SPONSORED EDITORIAL

We all enjoy a proper Christmas dinner, but wouldn't it be nice to do away with all the faff?

Well, take a look below to see where to eat out in Kent this festive season - and if turkey isn't your thing, there are many alternatives to indulge in...

DUNKERLEY’S RESTAURANT AND HOTEL
Where: Beach Street, Deal
Call: 01304 375016
Visit: www.dunkerleys.co.uk

Visit Dunkerley’s this Christmas for a great dining experience. The popular award-winning restaurant on Deal’s seafront boasts a selection of festive menus, most noticeably the Christmas Party Menu which at £20 a head is worth every penny.

While spiced tomato soup, traditional roast turkey and rich Christmas pudding is more than adequate, there are plenty of alternatives on the menu for those wanting something different, be it a Deal herring fillet starter, poached Sandwich Bay plaice fillet main, or a mouth-watering cinnamon brulee dessert.

Don’t forget to accompany your food with a bottle of wine from Ian Dunkerley’s Wine’s a Passion list. He will be more than happy to help you choose the wine most suited to your dishes.

Fresh fish is also locally sourced. On occasions Ian has enjoyed trips out to the Goodwins to help bring the harvest in.

Dunkerley’s classic Deal Lobster, lightly baked in white wine and parsley, is certainly of a high quality. The warm ambiance, friendly staff and glowing fire are just some of the reasons Dunkerley’s is still here 27 years on.

The hotel has 16 luxury en suite rooms – four equipped with a spa bath and one with a four poster bed – with sea views aplenty. The restaurant can seat up to 60 people and in the bar, food is served throughout the day.

All menus are available from the hotel reception and online at www.dunkerleys.co.uk. To book, call 01304 375016. Use your Deal Card to receive 10% off.

TAJ CUISINE
Where: Walderslade Road, Chatham
Call: 01634 686648
Visit: www.taj-cuisine.co.uk

An outstanding selection of Indian and Bangladeshi dishes can be found at Taj Cuisine in Medway this Christmas. The restaurant and takeaway’s food is specially prepared by its head chef, Abul Monsur, who recently won Chef of the Year in a Bangladesh Caterers Association competition.

The restaurant – found in Walderslade – is taking Christmas bookings now and the menu will be the same as it has been throughout the year, with a wide range of superb Asian dishes on offer.

Manager Miah Akther said: “We are a family restaurant. We have traditional values with a modern stance too.

“We use cutting edge technology when we are cooking our dishes to get a unique combination of texture and taste. We are a customer-orientated restaurant. You get value for money but also good quality as well.”

Taj Cuisine pride themselves on offering a warm and friendly atmosphere, with head chef Abul a former Medway Curry Chef of the Year, to accompany his Bangladesh Caterers Association award win just a few weeks ago.

Miah added: “We offer good food and good service - everything combined with our experience. Abul won chef of the year very recently which was a competition where he could profile his skills.”

THE CHARLES DICKENS PUB AND RESTAURANT
Where: Victoria Parade, Broadstairs
Call: 01843 600160
Visit: www.charlesdickensbroadstairs.co.uk

One of the largest pubs in Broadstairs and named after the town’s probably most famous previous resident, the Charles Dickens Pub and Restaurant is ready for the Christmas period.

Open throughout the festive season, including Christmas day, food will be served all day, every day. To complement the Christmas party menu served throughout the bar and dining rooms, the Charles Dickens will also be running its ever changing daily menu with produce locally sourced from excellent suppliers.

On Friday and Saturday nights through December there will be live music from 9pm in the bar to entertain you and your party. The menu is wide and varied.

Starters on offer include a smoky chicken and roasted chestnut soup, mains feature traditional Kentish roast turkey and deserts offer Dickensian Christmas pudding.
Cured meat board, pan-fried breast of pheasant with confit pheasant and winter berry and honey nut crumble also feature on the menu.

On New Years Eve, why not book a table in the Charles Dickens dining rooms with excellent views of the fireworks which will be setting the sky alight over Viking bay at midnight.
The pub boasts a main bar downstairs and the Copperfields restaurant and bar upstairs, commanding excellent views across the bay.

The building is around 200 years old and in the late 1800s was famous as a high class entertainment venue – an ideal place for a Christmas meal out.

THE GREAT BRITISH LARDER
Where: The Woodville Theatre, Gravesend
Call: 01474 337156
Visit: www.woodville.co.uk

The Great British Larder is the Woodville Theatre’s all-new restaurant and has opened just in time for the Christmas festivities. Offering theatre-goers the chance to dine before sitting down to enjoy a show, the restaurant’s menu is full of British grub.

Open whenever a show is on, booking is needed for the Great British Larder and it offers typical British food - including fish and chips and roast chicken.

Woodville Theatre general manager Neil Chandler said: “The Great British Larder is our new restaurant - it only opened a couple of weeks ago.

“It offers a proper winter warmer and is a nice place to eat before a show. People can come not just for the show, but also for the restaurant and can now make an evening out of it.

“It’s Christmas so it’s a good time to do it. What a good experience it will be for people to come with friends and have something to eat, and then see a show.

“It offers a good range of English tucker."