The Early Bird - Menu

Old Boat Cafe

➤ Fairmeadow, E1W 1, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Cafés • Coffee • British • Contemporary

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"This venue is exactly as it says on line. An old fashioned barge converted for on board and on riverbank dining. The menu isn't long, as the galley wouldn't allow it, but the selection fills most peoples requirements. Owner plus youngsters serving. Owner is clearly passionate about her cafe. I started with a chicken Laksa, nicely if gently spiced and had a baguette with breakfast ingredients inside. Good bacon herby sausages and egg. My mint hot chocolate was very indulgent. My partner had healthier but equally tasty food. The inside of the barge seems still very authentic. Friendly chatty staff, would recommend."

Cafe Rouge Maidstone

➤ 42-44 Earl Street Maidstone, Kent ME14 1PS, United Kingdom

Cafés • Kebab • Mexican • European

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"the personal was not very friendly. the food was served only an hour after our booking period (we were a party of 12 and the only people in the restaurant for the first 45 minutes, and just order breakfast) three of the party ordered picked eggs and all of whom we over cooked and completely hard. I suppose that was because they tried to send all food together, but we would have cooked it better and not served at the same time. also the portions of the sauce with some of the meals was very meagre. we didn't send the food back because we had waited so long, and the opportunity was a three-year birthday and they were very restless. not the usual service or food standard we usually get from this chain, although it was our first time in this industry. we are here because frankie and bennys could not book a book at the same time. next time we will return to frankie and bennys."

The Chequers At Loose

➤ Old Loose Hill, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Pub • Steak • British • Vegetarian

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"I feel a bit bad about writing this, but for the first time ever there 's only 1 star and probably the longest comments I 've left. We arrived around 12:15 on a September Thursday after having a walk hungry, we fancied a pub lunch. Staff were pleasant if a bit rushed the young lady behind the bar was on her own and doing the best she could. Several things were off the menu, but we ordered a Curry of the day (Thai Green on this occasion) and sausage mash with gravy. Difficult things to screw up... After a reasonable wait, two small dishes appeared. The Thai Curry was tiny, containing a few small bits of grilled chicken in a fairly anaemic sauce, with a small amount of plain white rice on the side; the two sausages were quite small and on a small bed of mash surrounded by gravy. Both dishes were stone cold. We sent them back. Frankly, if we hadn 't paid in advance, I 'd have left at that point. A few minutes later they re appeared, along with a small dish of sweet chilli sauce and 3 small prawn crackers, two of which were not properly cooked (still solid in parts, i.e. not cooked hot or long enough). The sausages were now hot, the mash lukewarm and the gravy cloying and still pretty cold. Being fair, the very small sausages were quite tasty, but the mash was under/not seasoned and the gravy had little flavour, no onion or anything even vaguely interesting, and was still cold. The curry was a disgrace. The rice was flaccid and tasteless, the curry had almost no flavour and the chicken was watery, and pretty grim (tasteless too). Tiny portion as well. We left the curry. I did eat the sausage mash as I was really hungry, but in retrospect wished I hadn 't. I almost never leave food anywhere in the world, but I left that curry. I 'm not sure how dishes that bad could be let out of any kitchen. We complained to the waitress (who was doing her best) she asked us not to leave and a minute or two later refunded our main courses with an apology. I felt for her as she was doing her best as front of house when the kitchen was a shocker. Note that we didn 't ask for a refund or even hint, they just provided it. I 've never asked for a refund. It 's sad, as these days rural pubs need to do things right, but this wasn 't just small things; everything they could have done wrong with those two dishes they did wrong. Nothing cooked from fresh, nothing checked before leaving the kitchen, tasteless food, tiny portions, cold."

The Lion Of Kent

➤ 139 Ashford Road, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Steak • Greek • British • Turkish

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"I would give it 10 stars or a Michelin star if i could. The food is that good. EVERYTHING tastes amazing. We had the chicken livers, prawns and scallops to start, which were well seasoned and beautifully presented. The scallops were garnished with samphire and pistachio nuts, which was a surprisingly amazing touch and added so much flavour. The best scallops I've ever tasted. For Mains, we both enjoyed the cod...on a bed of well-seasoned mash and lobster sauce. Again, it was beautifully presented and tasted out of this world. The service was IMPECCABLE. We had a new starter waitress, who was on her first evening, and she was so attentive and friendly. The manager is amazing too. He beams pride in his restaurant and is so friendly and welcoming. All the staff just seem to enjoy their jobs and were all just as accommodating. This is now my absolute favourite restaurant. They're going to get sick of seeing my face, I'm going to be there so often!!"

Fish On The Green

➤ Church Ln, Bearsted Grn, Bearsted ME14 4EJ, Maidstone, United Kingdom

Fish • Steak • Seafood • British

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"Nice place but crammed as in tables are very close to each other. Last time we went there with four of my colleagues there was a problem. Once: we found a big chunk of plastic inside our food, two: myself and another colleague felt very rough after eating their food. We both had different meals and different desserts and drinks. Not a coincidence. I emailed them and they wanted me to fill in a form. I have been there many times and the potions were big but I think lately the hygiene must have gone down. Prices are also not the cheapest. Feeling ill is something that persuaded me not to go back again. Sorry. Thank you but no thank you. Plenty of other nice restaurants in the area."