Kent’s seaside towns may already be prime getaway destinations, but one coastal spot is garnering particular national adoration for its food offering.
With critics waxing lyrical about the quality and variety of the cuisine in Deal, we sent reporter Louis Walker to ask restaurateurs if they think they are on the cusp of a foodie revolution…
There is certainly a buzz surrounding the food and drink scene in the idyllic east-Kent town.
Recently, the area has continued to add more strings to its bow, and now boasts a vibrant array of top-rated eateries growing in popularity with locals and visitors alike.
My first stop as I set off to explore the town’s offering is Frog and Scot, a site that has been a staple of Deal High Street for the past nine years after finding success with small tasting events with local producers at its wine shop La Pinadier just a few doors down.
“I suppose we are kind of like the OG in town in terms of bringing up the quality of food and drinks,” said Benoit Dezecot, who owns the small plate eatery with wife Sarah.
“We were trying to get more people together and found they wanted more food. It was a niche, basically.
“So we thought, better than sending customers here and there, let’s send them to us.”
What originally started as a six-month stop-over across the Channel has turned into a 12-year stay, with four kids and two businesses – but why Deal?
“Here, it’s like the old days; it was just very much people really wanting to help each other,” said Benoit. “There is a very strong sense of community, which feels nice. It’s a great location.
“You always see someone you know, and they’ll always stop you to chat—there are very few places where you still get that.
“To me, that really makes it worthwhile, and that’s on top of having amazing independent boutique shops and great, delicious restaurants.
“We’ve worked really hard on developing the business – in 12 years, we’ve seen an economic crisis, Covid – you must constantly try new things and adapt.
“After the pandemic, we had enough of the fine dining thing where your bill was £200 – we wanted to have fun again.
“It’s still the same chef and super tasty fresh, local food – you just can’t have a product that stays the same. You need better quality and better value, and at the moment, the focus is so much on price – Not just for us but for the customer.”
With costs coming to the forefront in recent years, it’s important to shine a light on the ways new chefs are letting their businesses take flight.
Chef Jakob Grant is the new kid on the block, only five years into his career, after igniting a passion for cooking as a side hustle while studying documentary photography at university.
He took the plunge in March, adding his culinary expertise to the town as he brings an ever-changing produce-led menu to Cherubs, based above the Bohemians pub on Beach Street, which often uses surplus stock from Deal’s local suppliers.
After plying his trade at Sargasso in Margate and Bouchon Racine in London, he felt it was time to present his first solo offering. But will Deal ever rival the county’s other foodie hotspots?
“You don’t need a £50,000 restaurant fit to create a nice dining environment,” said Jakob, who also works at local butchers, The Black Pig, in St George’s Passage.
“Deal’s great, fantastic produce which, if you’re a keen cook, there’s all sorts of great provisions here, and that’s the whole point of Cherubs, to work with those suppliers and sort of do a produce-led kind of cooking.
“It’s not like London, where I can call a supplier up at 11pm and have what I want delivered to my door at 8am the next day.
“Here, I call my orders wishlists. It can’t be guaranteed that the great suppliers will have an endless supply as they do in London – you have to be flexible.
“But the result of being collaborative is everything on the menu is always the best of the best.
“I do think the Deal food scene is developing. I mean, it’s not Margate yet, which has a good few established restaurants and so much space to work in, but I think some aspects are slowly coming over.
“Hopefully, over the next few years, more chefs will come to Deal and make something happen because you need that diversity of culinary backgrounds – people who’ve worked in all different places and parts of the country to make that next step.”
Another Deal staple has also expanded in recent months as bosses at The Rose, who have already brought A-list cooking to the Kent coast, added their unique spot in The Blue Pelican, which offers a hyper-seasonal Japanese menu, with elements changing week to week for hungry diners.
Here, head chef Luke Green is at the forefront, putting his five years in Japan and time under Nuno Mendes at their sister spot to the test in a prime location on Deal’s seafront, nestled next to another famed business, 81 Beach Street, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year.
Still in its infancy, after only opening its doors in December, The Blue Pelican has crafted an experimental offering.
Yet, punters, new and old, have made their feelings known, continuing to come back for more as the team attempt to make a name for themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
“After being in Japan for several years, I came back, which was only supposed to be for a few months, but I enjoyed it very much, and now I’m making my way here – So it wasn’t entirely deliberate, to be honest,” said Luke.
“It’s certainly impressive for such a small town to now have so many good options; you’ve got Frog and Scot, Cherubs, which is doing really well, and older spots like The Dining Club, which is still very popular.
“I think it’s definitely beneficial that we are all in one place, but there isn’t competition. What’s nice about this is that everyone brings something different to the table.
“Cooking here as well in an open kitchen, you feel like you’re a part of the customers, which has been lovely, and it’s a good mix of the London crowd still coming out and locals as well – it’s been overwhelmingly positive.”
With Deal’s High Street and main promenade capturing most of the passing trade, there’s the potential for some places to be forgotten.
Yet this has not been the experience for Suzanne and Scottie, who run The Dining Club in Middle Street. They say they’re “as busy as they can be,” but you won’t see a queue lining up around the block for this hidden attraction.
The pair moved back to Scottie’s home town after claiming two rosettes for six consecutive years at their previous hotel in Boscastle, North Cornwall.
Now, they have settled down and are no longer chasing AA recognition at their quirky restaurant, which only allows a select few guests each night.
To eat at one of the town’s best-kept secrets, potential diners have to sign up for a membership. Members are then given exclusive access to the team’s ever-changing five-course menus in advance.
Over the past 13 years, the duo has created a tight-knit community. Each week, only sparring seats are available to those on the waiting list.
Their “dinner parties” allow customers to challenge their preconceptions with each passing dish, and punters can bring their own booze to pair with the menu, thanks to a deal with local wine merchant La Pinadier.
“The freedom that I have now is that I know that I can put something fairly unusual on the menu. I do a lot of work with pigs’ heads,” said head chef Scott Roberts.
“The one thing I love about this place is I know things will sell, and I like to play around with some of the dishes – you may read one of our menus and think that sounds nice, but when it arrives, it could be presented slightly differently. I enjoy playing with people’s minds.
“And where it is five courses with no swaps, you kind of edge people out of their comfort zones by removing that element of choice. Here, it makes people try things first, and people often say I would never have picked that on a menu, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
But what about Deal’s food scene? Do the couple think Deal is the place to be?
“There’s certainly a big food scene in Deal at the moment, especially with Jenkins relocating. There’s a lot going on, but there’s scope to make it more foodie,” said Suzanne Roberts.
“I think in Deal, there’s no two restaurants alike; everybody does something different, and no one is competing against each other.
“You can go to the seafront for Jamaican or a nice mid-week meal at 81. You could head upmarket to Victuals or Frog and Scott, but you can still get great fish and chips. Nobody is doing the same thing.
“It’s just got better and better, with so many more restaurants in Deal, and personally, we’ve just had our best year, and it’s all through word of mouth.
“I think there’s scope to make it more foodie, but it could do with more accommodation because it really is becoming a destination.”
Whether you find yourself wandering down Deal High Street, strolling along the promenade or winding your way through the middle roads, there seems to be a foodie’s paradise waiting to be explored.
Those in the know also seem to be voting with their feet as new restaurants pop up all over the town.
A rich and varied food scene is bubbling under the surface in Deal – and there’s clearly a huge appetite for it.
