Gary Lineker ditched the crisps and tucked into a meal at a Whitstable gastropub just hours before it was named best in the country.

The Match of the Day host, who stars in the Walkers crisps adverts, tweeted his approval of the The Sportsman, in Seasalter, after enjoying a bite to eat.

A few hours after the visit from the former Barcelona player, the seaside pub was crowned the national restaurant of the year at a ceremony at The Hurlingham Club, London.

Gary, also a former Leicester, Everton, Spurs and England striker, who has more than six million Twitter followers, tweeted: “Had as good a lunch as I’ve ever had here on Saturday. Well played @Sportsmankent thoroughly deserved.”

His review was echoed by other visitors, with Gary Russell replying: “The place is a gem Gary. We’ve been going, seems like best part of decade. Bit like you in six yard box, never fails!”

Described by owner Stephen Harris as a “grotty, run down pub by the sea”, the Sportsman has seen its fair share of celebrity guests, with TV baker Paul Hollywood there in 2015 and the notoriously hard-to-please Times restaurant critic Giles Coren calling it “amazing” in 2013.

The Michelin-starred pub, which scooped the national award for the second year in a row, was also named gastropub of the year for the second time at the London gala on Monday, June 12.

Former financial adviser Mr Harris, who writes a column for The Telegraph, took over the reins of the upmarket pub in 1999 after teaching himself how to cook.

It beat 99 other restaurants to take the national crown and is the only one in the top five outside London.

A 256-page book written by Stephen Harris will be released in September with a retail price of £29.95. Titled The Sportsman it will include 150 colour illustrations.

Meanwhile, TV star Graham Norton was at a wedding reception at the East Quay at the harbour on Friday.