The Pearsons Arms

Friendly service, and very mixed reviews on the food. My wife loved her fish pie, but the Sunday night roast left a lot to be desired. The «aged» roast was near raw, but with a grey ring on the outside and all three slices were so tough that a knife could not tear through the sinew and gristle. I literally could not eat more than a bite of the grey edge, because you could not pry off a piece no matter how long you sawed at it. The vegetables and Yorkshire Pudding was nice and the eggs Benedict starter was tasty, but I don’t think I’d ever order a steak or roast from there again. The starter and desert were presented fairly plain, but the main dish, while inedible, was plated nicely. As I said, very mixed reviews.

The Pearson’s Arms had got the right recipe as far as I’m concerned. We went there with our friend Philip and we all agreed that the food and service were both top notch. Philip and I chose the venison dish but, as he doesn’t like mushrooms, they were happy to change them for fennel instead. The meat was succulent and the sauce absolutely delicious no danger of calling it ‘gravy’! Judi chose a smoked haddock dish which she pronounced to be superb.
The wine list was a bit confusing as their affordable bottles are found on the ‘by the glass’ page. We chose a splendid Malbec from Argentina whilst Judi had a zingy white which she clearly enjoyed as she finished the whole bottle by herself. I can’t remember what it was, however :-(
Then came the crowning glory (s). We each chose a different pudding and we each declared our choice to be the best pudding we had ever had! I had the clementine parfait, Judi the roasted black figs and Philip the clafouti. The Maury Grenat Grenache Noir topped it off perfectly.
They were very busy (as they should be!) and if the service was fairly slow the food was not ‘fast’ and that’s fine by me!

At last a decent pub that has local food. Often hard to find in Kent. It really looks like the managers have made a real effort in making the pub individual, interesting and fresh. Tables are far enough apart. Nice and dark and cosy. Fabulous. The only downside is that the pub is encouraging screaming famillies with free kiddle offers which makes you wonder whether they will dumb down the great menus with tinned alphabet spagetti, baked beans, American burgers and American fries that you see in most English towns where there are kiddie menus. Famillies could go to Herne Bay for junk food and get those there. I would avoid weekends perhaps to avoid the feral kids. During the week at lunchtime it is better, and full of adults wanting a quiet time and have an adult conversation without toddlers. Love to go back! I didn’t realise there was a seating area overlooking the sea. have to try that.

I went to this restaurant with a friend on 13^th August 2010 at the end of a nice day in Whitstable. The dining room is nicely presented and the head waiter/​owner was lovely and friendly and gave us a nice sea-​view table. We ordered beer-​battered fish and chips with peas at £14 each, but unfortunately the food did not live up to the setting or the price at all. The oil used to fry the food was stale. I didn’t complain about this because I wasn’t sure the oil was off until halfway through eating the food, and by then it seemed too late to complain. When the owner /​head waiter had to leave the building for a few moments, the young staff put on aggressive music and turned it up way too loud for a restaurant. I had to get up and ask them to turn it down — in fact, I had to find them first as they were all downstairs chatting in the entrance area rather than keeping an eye on their diners. The owner was later very apologetic and deducted the service charge from the bill, but overall this was a thoroughly disappointing experience. We would have been much better off getting takeaway fish and chips and eating it on the beach. I hope this review helps the restaurant to improve their offering.

Although Pearson’s is a resturant upstairs there is also a bar downstairs which stands in its own right. If you are a cocktails fan then the Pearsons Arms is the place for you. The cocktails menu has a great range from the classic (Cosmopolitan) to the Apple Strudel (non-​alcoholic) and champagne cocktails for the more flushed among us.
Seating areas could be addressed a bit better as it is mainly standing room with seating at the front or near the loos.
Overall a good place to start your evening with a swing.