Wheelers Oyster Bar
Whitstable, Kent
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The candyfloss-pink frontage and walls crowded with maritime pictures announce one of Whitstable's most cherishable assets, a seafood haven since the mid-Victorian era, still serving sparkling-fresh fish and shellfish from the local boats to a discerning clientele. A roaring takeaway trade might send you off with a prawn and crab tartlet to treasure. Otherwise, the venue offers everything from daytime sustenance to a eight-course tasting menu on Friday and Saturday evenings. Mark Stubbs embraces a dazzling range of culinary styles, turning his hand to anything from chargrilled scallops with buttered Kentish asparagus, polonaise crumble and crab mimosa to sticky Korean prawns with kachumber salad and gochujang sauce. And that's just for starters. The choice of mains also covers a lot of ground: roast sea bass with spring-green colcannon, fermented wild garlic stalks and a tartare sauce flecked with coastal herbs; pistachio- and citrus-crusted halibut with scallop and horseradish velouté; crispy-fried buttermilk monkfish with red cabbage coleslaw, griddled sweetcorn kerrnels and BBQ sauce. The lightest option for dessert could be a raspberry soufflé with raspberry-ripple ice cream. Unlicensed – so nip into the 'Offy' across the road for a bottle of wine or one of the specially selected craft beers.
