FOOD + DRINK
Aww Shacks! cont...
THE LOBSTER SHACK
THE OYSTER SHED
RAD BURGER
KENT’ S TOP FOOD SHACKS
Across Kent, food shacks bring a rustic, thrown-together feel that combines simple service with gourmet, picture-perfect dishes. Heading through Kent’ s coastal towns, shacks can be found serving some of the freshest seafood and most delicious burgers across the county.
Found on the harbour at Easy Quay in Whitstable, The Lobster Shack( thelobstershack. co. uk) is your go-to local beach bar. With far-stretching views across the Thames Estuary, it is owned by the Whitstable Oyster Company Ltd. Open all year round, it serves a variety of high-quality local food and drink, from traditional cod and chips to fresh lobster, perfectly seasoned and garnished with lemon slices.
Beyond seafood, visitors can try a selection of local beers and wines, including the company’ s bespoke Whitstable Brewery Oyster Stout brewed by The Whitstable Oyster Company. The stout is an ideal match for Whitstable’ s famous oysters, which are served at the shack’ s sister venue, The Oyster Shed. A boutique oyster bar on the South Quay of Whitstable Harbour, they serve fresh local seafood and the famous Whitstable oysters; a delicacy which has been enjoyed since the Romans first landed on English shores.
Continuing along Whitstable’ s South Quay, you can find Rad Burger( radburger. co. uk), one of Kent’ s most popular burger shacks. This local favourite has perfected their dry-aged fern and farrow beef patties with their signature options including the Rad Beef 2.0, featuring two dry-aged beef patties, smoked streaky bacon and grilled halloumi,
and the OG Chicken burger with mouthwatering southern-fried chicken, double American cheese and smoked streaky bacon.
Moving along Kent’ s south-east coastline, the historic market town of Hythe is home to The Lazy Shack( thelazyshack. co. uk), a beachfront eatery set on Fishermen’ s Beach. Since opening in 2019, The Lazy Shack has become known for its fresh local seafood, serving everything from dressed crab and fresh lobster to steak burgers and chips. Made using high-quality ingredients, each dish can be enjoyed while sitting on the beach- a suitably relaxed atmosphere with striking sea views of the English Channel.
Further along Kent’ s south-eastern coastline, you will find Dungeness Beach, a vast stretch of shingle beach that is widely regarded as Britain’ s only so-called desert. This unique expanse is home to the Dungeness Snack Shack( dungenesssnackshack. com), a family-run local business built on more than a decade of sustainable fishing and a passion for serving high-quality, fresh seafood every day for both locals and tourists.
Sustainability and traceability are at the heart of the family’ s ethos, ensuring that every morning fish is caught early and cooked to perfection. It is this commitment to sustainable fishing which has led to the Dungeness Snack Shack being seen as a must-visit local gem, where the unique geology of Dungeness’ s landscape is as special as the delicious seafood found only a few miles off the coast.
www. insidekent. co. uk • 99