It’s almost Christmas… so, for once, I’ve pushed the boat out when it comes to this Eat My Words review.

And given I’m temporarily at the helm of this proverbial vessel, I’ve, naturally, sailed to a Michelin Guide-recommended seafood eatery.

Cheap, it most definitely is not. But frankly, what I encountered there astounded me.

After years of reviewing everything from whelks on a seaside stall, to fish and chips and sushi (separate places, not some bizarre fusion), the thought of going to a proper swanky restaurant always carries a high risk.

It’s not every day you can afford to do it, after all, and there is nothing more likely to stick in your throat than shelling out a small fortune on a meal and service which leaves you thinking you could have got far better for far less.

Now, before you run to the comments section saying, “That’s all well and good, but I bet you stick it all on expenses anyway”, I can inform you, good folk, that when it comes to these reviews, I never claim back a penny.

After all, it’s difficult to cast a critical eye over what is served up if you know that your wallet isn’t taking the pain. Free stuff tends to always taste good, doesn’t it?

All of which leads me to heading to Kebbells Seafood Bar and Restaurant in Broadstairs - which won restaurant of the year at our Kent Food & Drink Awards (nominations are now open for the 2025 competition).

It’s located a few yards down from ice cream parlour Morelli’s and overlooks the picturesque Viking Bay. Its speciality is sharing plates - think tapas.

As we arrive there’s a party spilling out who have clearly had a very pleasant afternoon. They are three sheets to the wind and extolling the restaurant’s virtues as they stagger past us. I’ll take that as a good sign.

In the late afternoon gloom, this place is beautifully lit and extremely inviting. There’s seating at the bar if you want to go full-on Spanish-style, and plenty of wooden tables and chairs on the main floor. We’re directed to a round table ideal for a sociable meal. It’s formally informal if that makes sense.

There are lamps shedding soft light everywhere and strings of fairy lights sparkle. It is a perfectly curated dining area.

The staff greet us and we are assigned a waitress who, very friendly and efficiently, guides us through the ordering process. We are, we’re told, able to order food in any way we fancy. We opt for placing one big order to start things off and we’ll tuck in as and when they arrive on the table.

This is an important meal too. Because among my dining party is my beloved father – celebrating his 83rd birthday and a man who can often be tricky to please when it comes to eating out. He’s not fussy, but he does like to think he’s getting value for money. Or, at least, the bill payer is.

And that is, to be honest, going to be something of a challenge here. Especially when the bill payer is me and I really need this to deliver for the sake of father-son relations.

As it’s a case of small and big sharing plates, in truth, you’re going to need to order a fair few to ensure everyone feels they’ve had a decent feed. The cheapest small plate is £12 and the big plates loiter around the mid-£20s mark. There are six of us. Yikes.

Reassuringly, there are not pages of options. In fact, everything, food-wise, is contained on a tight A4 page. The drinks menu, on the other hand, stretches several more. There are wines, there are beers, there are spirits and there are cocktails too.

To my tight-wad delight, two of the party stick with the tap water brought to the table, the rest of us all have an Alhambra beer (£4.90 for two-thirds of a pint). It’s pleasant enough.

The food starts arriving pleasingly swiftly – there are a selection of snacks first up - so olives (£5) which look like they have been force-fed, such is their size, focaccia with whipped butter (£4.50) and padron peppers (£6).

Hot on their heels come the small plates – Thai steamed mussels (£16), gambas (giant prawns) with shallots, garlic and chilli oil (£16), tortilla with brown crab (£12) and burrata (an Italian cheese made with mozzarella and cream) with balsamic roasted figs (£14.50).

To top it off, we’ve also gone for a whole flame-grilled Mediterranean stuffed seabass (£22) and order in a Thanet Earth tomato and red onion salad (£5), the tapas classic of patatas bravas (£5) and some butter roasted hispi cabbage (£5). A special is the Margate Mushrooms (which may have quite a different connotation on the streets of the neighbouring town, you cannot help but think). Seems rude not to support another Thanet product.

If the first mouthful is with the eye, it all looks sensational. But, of course, the big question is just what does it taste like. And, more to the point, does it justify the steep prices?

So let’s keep this short.

Every. Single. Dish. Is. Fabulous.

Someone has clearly taken considerable time to fine-tune the flavours of each element. The mussels are plump, the prawns (sorry, gambas) cooked in a beautiful sauce, the tortilla moist and perfectly complemented with the crab.

The seabass has plenty of flesh and the veg within offsets it a treat. The Margate mushrooms magical (but not in that way). Even the cabbage – slabs rather than leaves - and salad (light, packed with flavours) is a complete triumph. You can’t even fault the bread which is delightfully light while those big fat olives were scrumptious.

Rarely, in fact, never, have I ordered so many dishes only for every single one of them to be so thoroughly divine.

More to the point, we are well fed.

There is, of course, still room for dessert – and I cannot resist the special of truffle brie with a truffle honey. It is melt-in-the-mouth died-and-gone-to-heaven good.

All of which means, by the time the bill arrives I don’t baulk for one moment at the cost. It works out a little over £33 a head, excluding the tip, which, for six of us to eat so well, in such style and of such wonderful quality actually ends up being something of a bargain.

So did my father like it?

“I think this is the best restaurant we’ve been to,” is his response. And I can only agree.

Out of five:

Food: Every dish sang – full of flavour, subtle at times but always bringing out the very best in everything. *****

Drink: Whatever floats your boat here to wash that amazing grub down with. Not cheap, mind, but you can’t fault the options ****

Decor: Extremely welcoming, well designed, beautiful lighting and even when it got busy by the time we left, you never felt on top of each other *****

Staff: Extremely friendly and efficient – always had time to explain dishes and were a real credit to the place. *****

Price: Listen, this isn’t going to be a particularly cheap night out - especially if you start adding wine to the bill - but what you’re paying for is top-notch food in a splendid setting. Evened out, it was about £33 a head which given the quality of pretty much everything was good value. ****

• Nominations are now open for the Kent and Medway Food and Drink Awards 2025. To nominate, click here.

The deadline is 5pm on Thursday, January 9.