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Eat & Drink

Dive into fish, chips & ships during your visit. We have two catering outlets offering a wide range of delicious meals and snacks.

THE MESS DECK

We proudly offer a variety of great British food for our visitors. The Mess Deck restaurant serves a delicious menu of locally sourced meals and sandwiches freshly prepared at the Dockyard each day. Enjoy favourites such as our renowned ‘Fish and Chips’.

We offer a Senior Special Fish and Chips every Tuesday from 11am to 1pm. Enjoy our famous beer-battered Cod, with chunky chips, garden peas and homemade tartar sauce, with a hot cup of tea or coffee all for £9.50.

The Mess Deck is open daily from 10am to 5pm (4pm during Winter opening). With last hot food orders taken at 4pm (3pm during Winter opening).

FAMILY CAFÉ STANDARDS LOGO HIGH RES

WAGON STOP CANTEEN

Enjoy toasted paninis, freshly baked pizzas, baked potatoes, cakes, and great tasting Kentish ice cream at The Wagon Stop Canteen. Food served here can be either taken-away or eaten alongside our locomotives.

The Wagon Stop Canteen is open daily from 10am – 4pm (2pm during Autumn / Winter opening)

Please note dogs (with the exception of guide dogs) are not permitted in the Mess Deck or Wagon Stop Canteen.

PICNICS

You are welcome to bring along your own refreshments and enjoy them in any one of our open spaces such as Commissioner’s Garden or the Tennis Court Lawn.

Making your visit more sustainable

Keeping it local

We are actively working to make our operations more sustainable and source local, Kentish produce. Here are some of the initiatives we’re using in our catering outlets.

Coffee

Our coffee is from Herbert & Ward, expert roasters based in Rochester with over 100 years roasting experience. Coffee sacks are sent to Port Lympne Reserve to make bedding and toys for the gorillas.

Pies

Our popular pies are from Kentish Mayde Pies in Biddenden, a family run company awarded over 20 British Pie Awards.

Juice

Our fruit juices and sparkling presses are from Kingsdown Juices, a carbon neutral company based near Deal.

Fish

Cod from Billingsgate Market for our famous Fish & Chips is sourced from Linton Seafoods in Tonbridge.

Ice Cream

Our delicious ice cream made with fruits from the Garden of England comes from Taywell Ice Cream in Paddock Wood

Sausages

Our Korkers Sausages come from the small Kent village of Rolvenden. They have been making sausages since 1959, using recipes passed through 4 generations.

Re-Use

Our restaurant re-uses its jam jars as dipping pots so you can enjoy your ketchup with less waste!

Water

We no longer sell plastic bottled water, saving our planet over 10,000 plastic bottles a year.

Through Drop4drop charity, every 200 cans of water we sell provides a person in need with clean drinking water for LIFE.

Breastfeeding Friendly

Both of our catering outlets are family friendly and we welcome visitors of all ages.

We have highchairs available in both venues.

Free Parking

Parking is free of charge for The Mess Deck visitors. Please have your vehicle registration ready for our front of house team at our ticket desk(s) or tills.

“I visited the dockyard with my son and daughter. My daughter has Type 1 diabetes and coeliac disease. For lunch we ate in The Mess Deck restaurant. Please could you pass my thanks to the catering manager and the staff working that day. Eating out with coeliac disease can be challenging, especially for a young child but this was not the case at the dockyard. Having a range of gluten free options and clearly labelled menu and food displays made things much easier. The staff couldn’t have been more helpful, making my daughter a child’s portion of ham, egg and chips even though this wasn’t on the menu. My daughter is only recently diagnosed with coeliac disease. The last time we ate out (at a restaurant that said it had gluten free dishes) she was left in tears at the limited and uninspiring choice of food. This was not the case at the dockyard where she could eat as “normal” again which meant so much to her.”

Mess Deck Visitor, February 2024