Six new restaurants to open at Folkestone Harbour Arm
Published: 12:29, 09 March 2023
Updated: 13:46, 09 March 2023
Unique restaurants set for one of Kent's most popular tourist destinations will offer "uninterrupted views across the English Channel".
In total, six new eateries will open on and around Folkestone Harbour Arm this summer, with work on four of those having now started.
They will join a whole host of venues and vendors already established at the seafront spot, which attracted two million visitors last year alone.
One of the planned restaurants will comprise of seven shipping containers and will be located on the beach, towards the west of the arm.
It will be almost twice the size of the largest restaurant currently at the popular site.
A further three bespoke units have been constructed on the east side of the site, along the quayside edge of the harbour.
Fully glass-fronted, bosses say these three restaurants of various sizes will boast previously unattainable, uninterrupted views across the English Channel towards the White Cliffs and France.
Two more are also planned, with work on these to start at a later date.
The businesses set to move in to all six venues are yet to be disclosed.
Ambitious plans for new restaurants destined for the site were revealed last year, with computer-generated images showing blue shipping containers with outdoor seating.
The Harbour Arm is owned and managed by Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company (FHSDC), which has spent millions of pounds renovating it since 2015.
It is now home to several unique spaces - including The Goods Yard, which hosts a range of food and drink kiosks and has seating geared towards a huge outdoor screen, as well as Beachside, which includes the Pilot Bar and Little Rock seafood restaurant.
With neighbour Harbour Station, the arm also includes mini golf, shops, a lighthouse champagne bar and a vintage market.
Paulo Kingston-Correia, general manager of FHSDC, said: “The new restaurants, created and housed in a collection of upcycled shipping containers, will build upon the success of Little Rock restaurant, which has exceeded expectations since opening in 2021.
“We are confident 2023 will be a year quite unlike any other for the growth of Folkestone Harbour and offer an all-year-round food and drink experience.
"We are working closely with the new arrivals and will be unveiling the all-new foodie offering shortly."
The announcement comes as the plans for the final phase of the massive redevelopment of Folkestone's harbour and seafront have been revealed.
Proposals would see the creation of a mixed-use development of homes and commercial space along the coastline, with work on some homes already well underway.
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Oliver Leonard