Samphire is a little restaurant in the heart of Whitstable town. Whitstable is the famous seaside town which boasted the first passenger train line between itself and Canterbury in 1830, ferrying rich Victorians to spend time by the sea. Now, the town is known for its annual oyster festival in July.
If you want a seat at Samphire, you have to book in advance. Otherwise, you will be turned away. The place is not short of customers and it is not difficult to see why.
Service is excellent – friendly, helpful and full of recommendations. Even though there were two of us, the smiling waitress recommended that we just share portions as they would be quite large. We started with a nice bucket of mussels prepared in the typical moule mariniere style of white wine, garlic and cream sauce with lots of fresh aromatic parsley. Everything was seasoned very well.
For the main, we were recommended to share the house fish pie (something which other reviewers had raved about). We ordered seasonal greens as a side. The portion was generous, to say the least, and both of us were pretty full by the time we finished. The mash was creamy and lush. It wasn’t overcooked, and the fish flaked beautifully, framed by the wonderful dill.
I can’t wait to go back and try the other rustic dishes. The only slight disappointment was that I couldn’t see anything on the menu with the restaurant’s namesake: samphire!
Samphire is located on the High St, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1BQ (Tel: 01227 770075).