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A seafront pub will expand its food service this weekend with a chic new menu - but some locals say the offerings as “far too expensive”.
In years gone by, The Mariner, which overlooks Folkestone harbour, dished up homely classics like sandwiches and jacket potatoes.
But menus posted on its Facebook page have a £39 steak, a £26 lamb rump, a £24 ‘chicken supreme’ - and a side of peas for £5.
New landlord Steve Kirby told KentOnline the plates and setting at the pub’s restaurant, Upstairs, will be more formal.
“The restaurant is very much a passion project for me - using local suppliers, local producers, producing some really beautiful interpretations of pub classics,” he said.
“It's not going to be cheap, but if you want nice food in a nice setting, there is a price attached to that.
“Otherwise you don't pay the bills and we'd end up being another one of those hundreds of pubs that are closing all the time.”
The Mariner shut last March after water damage caused electrical problems, but reopened under new management in January, only to change hands once again the following month.
Having worked in the pub industry since he was 18, and run bars from France to Dubai, Mr Kirby brings with him decades of hospitality experience.
Together with his wife, Amy, the pair hope to elevate the pub’s atmosphere - ditching dart boards and sports screens, while maintaining a welcoming and inclusive environment.
“It's a pub, as pubs used to be,” continued Mr Kirby, 42.
“It's the sort of pub where you can come in and chat with your family or friends or make new family and make new friends and have a conversation without having to scream and shout.”
Posting a preliminary menu for Upstairs on Facebook last week, the pub encountered sharp feedback, with several users taking issue with £5 for a side of peas. A Mariner menu from 2018 priced them at 50p.
One person commented: “The menu looks lovely, and I get it - if you can’t afford it then just go elsewhere, but £5 for a side of peas, that’s just silly.”
“Five pounds for peas? Good luck to this business, I’m sure some people are willing to pay these prices,” added another.
For punters looking for a simple beer snack, The Mariner offers a more modestly priced menu of nuts, sausage rolls, and cheese platters.
Mr Kirby is pitching Upstairs as a dining room for special occasions and functions rather than a place to get ‘pub food’. A menu for the bar area coming in April will feature burgers, seasonal salads and sharing platters.
“There's been lots of feedback that we’re expensive, but that's how much quality costs nowadays,” said the landlord.
“Upstairs is a bit more formal - a nice dining room with tablecloths. But we're open to the world. You can bring your kids and your dogs in the restaurant - that's not a problem.
“The dining room itself is small. So we have eight tables and, as such, we can't be positioned at a low spend per head, otherwise the economics doesn't work.
“We are also going to launch a different menu for down in the pub, which will be slightly more accessible in terms of price point.”
Asked about the peas in particular, he explained: “It was a bit of terrible wording, to be honest - it’s not just a portion of peas, it's Vichy-style peas and local bacon.
“I think it'll be interesting to see what people are saying once we're up and running and people have actually eaten the food - then they can judge the value.”
The Mariner has since deleted the controversial menu from its Facebook page and replaced it with a new one with marginally lower prices and peas nowhere in sight.
The harbour area of Folkestone has been regenerated in recent years following significant investment from Saga chairman Sir Roger De Haan.
The harbour arm in particular has become a huge tourist hotspot.
Sir Roger - whose development company has built the luxury Shoreline Crescent flats on the beach - has previously denied he is trying to gentrify Folkestone.
