Old Butter Market

The service was miserably slow, an unfortunate drawback given our time constraints, but the fish and chips were memorable. The crust was flaky, and the battered hunk of cod was filling. The food portion of the experience, which is in fact why we enter a restaurant, gets an A-​plus.
The two employees behind the bar, though, had the toughest time I’ve ever seen splitting a check. I wondered for a moment if I had mistakenly asked them to build me a rocket to the moon using plastic Tupperware containers.

I just love the history of this place.
The food was just okay but I didn’t care much because I’m from California and finding anything this old is rare.
I had the fish and chips and some tea. Was it real cod? I don’t even know. I do know that it took a long time to get served.
They have a bathroom upstairs that I was a bit scared to walk to. I’m not used to having a lot of historical buildings around so perhaps anything that precedes the 1950s gives me an eerie feeling.

Good real ale pub. Two bars, welcome families (unless it is a busy weekend night when it is not recommended). Well kept ales. Traditional interiors. Friendly staff. If you want to sit and have a pint and a chat this is ideal. Can’t comment on food, haven’t tried it. When I do I’ll update this review.

Mmmm, not the best of places in Canterbury, and unfortunately, in a very advantageous location. Food is OK at best, and whole place has this greasy feel to it. Not good.

This is an incredibly convenient place to eat if you’re in the town centre and/​or visiting the cathedral.
The pub’s atmosphere is cozy and the staff is friendly. It’s pretty sprawling on the inside, like most older pubs. It can be difficult getting a table during the dinner rush, but outdoor seating is available during the day.
The fare is typical pub food, but it’s very good. Once it took a while to get our food, resulting in some of it getting a little dry, but this wasn’t a problem the other times I’ve been. The desserts, particularly the chocolate cake, are fabulous. It’s also worth looking at the dinner specials, where you can get a starter, a main and a dessert for a set price.
My major complaint is over the food availability at times. If the pub is close to rotating to a new seasonal menu, much of its old menu offerings may not be available, as we discovered last fall. One of my vegetarian friends had to have something specially made because no other options were available. The pie and ale specials are also not as varied as the menu and signboard suggest, so be sure to ask.
Bottom line: Good food and atmosphere, although you need to have a backup plan when you order.

A real ale Pub and as far as I know CAMRA member,
with a Menu of real ales to choose from, with samples for the uninitiated or foreign, the staff seemed very busy but also very helpful, and very knowledgeable,
The place could have done with a bit of table wiping but apart from that it seemed fairly nice. It’s an old building which as stated by many looks small from the outside. There are tables out the front when it’s warm,
it’s in a desirable location right opposite the Cathedral Entrance,
the food we had was normal Chain Pub Fayre, but it was ok,
the service wasn’t the quickest, but they were very busy and could have done with a couple more staff.
Nevertheless we weren’t in a particular hurry so it really didn’t upset us too much.
I’d have no problems with going there again.

The old Butter Market is a tiny looking pub nestled in a corner by the entrance to Canterbury Cathedral. From the outside you wouldn’t think that the Buttermarket was a large pub but as soon as you step through the door you realise that although it is narrow it is very long and has loads of nooks and crannys.
I only visit the Buttermarket during the evening on the weekend as a stop off before hitting the clubs so this review will be based on my experiences of the pub when I visit on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Atmosphere: One word. Electric. Full of people nestling in the comfy seats or sitting at the massive table eating meals. There are so many random areas in the buttermarket that you are likely to get lost.
The bar only covers the first section of the pub and is rather small. It does go into the other room slightly but there is a slim chance of getting served as the bar is normally busiest in the first section.
Staff: Several staff are lovely. Friendly, polite and are happy to serve you a drink and have a chat. There is one member of the bar staff who is rude and rather arrogant so it is best if you avoid them. You will know what I mean if you ever visit.
Drinks: Normal drinks and prices for the center of Canterbury. A nice selection of real ales on offer. I stuck to pints of Strongbow when I visited.
General: The buttermarket also serves food that I have yet to experience but friends have said that it good yet a bit pricey. The buttermarket does seem to have an upmarket theme going on, however I am sure it is not intentional. The men’s toilets are absolutely disgusting. Their are tiles missing and you can smell the stench or urine and what seems like a lovely round of brie as you walk up the stairs to relieve yourself. The toilets really do need refurbishing. The floors were coated in urine that was leaking from the two operating urinals, the other being ‘Out of order’ (thank you masking taped on sign). There was also a pane of glass missing from the window which made the whole experience somewhat chilly.
If you get past the fact that the toilets are a dive then the buttermarket really is a nice place to be. It’s warm, comfy and feels homely. The building is old and has beams running through it. This adds to the atmosphere of the pub and makes it cosy.
Overall: A nice place to be, mens toilets are bad, drink prices reasonable, atmosphere good.

Très sympathique pub, face à la superbe cathédrale .
En arrière salle, une vaste salle de restaurant, où l’on mange une cuisine de pub trés correcte .
Gammon, fish and chips, avec onions rings et garlic bread? Bön comme dans tous les pubs, il faut aller passer sa commande et régler au comptoir .
Chaque année, avant Noël on se fait une journée shopping à Canterbury, et on mange dans ce pub à chaque fois .
Vivement Samedi prochain !

This is a twice weekly market — Wednesdays and Fridays. It’s a bit of a mixture of stalls — meat, clothing, stationary, tack, watches, pictures, and so on. It’s located centrally in the main shopping area near Marks and Spencers. Its always crowded and space on the pavements to pass by is limited. However, its quite interesting and if you are fortunate you can get a bargain.

A small looking pub that is actually cavernous — it just goes back and back and back.
A good selection of wines is always on offer. Have never eaten there, but have drooled at the food passing me!
Quite busy at lunch and evenings, there is usually somewhere to sit inside, or if the sun is shining, why not sit outside in the Cathedral square and watch the world go by!

This is my favourite sort of pub. The sort of place that has been there for hundreds of years so it is all old fashioned inside with lots of different rooms and bars. It also has lots of real ales on offer and good wines (and an interesting selection of spirits too). But the most outstanding this about the Old Buttermarket is that it has the BEST ploughmans lunch in the world. I came here for the first time when I was pregnant and cheese obsessed and raved about it for years till my husband took me back again at it’s still the same. Amazing cheeses, delicious home made churtney, gorgeous ham and bread wow! There’s also a pork pie version which I might have to go back again to try my husband had the roast beef which he got a mountain of and there were nice trimmings but he said the beef was tough so be warned. There are special pies on offer there too, different types everyday and they looked very appealing though I’ve yet to try one.

The Old Buttermarket Inn ist allein schon wegen seiner Lage super! Hier kann man im Sommer draussen gegenüber der Kathedrale sitzen und den Rausch der Innenstadt geniessen. Manchmal finden hier klassische Openairkonzerte statt und man bekommt hier immer ein gutes Glas Wein und gutes Essen. Im Winter kann man auf bequemen Sesseln am offenen Kamin sein Bier geniessen.

If you like a nice wine, visit here. They always have some great offers on. Staff are friendly and welcoming. I’ve never experienced food here so cannot comment.
Nice Outdoor seating area in the Cathedral Square. Lots of tourists always walking past so can sometimes get busy. Definately worth taking the time to visit this one.