1.) Rocksalt Folkestone, Folkestone, Kent
Cantilevered over Folkestone Harbour with panoramic floor to ceiling views out over the English Channel, Rocksalt's ethos is built around seasonality, locality, and simplicity, allowing the produce shine through.
Owned and operated by Mark Sargeant, the restaurant’s ethos has not changed since opening in 2011. Describing its fare as “seasonal Kentish food at its finest,” quality, locality, sustainability and provenance are words which really mean something to the chefs, according to Sargeant. Fish is purchased from local day boats throughout the year and produce sourced from surrounding countryside.
The restaurant’s menu features a lobster and salmon pasty with pickled cucumber, a mackerel 'gazpacho' tartare and samphire, and its more substantial seafood offerings include tankard of grilled prawns. Crab comes proudly presented on a watercress salad and also on the house Caesar. More adventurous palates may enjoy the tandoori-spiced monkfish, and the luxury diner might spurge for the lobster thermidor. As with any great seafood restaurant, there are also dishes to share, such as the shellfish platter, or whole braised turbot.
