El Cortador Tapas Bar image

El Cortador Tapas Bar

Restaurant Spanish restaurant Tapas restaurant

One of the Best Places To Visits in Folkestone and Hythe District


Address

41 The Old High St, Folkestone CT20 1RL, United Kingdom

Website

www.elcortadorfolkestone.com

Contact

+44 1303 243974

Price rating

$$ $$

Rating on Google Maps

4.70 (657 reviews)

Open on Google Maps

Working Hours

  • Monday: Closed
  • Tuesday: 11 am to 10 pm
  • Wednesday: 11 am to 10 pm
  • Thursday: 11 am to 10 pm
  • Friday: 11 am to 10 pm
  • Saturday: 11 am to 10 pm
  • Sunday: 12 to 4 pm

Featured Reviews


Frequently mentioned in reviews: great (18) staff (13) tapas (9) service (9) ordered (8) Spanish (8) bread (7) good (6) restaurant (6) delicious (6)
Reviews are sorted by relevance, prioritizing the most helpful and insightful feedback at the top for easier reference.
  • 2/5 Wendy L. 2 years ago on Google
    Greasy spoon everything is floating in oil! Nothing like what I eat in Madrid, Cordoba, Seville. I expect better quality. Paella lack flavor! The gentleman (my husband) had an upset stomach shortly after the meal!
    4 people found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Hayley B. 2 years ago on Google
    My brother and I ate here before a concert! It was his first experience of tapas, he was won over.the service was brilliant, we didn't have a booking but they accommodated us, and we were told there'd possibly be a delay with the food, but from ordering to hitting the table was maybe 10-20 minutes! To food and sangria were amazing. I will be back for sure!
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 3/5 Chloe M. 1 year ago on Google
    The food was pretty good, particularly enjoyed the tortilla but the olives appeared to be just out of the jar
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Paul H. 1 year ago on Google
    What a great find. Everything ordered was excellent, the bread and aioli was superb. Had the special fish croquettes all great, highly recommended.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Asmir R. 1 year ago on Google
    Perfect, perfect and just simply perfect!!! We came to celebrate mine 40 birthday, staff were amazing, but then the owner came and gave us bottle of red wine. He set and talked with us for an hour and then he kept coming back to reassure we had everything, simply he was such a great company. His name is Ian, what a great man, we enjoyed so much talking about different stuff!!! Next time 6 of us are coming. What a great place to relax, have a great Spanish food, music and so friendly staff and owner Ian! Incredibly interesting guy, can't wait to go back! Cheers from Bosnian couple Asmir and Ermina ❤️
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Draz H. 2 years ago on Google
    Great place to go chill and eat fantastic food. Awesome staff! Was a great place to go. Highly recommend if you go to Folkestone.
    1 person found this review helpful 👍

  • 5/5 Smilynn Z. 4 months ago on Google
    Nice tapas. Good service.

  • 4/5 Lorraine J. 5 months ago on Google
    Needs a little more atmosphere. Liven it up with Spanish music please. Spanish guitar player would be amazing. Service was excellent. We want the Spanish vibes when we eat Tapas. Bring it please 🙏

  • 1/5 Grace E. 7 months ago on Google
    Ate here with my son yesterday. As a very frequent visitor having spent multiple birthdays and evenings here, I am bitterly disappointed that I have food poisoning from the prawns. There is no doubt about this and I have not been able to eat anything else since. Really a massive shame as it’s usually a lovely place with decent food but, I will not be returning after this incident.

  • 5/5 John T. 5 months ago on Google
    Fabulous. Will definitely make this a regular trip.

  • 5/5 oldfashionedphil 6 months ago on Google
    Just brilliant! Our first time here and will definitely come again. Amazing food and a lovely laid-back but attentive staff. We felt that nothing was too much trouble and were treated like royalty but completely without any pretentiousness. Thank you to all the wonderful staff.

  • 5/5 Katie P. 4 months ago on Google
    Lovely restaurant serving tapas, great staff, great dishes, great drinks options. Slightly expensive, but the food is delicious so totally worth it.

  • 5/5 Paula C. 8 months ago on Google
    Beautiful food and great value ! And such a lovely guy waiting on us ! Thankyou Oscar you are a credit to the restaurant

  • 5/5 Greg 8 months ago on Google
    We only had coffee as didn't discover the place until after we had eaten, but it was great coffee, service was great and had a really nice atmosphere. Feels like we're in Spain, proper Spanish family run business with a welcoming and happy vibe. We will be back for food. The menu looks good.

  • 5/5 Si C. 1 year ago on Google
    Spur of the moment trip to Folkstone on a sunny Sunday (finally!). Managed to get a table having failed the past.. Food is simply beautiful, and we had lots and lots of dishes, each and one delicious.. All staff couldn't be more helpful and to top it off, amazing value for money.. Definitely be back asap🤞

  • 5/5 Chris E. 10 months ago on Google
    Very nice, local Tapas. Staff are polite and fun, the food is on the money and there are plenty of options. We sat outside as it was hot and it almost felt as though we was on holiday.

  • 5/5 Tim G. 10 months ago on Google
    Great food with excellent service. Staff were really helpful.

  • 5/5 Laura C. 10 months ago on Google
    Food great but service could be more attentive. We couldn't get the attention of waiting staff to get another us of sangria, nor did they come to.check food was ok after they served it.

  • 5/5 GIna P. 1 year ago on Google
    So glad we found this hidden gem, after walking past it for almost a year and never found the time to explore. What an absolute delight, our experience was outstanding, authentic food, ambience, staff just top drawer. Make sure you try the chocolate orange pot, divine 😋.. it was so good we ordered another one to take home.. Sarah and crew are just as awesome as the food, super accommodating, warm and friendly fantastic customer service. We'll be back. EL Cortador deserve a Michelin star..

  • 5/5 Manel Almela G. 10 months ago on Google
    Very nice Spanish restaurant, the terrace is like something out of a fairy tale, the staff will assist you with sympathy and professionalism. Taste the coffee with condensate milk, liquor 43 and cream, delicious 😋

  • 4/5 EG 10 months ago on Google
    Tapas were pretty good, but service could've been better. We sat outside on one of the 2 tables on the terrace, which was quite uncomfortable, plus the door kept being slammed which didn't add to the atmosphere. The aioli was forgotten about and we had to remind a few times. It finally came when we were almost finished eating. I might go back if I'm in the area, but next time will try to sit inside the restaurant instead.

  • 4/5 Maz 1 year ago on Google
    Very tasty tapas dishes for reasonable prices. We had bread, prawns, chicken skewers, ham & manchego, patatas bravas and meatballs.

  • 5/5 Paul O. 1 year ago on Google
    Amazing! The staff are all lovely and the food was great. Booking is recommended. Everything arrived timely and hot. The beer is great too. 10 of of 10

  • 3/5 Jane W. 1 year ago on Google
    Take your own bread 🍞 Had been to this place before and found the food pretty good so decided to arrange a lunch for my daughter's birthday. Only the 3 of us. Arrived a little early to an empty room but that didn't worry me. After a few minutes we were asked if we would like to order so explained we were waiting for the birthday girl, presents 🎁 were sitting on the table. I then felt awkward so thought I should order something so ordered a bottle of wine. On my daughters arrival, we were again asked for our order extremely premature as she had only just sat down. I then asked the person at the front desk if they were closing early or maybe had another booking for our table and would understand if we needed to be a little quicker with our meal. She said no, we had the table for the afternoon. With that settled we went on to order our tapas, 2 each plus a meat platter costing £10.50. The food arrived smelling lovely especially the large prawns in garlic butter. Thinking they must have forgotten to bring some bread to eat with the meat and to dip in the delicious garlic sauce we asked about the forgotten bread and they went on to explain that we would have to order it separately at a cost. In all my experience I have never been so flabbergasted that bread was not given with the meal we had ordered. Very stingy in my opinion and as well as feeling like they wanted to get us out as quickly as possible I can only feel very disappointed with our visit to this restaurant. I also thought it was quite expensive for the amount of food given. Needless to say will not be returning. Shame as the quality of the food is good.

  • 5/5 Iva R. 2 years ago on Google
    Lovely place, the staff is very friendly. The food is tasty and offers options to vegans and vegetarians. On top of all of it, I'm becoming a wildfitter and I am not eating grains, sugar, and other things. And I was still able to order something to eat. Surprisingly, the food is pretty filling, which I wasn't expecting. My partner enjoyed the wine and the Spanish omolette.. we ordered the padron peppers which are so delicious. We also ordered olives, almonds, Gatling mushrooms, patas bravas, and the stuffed peppers. As a vegan and vegetarian couple we ordered about 7 tapas. Almost every vegan and vegetarian options haha. They were all yummy. I definitely recommend. It's a great date night option or to go out with friends to chill and enjoy the evening.

  • 5/5 Cannon steet car s. 2 years ago on Google
    We ordered everything off the menu between 4 of us all fabulous great service thankyou for looking after us will be back

  • 5/5 Franklin A. 2 years ago on Google
    The secret garden is a must visit. The prices are no where near as any other tapa bar, making it a nice and affordable. Nice music but overall, the friendliest staff!

  • 3/5 Renard T. 2 years ago on Google
    Friendly service and nice little place in the town's best small street. Food was generally not bad, but I have to admit that I had more enticing, better flavored (or less oily) Spanish tapas in several other places before across the UK. I would give a 3.5 stars. Possibly, it is the best tapas place in Folkestone though.

  • 5/5 Caroline W. 2 years ago on Google
    This restaurant does the best garlic prawns and the other tapas items are truly delicious! Another essential when. Dining is bread to soak up the garlicky juice and garlic mayonnaise. Heavenly! I always visit when in Folkestone!


Call +44 1303 243974 Open on Google Maps

Amenities


  • Payments
    • ✓️ Debit cards
    • ✓️ Credit cards
    • ✓️ NFC mobile payments
  • Offerings
    • ✓️ Beer
    • ✓️ Wine
    • ✓️ Coffee
    • ✓️ Alcohol
    • ✓️ Spirits
    • ✓️ Cocktails
    • ✓️ Small plates
    • ✓️ Healthy options
    • ✓️ Late-night food
    • ✓️ Vegetarian options
  • Accessibility
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible seating
    • ✗ Wheelchair-accessible car park
    • ✓️ Wheelchair-accessible entrance
  • Dining options
    • ✓️ Lunch
    • ✓️ Dinner
    • ✓️ Dessert
    • ✓️ Seating
  • Service options
    • ✓️ Dine-in
    • ✗ Delivery
    • ✓️ Outdoor seating

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