Pearsons Arms

Sometimes it is very strange how you end up in a terrific restaurant but I think that this one was one of the more peculiar.

On our way to Dover we decided to bring the car a long as a last minute decision. We were checking the prices at the ticket office and she told us that it would be 75 euro if we wanted to the car along. We looked at each other and agreed that was indeed fair.

Arriving in Dover we were picked out by the customs; not just an ordinary check, a very very thorough one, where they look inside our doors and even inside every crack that you have in the car. I must say they found a lot of my missing golf tees.

The custom officers were rather nice and I guess they were just doing their job and not harassing every Dane travelling in a Belgium car. We started chatting with them, when they realized that we apparently were more innocent than we looked, and since they didn’t find anything during their eager search. When they were finished we asked them where they would go if they were on a one day trip!

One of them had heard about this seafood and oyster place in Whitstable which was supposed to be very good. We followed their lead and ended in the restaurant Pearson´s Arms.

The restaurant was situated at the Sea Wall very close to the water. It had clearly at some point been a house for fishing material or something close to that. It is literally a stone's throw from the sea, right in the heart of Whitstable, and its dining room offers arguably the best views overlooking the sea. It's location marks the original landing site of Thames Barges to Whitstable, and is known as 'The Horsebridge', where the old cobbled jetty would allow goods to be transported from the waiting boats on horseback.

We entered a very light and open room with a lot of space and a big bar in the open space. We were met by a young woman who asked where we wanted to sit, or if we were interested in joining the restaurant upstairs. We went for the 1st floor.

This was also a very bright and cosy room with 20-30 nicely decorated seats; the restaurant was almost one third full and there was a large Hen-party making a lot of noise since they had been drinking some time.

We were not that hungry but both of us longed for oysters! We got each a plate with half a dozen large rock oysters and man they were great! Besides tasting great they also were big. Truly a great place to get this wonderful dish! We both ordered an local beer; I had a pint of Gadds no5 which was a bit dead and my friend had taken a seasider had the same experience, but we are probably quiet picky since we live in Brussels with all this great beers around us all the time.

The restaurant is renowned for its seafood, but The Pearson's also serves a range of dishes for discerning vegetarians and carnivores alike. With Chef Rob Taylor's emphasis on what's best in modern and traditional mainly British cuisine, The Pearsons' resurgence has fast gained it recognition as one of Whitstable's top restaurants
Head Chef Robert Taylor was trained at The Tenth, Royal Garden Hotel, London, and worked in Australia for two years after a brief time at Le Manoir Aux Quat' Saisons under Raymond Blanc. Now back in the U.K, Robert Taylor's passion is exploring and rediscovering the full range of modern and traditional British cuisine.