Canterbury eats well for a small cathedral city — partly because of the two universities, partly because the surrounding Kent countryside grows good produce and the coast is fifteen minutes away. The Goods Shed at Canterbury West railway station is the standout: a permanent indoor farmers' market with a restaurant on a mezzanine, serving cooking that is plainly very good but kept honest by what is at the stalls below.
For something more relaxed, Tiny Tim's Tearooms does the proper version of cake and pots of tea on the High Street, and The Refectory Kitchen in the cathedral lodge — yes, in the precincts — turns out surprisingly modern lunches with views of the towers. Kent's strong Indian-restaurant tradition is well represented; The Ambrette on the High Street is the most ambitious of the lot.
For pub food, The Parrot in St Radigund's Street is the local choice — a Tudor building, low ceilings, and a kitchen that takes itself a degree more seriously than the average gastropub.