lunch

Dec 2021 • friends

This is a great place to visit if you love set menus! They are great value for money as the food is always cooked perfectly and presented beautifully. We visited on a very busy Friday lunchtime. The service was slower than usual but this was due to only 2 waitresses but our waitress, Roberta was an absolute professional and still afforded us her attention with always a smile. The menu changes all the time which is great too. A great place to visit at the moment as well due to the tables being very well spaced out

Written 21 December 2021

257kc21

Sandgate34 contributions

Disappointed

Feb 2020 • none

Had high expectations,because of recommendations.Place has a warm and friendly atmosphere.The service was good and attentive. First course was a salmon rillettes came in a small bowl,just poached salmon in a white creamy sauce that you could eat with a teaspoon?not a rillettes or a pate. Reheated dry roast beef to follow eaten with a steak knife. Like a meal made of leftovers!

Written 24 February 2020

Frohlix

Newcastle upon Tyne402 contributions

Customer Service and Food Outstanding.

Feb 2020 • none

Visited after a poor experience last year and the difference this time was outstanding. We'd contacted the manager about my wife's allergy and he made us welcome. The service was excellent and the food was absolutely superb with us being able to watch the kitchen staff hard at work (and they were!). We both had potted salmon; (very tender) roast beef with mash and kale and were only able to manage one sweet between us. It is to be hoped Shepherd Neame appreciates the effort put in by the manager and the one member of serving staff 'front of house', who managed a near-full restaurant between the just two of them. Be back next year!

Written 9 March 2020

Ms_KellyJ11

London5 contributions

Mothers Day Meal

Mar 2022 • none

Firstly I wish to say I came here with a group in December 2021 and had a lovely meal, hence wishing to return with my mother and family for this special day. There was nothing advertised on the website for Mothers Day menu so checked out the Sunday lunch menu. The prices were £4 more than advertised on the website for a roast, probably because of MD but surely this should be advertised. When you have children, it is something most parents check before booking a table. We arrived on time, had to wait for someone to come and seat us. We asked for a different table, but told not possible as they were all reserved. I think a switch is possible, just a bit of Admin as there were a number of free tables at a time which you would expect on a busy day. Our food arrived very quickly after ordering but was lukewarm. We did not mention the roast mains were the same which in hindsight I wished we had. The vegetables were changed and came out piping hot, but it took a while for someone to come and ask if all was ok with the meal after it had been initially served. We were disappointed with the whole experience which is a pity as we had been looking forward to it since booking a number of weeks in advance for a special occasion.

Written 28 March 2022

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