The Open
Royal St George's 2021
As Canterbury is without doubt the most fascinating place to be based during the Open, coupled with its close proximity (only 13 miles) to the Championship, we have deliberately wholly focussed our accommodation provision in this vibrant, historic town.
Canterbury, a cathedral city in southeast England, was a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages. Ancient walls, originally built by the Romans, encircle its medieval centre with cobbled streets and timber-framed houses. The Canterbury area offers you so much to see and do during your stay with a huge variety of attractions and indoor and outdoor activities to suit all tastes and interests.
Canterbury Cathedral, founded 597 A.D., is the headquarters of the Church of England and Anglican Communion, incorporating Gothic and Romanesque elements in its stone carvings and stained-glass windows. It is the site of the shrine of Thomas Becket and the seat of the Archbishop.
Canterbury Roman Museum’s story began in 1868 when workmen, digging trenches for a new drainage system unwittingly unearthed a beautifully preserved Roman floor mosaic. Excavations later began under the cellars of shops destroyed by bombing in the aftermath of WWII, and another startling discovery was made. Archaeologists revealed an under-floor heating system, wall paintings, and a dazzling mosaic corridor. The site was no longer an isolated floor mosaic, but the remains of a very large Roman Town House. Over time a museum arose to encompass the remains and preserve what is now known to be one of the UK’s only remaining in situ Roman pavement mosaics and a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Enjoy a fascinating 90 minute guided walking tour of historic streets and the cathedral precincts, with entertaining guides letting you in on all the best kept secrets. Tours daily from the Buttermarket.
Sit back and relax on this multi-award winning historic tour on the River Stour, perfect for visitors of all ages. Your guide will provide the commentary whilst you enjoy some of Canterbury’s finest views.
Located near Castle Street is this Italian restaurant offering traditional cuisine that makes a welcome change to most of the chain restaurants found on the High Street. The owner, Massimo Fierro, hails from Naples and this influence is evident in the rustic menu with the specials menu changing every month. Most of the house dishes combine fresh Kentish and Italian ingredients. The interior takes its inspiration from traditional Italian trattorias, providing a laid back, family friendly atmosphere, all accompanied with real Italian hospitality.
Café des Amis is Canterbury’s original Mexican restaurant. The menu combines the flavours of traditional Mexican cuisine with the freshness of Mediterranean dishes. As the name suggests, the restaurant is a popular place for friends to gather. Many of the dishes are for sharing, and the fajitas are pretty famous around town. The interior is colourful but cosy, with art adorning the walls and rustic furniture giving it an intimate feel, and if you’re lucky you’ll get a table with a view of the river and Westgate Gardens.
You no longer have to go to Whitstable for good quality seafood. With all seafood being delivered fresh daily from suppliers on the Kent and Sussex coasts, Chapman’s has the best selection of fish and shellfish dishes in the city, as you would expect from a restaurant owned by a fish wholesaler. The menu changes regularly as it depends on daily catches, showing their commitment to providing fresh dishes every day. There is also a carefully curated wine list to suitably accompany your meal, and this includes a number of local wines. The interior is bright and airy, with the exposed beams giving real character to a building situated so close to the Westgate towers.
Tamago is Canterbury’s Japanese soul food restaurant, adding a welcome dash of traditional Asian cooking to the city’s restaurant scene. Situated among the independent shops of Northgate and the King’s Mile, Tamago offers a casual dining experience with authentic Japanese food served the Japanese way. There are curries, ramen, sushi and bento boxes, all of which are cooked with fresh ingredients.
Deeson’s is very much the type of restaurant that you would both hope for and expect when thinking of Canterbury. Possibly the restaurant with the biggest commitment to using fresh, locally sourced produce, Deeson’s goes as far as to use ingredients that have been in ‘The Bunker’ – their own smallholding outside of the city where they grow and rear their own produce. The inside is rustic with an air of fine dining, perfect for a date night or a laid-back family dinner. Dishes include roast duck served with duck leg cottage pie and slow cooked belly of pork with pig’s cheek and sausages. Diners should definitely bring their appetites.
One of Canterbury’s newest restaurants, Salt has already gained a solid reputation as a venue for reasonably priced, high-quality cooking since it opened in 2013. The menu changes daily, and the chefs use freshly foraged ingredients in their dishes. Head chef Emma has a Nordic background, and she uses this to inspire the menu, with purity of flavour being the main ethos of Salt’s dishes. The staff also work with a Wine Master to offer a seasonally changing wine and beer list to compliment the dishes. The interior utilizes original wooden features and furnishings and is lit by candlelight in the evening to give a comfortable, intimate feel.
A little slice of North Africa in the heart of Canterbury, Café Mauresque offers a mix of Spanish tapas and Moorish foods, with plenty of dishes to share. There are a few seats upstairs looking out onto Butchery Lane, but the bulk of the seating is in the cosy, lantern-lit basement, complete with Moroccan decor. Tagines, paella and couscous dishes are the main food options, coupled with an extensive tapas menu. There is also a substantial cocktail menu and you will often see tables enjoying jugs of sangria.
