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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Details

CUISINES
Bar, Seafood, British, Pub, Gastropub
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
View all details
meals, features
Reviews (1,607)
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Traveller rating
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All reviews triple cooked chips scallops pork belly pudding sunday roast seafood travelzoo voucher restaurant upstairs gastro pub two courses set menu lovely pub have eaten here seafront kent
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Reviewed 1 week ago

We got severe food poisoning and have been unwell for 5 days now....I have emailed them but received no response. If you go on a Sunday the menu states you HAVE to have 2 courses, I only wanted 1 but then you still have to...pay £30. And we got the poisoning from the trout starter that we didn't want, but also didn't want to wast our money. The member of staff that booked our table the night before was lovely. The female member of staff who served us really didnt want to be there. Like she was hungover or is treated badly by management. Food was oversalted, not tasty and small portions. The other 2 guests we were with were also underwhelmed by the food. The trout starter came with a blue oil that was tasteless, and very unappealing to look at. We spent £150 . Overpriced. Underwhelmed and very unewell.More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 1 week ago

Visited the Pearsons numerous times in the past over the years, and had marvellous meals there with family and friends upstairs and downstairs, was always a must for Whitstable... well that has changed. We had such a bad evening meal when staying down in Whitstable...after Christmas, we had a treat weekend staying over and visiting many eating establishments including the Pearsons for dinner at 7pm on the Saturday evening. We were downstairs as we had our dog with us. We were subject to agressive drunk people being sick in the ladies, people opening doing drug deals outside and the management could not control it. The food was not so good either, but would be acceptable if for the hoards of loud people banging past the table and doing stuff in the toilets. The staff were not in control and even knew the people doing this. The "owner" contacted us the next day apologising and offering to do something to make it right, but has since ignored all my emails to do something about it as we stupidly paid our bill for a mediochre meal in a drug infused nightclub scenario at 7pm with idiots interupting people eating downstairs and hanging from the beams, it was absolutely unacceptable and unbelievable... oh how the might Pearsons has fallen! I will not be returning any time soon as the new management do not care about customers! I didnt want to write this as I loved the Pearsons, however I if you know the Pearsons, then a visit now will not be the same - avoid like hell!!More

Date of visit: January 2024
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 2 weeks ago

We’ve frequently headed to this place for big occasions. It’s probably fair to say it’s been up and down the past few years in terms of food quality, but always a great pub. I want sure what to expect. But I was really happy with...the new menu. Little touches like the design of the new menu and complimentary appetisers were nice touches. I had the beef short ribs which were super unctuous. Kids had the burgers which were actually not cooked to death like a lot of places, which believe kids should have tasteless options. Overall, best informal dining venue in Whitstable. Minor gripe, less salt in the polenta (yes, that’s the most middle class thing ever).More

Date of visit: March 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago

Went for Sunday lunch, they were very aware of my allergy, labelled the menu well and could adapt the roasts. Food was delicious.

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago via mobile

Lovely Sunday roast here today, the food was absolutely perfect - no criticisms whatsoever. Staff were super friendly and accommodating (gluten free guest with us). Really nice pub and would 100% recommend to anyone. Just to add that there was a table next to us...with severe complaints about being handed a hot plate (yet we know from overhearing and from when got our food, that the waitress lets everyone know before that the plates are hot and places the food infront of you and doesn’t pass you the plate). Yes the plates were warm, but no where near enough to request ice for their hand. They were generally very rude to all staff. Typical snooty people who shouldn’t go out for a meal if they aren’t going to have respect for staff. (I’m putting this in my review in case they leave a review and it puts people off going) Anyway, top quality pub for a roast and thank you to the lovely staff!More

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago

We have been coming to Pearsons for many years and have always had a lovely meal there, but this time it was very disappointing. The service was slow, my friends were served first and by the time they had eaten theirs, ours arrived due to...a mix up on food. The potion sizes are very small and although the trout starter was nice, it was served in a blue watery sauce? Eventually when the main course arrived it was a small piece of Haddock on a very large plate with chopped potatoes spread across the plate. My friend had tarte tatin which was nothing like a tart with a soggy biscuit crumb under a blob of apple. All in all very disappointing and we won’t be returning any time soon.More

Date of visit: February 2024
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 4 weeks ago

We had an excellent meal at the Pearsons Arms. We came at 6pm on Friday evening of Feb half term and were two adults, two kids (aged 8 & 6) and a puppy. We let them know about the dog at the time of booking...and they seated us on the ground floor, where dogs were clearly very welcome (dog bowls, water treats, and blankets available). We ordered oysters and beef wellington and all were absolutely delicious. Incredible quality shellfish and meat, fantastic flavours. The kids’ meals were very tasty and excellent quality. They were free (for under 10s), which was a lovely surprise. We really enjoyed the lively atmosphere. Our waiter, Alex, was very friendly and attentive. There was a misunderstanding with one of the kids’ orders and he sorted it no problem at all. We’ll definitely be back.More

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago via mobile

The food was delish!!! The staff were great But more than anything always we met the funniest kindest young man at the bar, he was wearing crocs with socks and just rocked

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 4 weeks ago

Was in whitstable on a pre-valentines get away with my wife, didn’t book ahead and we were lucky the staff were more then accommodating, we settled for the steak bavette, which for £28 we thought was a little steep. We both opted for medium rare....We were absolutely delighted with our meals. The steak was cooked beautifully and was full of flavour. We could see the chef at his pass from our table and as we walked past we complimented him and to our surprise it was a younger chef with short blonde hair, we will be back againMore

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 8 February 2024

Just had the £25 lunch menu and it was 😋 Rabbit croquette was so unusual but amazing Highly recommend Both had beef ribs which were both tender and tasty 😋 Highly recommend

Date of visit: February 2024
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Reviewed 27 January 2024

I’m very sad to have to give the Pearson’s Arm a bad review as I have eaten there before and it’s has alway been good. Taking our friends for lunch, the starters - the moules were good but the rest were just ok except for...my Scott egg, how they could serve me a cremated Scot egg which was cut in half and looked though the egg had been boiled and just been put on the top, we were all horrified, needless to say I sent it back and they agreed it was not good - then why serve it? They had no halibut so said would turbot be ok, which 3 of the party agreed to. When it arrived you could eat it in one mouthful it was so small - this is not a Michelin star restaurant you do expect a decent portion. The fish and chips were again not up to their usual standard. All in all we will not be going back there for a long time if at all. It was also embarrassing taking friends there that we said the food was excellent. How wrong can we be.More

Date of visit: January 2024
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 11 January 2024

So - we had sunday lunch here 3 times in the past 3 months. On the first occasion, we were booked in at 4pm. Our table wasn't ready when we arrived, when we were finally seated after 25 minutes there were only 3 other tables...occupied. Most of the veg had run out, and the beef was very chewy. As we'd eaten in here a few times before and had good experiences, we tried again. This time we were earlier at around 2pm, and the meal was much better. The pigs in blankets were superb (an extra to the sunday lunch). My wife's chicken was good, not brilliant and my turkey was very good. Based on this experience, we booked in for december for their christmas menu. All i can say is the food, what there was of it, was ok. However, for a christmas dinner there was only 1 small slice of turkey. The portion was appalling and not worth the price. The veg were ok but not great. All in all we won't be back. Nor will other family members who went between christmas and new year and had similar issues with portion sizes.More

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 8 January 2024

Myself & my husband visited The Pearsons Arms for lunch. The lunch was delicious we had scampi, sausage rolls & soup. We decided to book dinner later for 6 people. My husband ordered scallops for starters what a disappointment 1 scallop arrived it was ridiculous...£12 for 1 scallop. Not sure where the rest of his starter was. Our food arrived but one persons meal didn’t. We’d all finished our meal when her cottage pie arrived. It was inedible dry & uncooked inside. The mince inside was pink it wasn’t even cooked properly. What a disappointment the whole evening turned out to be. We wished we’d gone elsewhere & had fish & chips in the many wonderful Whitstable nearby pubs or restaurants . We won’t be visiting again.More

Date of visit: January 2024
Helpful?1  
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.
Reviewed 7 January 2024

Hadn’t visited the pub for many years but remembered it being a really pleasant fine dining experience…well my goodness had it changed!! We walked in past a young lad smoking by the door blowing it in our faces to a crowded bar full of drunks...and young student types being loud and vaping. It absolutely stank of cigarettes and stale beer and was really dirty and grimy. The young bar staff seemed to be joining in with the crowd at the bar and shouted hello to a young lad who walked in who loudly announced to the staff that he “needed a piss” and would be back! Long gone are the days of hand crafted cocktails when I asked for a passion fruit martini it had rubicon squash used for the passion fruit!! Menus were scrawled on chalkboards with a real weatherspoons vibe..and that’s exactly what the pub atmosphere was like a weatherspoons. We glanced at the menu which looked basic and pub grub style. Fish and chips pie and chips or Turkey were the mains…Needless to say we decided not to stay for dinner and were very lucky to get a table a jojos instead which absolutely saved the day! We left quickly not drinking the revolting drinks that were served up and will never return!More

Date of visit: January 2024
Helpful?2  
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.
Reviewed 31 December 2023

Awful! Give this place a wide berth. Menu interesting but what actually arrived was far below expectations: tasteless, undercooked potatoes, the skate tasted deep fried! We were not expecting Michelin star food but this was a negative experience. Something needs to change.

Date of visit: December 2023
Helpful?2  
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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Questions & Answers
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558linda
21 November 2017|
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Response from donovand765 | Reviewed this property |
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Towitowoo
22 June 2015|
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Response from Towitowoo | Reviewed this property |
It sounds to me that lunch is a better experience at Pearson's. I do think that bread could be offered even as an extra! This was a special Birthday Celebration we did not wish to complain at the time as we were not paying... More
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PEARSON'S ARMS RESTAURANT, Whitstable - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Pearson's Arms Restaurant

Yes, Pearson's Arms Restaurant is taking precautions against COVID-19. A full list is available within the "safety precautions" section of this page.

Pearson's Arms Restaurant is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 3.5
  • Value: 3.5
  • Atmosphere: 4