Pub Gardens in Canterbury: Where to Drink Outside

What a Canterbury pub garden actually looks like

The centre is tightly built, with the cathedral precinct and the River Stour squeezing space, so pubs have made gardens out of back yards, courtyards and terraces reached through passages. The entrance often tells you nothing about what is behind it, so look for signs pointing to a garden rather than judging from the street.

Expect two broad types: the proper rear garden behind a historic pub, with room for families and groups, and the terrace or pavement table, where you trade space for a view of the river or the street. Neither is the place for a hushed afternoon if you mind footfall or a television.

Bishops Finger: the big rear garden

Bishops Finger describes itself as a 16th-century pub a short stroll from the cathedral, and its own account makes much of what sits behind the façade: a large beer garden at the rear, which the pub calls one of the largest in Canterbury. Treat that as the pub's description rather than a measured fact, but this is the option for space rather than a couple of cramped tables.

The beer is the traditional cask sort, including Shepherd Neame's Bishops Finger alongside a wider range from independent producers, so it suits a proper pint of bitter rather than a lager. Food runs from bar snacks to burgers, and the pub advertises live sport on television, so a big match can dominate the room and pull a crowd.

That makes it the pick for a group pint with food or a family lunch where nobody minds a screen. If you want a hushed garden lunch, look elsewhere, and since the pub advertises new management, check how the food and beer currently stand before building an evening around it.

The Parrot, city centre: real ale and Sunday lunch

The Parrot sits in the heart of the city and presents itself as a dining pub with an outdoor area, a real fire and a historic building. The draw for drinkers is the bar: up to six real ales, including beer from Kent brewer Shepherd Neame, and food that runs from nibbles and doorstep sandwiches at lunch to gourmet burgers and more restaurant-style plates in the evening.

Sunday is the reason many people book it. The pub serves roasts from noon until they run out, and says so plainly rather than promising all afternoon, so an early table is the safer bet. The outdoor area is a bonus on a warm day rather than a country lawn.

Its location also makes it a natural base for anyone working through the city's older pubs. If the history is the point of your trip, it is worth reading up on the oldest pub in Canterbury before you choose where to start.

Riverside tables by Westgate Towers

The stretch of the River Stour beside Westgate Towers is where Canterbury's outdoor eating gets its view. Café du Soleil occupies an 18th-century Mill building on the river and serves wood-fired cooking, including marinated Kentish lamb and seafood risotto, with a terrace facing the water. It is a restaurant with outside tables rather than a pub, so go for the food and the setting rather than a cask ale.

A few doors along, The Old Weavers House sits in a historic riverside setting where the punting boats pass, and serves classic English dishes such as chicken and leek pie. The appeal is the theatre of the river traffic; the cost is that the riverside is busiest exactly when the weather is best, so book early or eat off-peak.

The Corner House: a quiet garden lunch

The Corner House is housed in a 16th-century coaching house and hides a garden and dining area away from the bustle, which makes it the quiet option in this short list. It suits a solo sunny lunch or a get-together with friends: a civilised garden meal rather than a big outdoor session.

If your priority is conversation and a proper sit-down lunch, this is the one to book; if you want six ales on handpull and a crowd, The Parrot is the better fit. A hidden garden is only useful if it is open and the kitchen is running when you arrive, so check ahead.

Picking by occasion

For a big group pint with food and no fuss, Bishops Finger is the obvious choice: the rear garden gives you space, the cask range is solid, and nobody will mind if a match is on. For real ale and a Sunday lunch, The Parrot wins on up to six ales and roasts from noon. For a riverside meal where the setting is the point, book a terrace table at Café du Soleil or The Old Weavers House and accept the footfall.

For a quiet lunch with a companion, The Corner House's hidden garden is the one to aim for. Adjust expectations accordingly: you are choosing a corner of the city to drink outside, not a country pub with a view.

Booking, kitchen times and rain

Each venue publishes its own opening and food-serving times, and those change with the season, so check the pub or restaurant's own site on the day. Sunday lunch at The Parrot is the one to plan around, since roasts run from noon only while they last. Book ahead for the riverside restaurants and The Corner House, and turn up early at the pubs.

Rain is the real test. Bishops Finger, The Parrot and The Corner House all have indoor rooms to retreat to, so a shower costs you the garden rather than the meal. Riverside tables are less forgiving, and a wet forecast is a good reason to switch the plan to a pub with a fire.

Which Canterbury garden do you book?

Book The Corner House or a riverside table if the meal is the point, and head to Bishops Finger if the afternoon is about a group, a garden and a pint. The Parrot covers the middle ground with real ale, sandwiches and a Sunday roast worth planning around.

Check current opening and food times before you travel, since these are the details most likely to have moved. For the wider choice of pubs beyond gardens, the best pubs in Canterbury guide is the next stop.