The "achingly pretty" food at a Kent restaurant has received a rave review from one of the UK's top food critics for being "utterly delightful".

The Rose in Deal was visited by Guardian writer Jay Rayner, who tried the pub's trout, sweet potato soup and even a crab doughnut dusted with icing sugar.

And despite noting the service was "completely all over the place", all was forgiven due to the venue's "gentle parade of impressive cooking".

Sampling the lunch menu, with two courses priced at £19 and three at £23, the critic tried a soup and a fried pork dish.

In this weekend's Observer, he commented: "The menu starts with a deep, earthy sweet potato soup, the colour of rusting iron, turbo-charged with a thick spoonful of hazelnut pesto.

"The meat main is a generous breaded and fried pork escalope with what’s described as a raw cabbage salad – a coleslaw by any other name – under an autumnal cloudburst of toasted seeds."

For dessert, Mr Rayner rounded off his meal with a Portuguese olive oil cake and apricot compote, which he said had "an ineffably light sponge delivered still in its baking-paper basket".

"The golden brown, undulating surface, like the smooth fur folds of a puppy growing into its skin, comes with its own little wake-up of a few flakes of sea salt," he said.

Nuno Mendes, executive chef at The Rose, was described by Rayner as having great and often quirky taste.

His crab doughnut, Rayner says, was one of the star menu items at celebrity hotspot Chiltern Firehouse in London's Marylebone when it opened in 2013.

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Mr Rayner said: "His crab doughnut came to represent a giddy indulgence.

"On the menu, among the snacks, is that crab doughnut, for £6.

"In reality, it’s less a luxe homage to a Krispy Kreme than simply a tiny glazed bun, its golden surface dusted with a little sugar, with a sandwich filling of the white meat mixed with crème fraîche, a touch of fish sauce and lemon zest.

"And how is it? Oh, you know: utterly delightful.

"There’s a lot about the food served in the bar area of this shabby-chic pub that delights.

"Mendes' food is also achingly pretty."

Concluding his review Rayner explained how in his opinion, a lot of thought and a lot of work had gone into the menu.

He said: "The menu means that, despite the pared-down surroundings – the laminated tables, the simple school chairs – it comes at a cost.

"The tomato salad is £11. The trout dish is £24."

And while he did point out the service was "completely all over the place", with drinks orders forgotten and a side salad appearing as mains were finished, Rayner said he didn't mind.

"For anyone worrying that I am dropping someone in it by noting this, they themselves messaged afterwards unprompted to acknowledge that it really had been a virtuoso display of slow, graceful chaos," he said.

"But the truth is I was in no particular hurry to be anywhere, so while professionally it has to be noted, personally I gave myself to this relaxed dining room and its gentle parade of impressive cooking."

It is not the first time the High Street eatery has attracted rave reviews.

In April this year, House & Garden praised its "seriously good" food, with a writer for the Sun hailing "the best burger we've had in years" in March.