A week of Kent: Sundae Sundae
Just a couple of doors down from Frank on Harbour Street is the utterly irresistible Sundae Sundae, a retro seaside shop with a self-styled ‘'ice cream delicatessen’. It’s a delightfully kitsch celebration of nostalgic British summer-time, stocking a fanciful selection of brightly coloured buckets, spades and ‘proper’ seaside toys.
It’s the range of weird and wonderful icecream flavours that catch my eye, like raspberry cheesecake, crème brulle, lavender sorbet, stem ginger and cracked pepper. For an extra-special treat, your scoops can be served in plastic sailing boats, complete with a little sail.
The various flavours are all-natural and sourced from small British farms, some as far away as Yorkshire. But the more experimental flavours are made in-house, like the fresh basil icecream, which is apparently very refreshing on a hot summer’s day.
There’s also a tasty line-up of retro English sweets, including the ever-popular flying saucers, love hearts, Dip Dabs, Whitstable rock, sugar mice and (my favourite) Tunnock’s tea cakes.
Towards the back of the store you’ll find a charming collection of vintage crockery and ephemera, like old Beano mags, vintage annuals and retro sundae glasses. I couldn’t resist the vintage saucy postcards, the ultimate seaside souvenir.
Out the back garden, there's everything you could possibly need to kit out the beach hut of your dreams, right down to the vintage oars and old fair signs.
It’s a little bit Beach Blanket Bingo, British style.
Sundae Sundae
62 Harbour St
Whitstable, Kent CT5 1AG
Opening hours: Variable, but usually 11am to 6pm (and sometimes ‘til 8pm if it’s a scorcher)
