When I reported on a fire at The Drapers Arms in Canterbury just days before Christmas last year, I was saddened to think it could be the death knell for the pub.

Missing out on crucial takings over the festive period must have been a real kick in the teeth and, at a time when hospitality continued to flounder, it could have easily spelt the end.

But less than a year later, it seems as though things have recovered nicely for this prime city centre spot.

And having spent years telling myself I’d get around to eating there one day, it was time to finally see if the Outlaw Street Food menu would live up to the hype.

My decision to visit wasn’t totally random. I found myself captivated by a recent Facebook review of the joint by the Food Review Club, in a clip which generated more than 240,000 views.

In the 10-minute video, the trio from the review club – which has 904,000 followers – devoured a huge £60 meat platter and were left spectacularly impressed.

They gave high praise to the brisket and chicken wings in particular and scored the pub a “big fat” nine out of 10.

However, I decided it might not be the smartest move to follow in those footsteps as I was dining alone!

That didn’t stop me from agonising over what to get from the Asian-inspired street food menu, making a case for just about every different combination I could think of.

I’m a big ramen fan, and all the bao buns and sharing plates sounded like they would hit the spot too.

In the end, I settled for southern-coated squid, crispy chicken gyoza and ‘breakfast in bao’ – egg, bacon and sausage tucked up into a bao bun with cheese and kimchi ketchup.

It was pretty quiet – as it would be on a rainy Wednesday afternoon – but the staff seemed happy to attend to the few customers sparingly placed around the huge bar.

The huge benefit of coming at this time of day was that the wait for my order was next to none.

And each dish passed the taste test with flying colours.

The southern-coated squid with a lime wedge and jalapeno mayo was probably my favourite part of the meal, with a wide variety of flavours to be found within each bite.

I’d be very keen to try to replicate the coating at home but fear I would butcher it by missing out on a key ingredient – probably best to leave it to the pros when it tastes this good.

As promised, the gyoza was crispy on the edges, fluffy in the middle and packed with chicken. In the breakfast bao bun, the sausages had a slight kick to them which kept things from being bland, while the eggs were done to perfection.

With crispy but not burned bacon, properly melted cheese and a healthy dose of kimchi ketchup, this was a welcome reimagining of a staple dish done to death elsewhere.

I think the pricing is the only thing that could be genuinely criticised.

I’d spent £8 on the chicken gyoza so ended up feeling a bit disappointed to see just five plated up, a similar portion size to other restaurants which charge less. Mr Miyagi's Sushi nearby is £6 for five gyoza, for example.

The bao bun breakfast was £12, the squid £10 and a pint of lemonade £3.70 – none of which screams fantastic value for money at first sight.

I do wonder if I should have tried other bits, but ultimately left feeling The Drapers Arms satisfied that I’d made the right choice for my lunch.

It’s a friendly place to grab a bite to eat with enough choice to satisfy most occasions, whether it be a solo lunch, date night or a group gathering.

It was a shame to see a family behind me arrive and leave upon realising the menu had an Asian theme to it, but for many, this is proving to be a reliable restaurant in Canterbury.

It’s satisfying to see they’ve not been deterred by the fire and the future is bright for The Drapers Arms.

Scores:

Food: I really enjoyed eating here and there was a wide range ****

Drink: It’s a pub, there’s going to be a lot of options on the table *****

Decor: Nice and clean and there’s a lot of natural light which is easy on the eyes ****

Staff: Perfectly friendly, I wouldn’t expect anything else ****

Price: This is where I trip up a bit as I do believe the pricing ranges from OK to poor depending on what you order. Still, they have bills to pay ***