A new coastal restaurant has been described as having “one of the most intriguing and punchy menus you’ll come across on the entire south coast”, according to a famous critic.

The Guardian’s Grace Dent – who last year appeared, albeit briefly, in the jungle for I’m A Celebrity – waxed lyrical about The Blue Pelican in Deal in her latest review.

And she was so taken by the toilet at the eatery – which only opened last month - she described it as “very possibly the prettiest place to spend a penny in 2024”.

The restaurant, on Beach Street, offers Japanese-inspired food and is run by the husband and wife team who run the nearby pub The Rose.

And it clearly delighted the taste palate of the critic who said it was a hidden gem.

She wrote: “The Blue Pelican could easily just have served pricey fish and chips for tourists to eat in a seaside setting, but instead they’ve gone out on a limb and set up a very classy, experimental, neighbourhood Japanese restaurant that I expect the locals will not feel like sharing with down-from-Londons.”

She was also particularly taken by the bathroom.

“Rarely do I mention a restaurant loo so early in proceedings,” she wrote, “but at the Blue Pelican they’ve painted the tiny, under-the-stairs space such a vivid, fiery terracotta and lit it so gorgeously that it’s very possibly the prettiest place to spend a penny in 2024.”