The West Gate Inn - JD Wetherspoon

You're sitting in one of Canterbury's most enviable locations, watching tourists snap photos of the Westgate towers while nursing a pint that costs less than a coffee elsewhere in the city centre. The building itself feels substantial and traditional, even if the Wetherspoons formula is familiar – sticky carpets, laminated menus, and that particular blend of locals and visitors that only 'Spoons can achieve. What sets this place apart from other chains is purely the location. Those massive medieval gates looming across North Lane give your breakfast pint or post-work drink a proper Canterbury backdrop. The food does exactly what it says on the tin – nothing revolutionary, but decent portions at prices that make sense when you're stretching the budget after Christmas shopping or feeding the family before hitting the cathedral.