A restaurant in an English seaside town has been labelled the best in the world by a famous chef.

Whitstable is a beautiful town on Kent’s north coast, renowned for its native oysters and home to its annual oyster festival.

The area is a much-loved destination for tourists, boasting a number of beaches and restaurants, including one that has been highly praised.

Speaking about a particular resturant in the town, Chef Max Rocha, who runs London’s Cafe Cecila heaped huge praise on the venue to Conde Nast Traveller.

He said: “This is my favourite resturant in the world. It really is the best resturant and ticks all the boxes.”

So what is this resturant and what makes it so special?

As well as being loved by the famous chef, the The Sportsman just outside Whistable has won various awards in recent years including Best Restaurant by The Good Food Guide in 2024.

Two features of the restaurant that Chef Max Rocha noted was it being “fine dining at an accessible price” and “creative but humble.” 

Good food is one thing, but a great service definitely adds to the experience and that’s something that the restaurant is also good at providing. He added: “It’s so welcoming when you get there.”

The Sportsman reopened in 2019, when it was taken over, but back in 2008, they were award a Michelin star. The restaurant is so good that not only did the owner of Cafe Cecila think it was just his favourite, but in fact thought it was “every chef’s favourite restaurant.”

It currently offers two menus. The three course midweek menu costs £55 per person and is available lunch and dinner between Tuesday and Thursday.

The other option is the five course tasting menu, at a price of £80 and available throught the entire week.

The dining experience doesn’t have to stop there – with four en-suite cabins available in the garden, guests can also stay at the restuarant. 

The price for a night stay in a cabin, which sleeps two and includes “a light breakfast” is £160 and then £140 for subsequent nights.

With a rating of 4.5-stars on TripAdvisor, one person who stayed said: “A romantic night here! The food was equisite, staff attentive and the wine list incredible. We can’t wait to go back. Every rumour was true, just simply the most amazing gem on the beach.”