The Smugglers is a beautiful family-run Kentish restaurant, which offers its customers a unique blend of high quality dining hosted in a relaxed and comfortable environment. Situated in the picturesque seaside village of Birchington-on-Sea in Thanet, East Kent, The Smugglers is located in a 17th century grade II listed building and combines this history with a menu that blends delicious locally sourced ingredients, produced with an emphasis on taste and presentation.
With the ancient surroundings as a backdrop, the restaurant provides a superb venue for small to medium size weddings, offering our usual high quality cuisine along with a service which will ensure that your wedding day will always be your special occasion.Venue for parties, functions and business meetings with a range of sit down and buffet food menus.
With the ancient surroundings as a backdrop, the restaurant provides a superb venue for small to medium size weddings, offering our usual high quality cuisine along with a service which will ensure that your wedding day will always be your special occasion.Venue for parties, functions and business meetings with a range of sit down and buffet food menus.
Services
The Smugglers is a family run restaurant, managed by Bob and daughter Lisa. The cuisine is prepared to a very high standard, using locally sourced foods wherever possible, by our Executive Chef Tim and his team. Within the grade II listed building we have a welcoming bar area, a lounge bar and main restaurant / function room with seating up to 80.
We offer an extensive wine list with excellent choices not just by the bottle, but by the glass too. A well-stocked bar including a wide range of spirits, soft drinks and both draught and bottled ciders, lagers & bitter. Changing our menu seasonally also allows us to source fresh and whenever possible locally sourced ingredients.
Our beautiful 17th century restaurant is a licensed civil weddings and civil partnership venue. The ceremony may be held inside in our function room gently lit with fairy lights or outside in the garden gazebo. The garden and listed building create a perfect backdrop for your wedding photographs. We offer a range of wedding packages, including sit down meals and buffets, full drink packages plus buffets for evening receptions.
We regularly host entertainment and events at The Smugglers. These special events combine great local entertainment with a four course meal. These evenings typically commence at 7.15pm, with time to enjoy a pre-meal drink, before being served your first two courses from 7.45pm. The first act performs at around 9.00pm, followed by dessert and coffee.
The Smugglers is located in the centre of Birchington on Sea, on the main road (A28) between Margate and the Thanet Way. We are easy to find and situated just past Birchington Square (look for our sign). There is a small car park next to the restaurant and there is also a public car park to the rear (off Albion Road) which has its own access to The Smugglers.
Reviews (14)
Sue Parsons
Dec 31, 2021
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The Christmas dinner could have been better but it was nice . We had to ask for more veg and they shouldnt assume that everyone wants gravy already put on their food but should offer it in a gravy bowl so we could have more.
My biggest gripes was that I didn’t want x
Brandy sauce in my Xmas pudding . They refused to change it but took it away , scraped off most of the brandy sauce and put it back in a clean plate ! It was just a small slice of pudding and the price we paid wasn’t cheap
My biggest gripes was that I didn’t want x
Brandy sauce in my Xmas pudding . They refused to change it but took it away , scraped off most of the brandy sauce and put it back in a clean plate ! It was just a small slice of pudding and the price we paid wasn’t cheap
Chris Byrne
Nov 07, 2021
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Charles
Oct 28, 2021
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I took my wife there , entertainment Rubish jersey boys could not sing to save there lives . Food was absolutely awful, I had chicken and it was like a piece of leather. It cost me £140 with drinks , the biggest waste of money ever . Next time I’ll go into London where they take pride in there entertainment and food . Would not recommend
Bab'S. Newnham
Sep 26, 2021
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Michelle Cliffe
Sep 25, 2021
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We were really looking forward to having our first Sunday lunch at Smugglers for nearly two years but the term total let down is an understatement. Both myself and my mother in law opted for the chicken wrapped in bacon whist my partner chose for the beef. Usually chicken is accompanied with stuffing and beef with a Yorkshire pudding, this however is not the case at the smugglers, you get whatever happens to land on your plate. After fighting my way through an abnormally large amount of peas, I discovered the chicken wrapped in “bacon” whilst mine appeared to have not even come into contact
Darren Finch
Sep 21, 2021
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What’s happened? First visit in a year and it’s rubbish. Aunt Bessie potatoes and everything crammed onto the plate, price increases do not reflect quality of food or service, at best equivalent to a high street cafe. I’ve never seen so many plates go back with food on.
Corner house in Minster better make plans for expansion. I’ve had tastier meals at Toby.
Don’t waste your time, book somewhere else !!!!!
Corner house in Minster better make plans for expansion. I’ve had tastier meals at Toby.
Don’t waste your time, book somewhere else !!!!!
Garry Ward
Sep 20, 2021
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AVOID AT ALL COSTS
It looked really nice and the food was good but very expensive.
I didn't like there complete lack of higen and safe food practices.
They allowed a cat in the dining room while we were eating it was pestering us and we had to ask a staff member to remove it.
The staff were also stroking it then handling food
It looked really nice and the food was good but very expensive.
I didn't like there complete lack of higen and safe food practices.
They allowed a cat in the dining room while we were eating it was pestering us and we had to ask a staff member to remove it.
The staff were also stroking it then handling food
Lana Warhurst
Sep 18, 2021
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Alison Davies
Aug 30, 2021
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Ed Kearney
Aug 28, 2021
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Lisa O'Keeffe
Aug 24, 2021
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Kim Mason
Aug 24, 2021
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I have always gone here with a friend to celebrate our birthdays and Christmas. But as it was our first catch up in under two years, it was a surprise to us how much the prices had gone up and no veg with our food. Sorry to say we won't be going again. Staff were attentive, just the prices for what you got.
John Mogg
Aug 23, 2021
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The menus are a bit dated and the waitress wasn't fully up to speed with what beers were on the menu, so only got offered a small selection of what turned out to be a much larger offering.
The chicken Liver Pate was fairly average, albeit quite a large portion. The Signature burger was fairly average and was served with a coleslaw that had seen better days and should have been a lot more fresh. The sticky beef main wasn't much better. On the positive side, the moules frites main was pretty amazing.
Overall verdict. The venue has a lot of potential and could be amazing, the food is pretty average
The chicken Liver Pate was fairly average, albeit quite a large portion. The Signature burger was fairly average and was served with a coleslaw that had seen better days and should have been a lot more fresh. The sticky beef main wasn't much better. On the positive side, the moules frites main was pretty amazing.
Overall verdict. The venue has a lot of potential and could be amazing, the food is pretty average
Kim Eustace
Jul 30, 2021
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