Since its days as the Alfred Head pub, 146-148 Chatham Street has struggled to find an identity.

The Salsa Bar and Chi have come and gone but since February it has been Egipteca, sporting an Egyptian theme but selling largely Polish food.

Half-Bulgarian, half-Greek Nick Necheldev bought into it just a month ago and is working flat out to build up custom.

You might think a successful man with a Phd who speaks seven languages needn’t bring the hassle of running a restaurant upon himself but Nick can’t hide his passion, energy and desire to succeed.

He had driven to Dover the morning of our visit to get the best quality fish and every dish is homemade.

They are also very generous. Our starters; a salad with chicken and six king prawns were all the size of main courses.

And we agreed, all very tasty ones at that.

In fact the third member of our group, Jim, could not remember what his was when I asked him later but he texted me to say it was very nice.

But if the starters were a surprise, then the main courses were a revelation.

My 60-day matured steak was filled with so much flavour I struggled with it. Jim tried it and he couldn’t get enough of it.

Not that there wasn’t plenty on his plate. His 16” pizza was like nothing you’ve ever seen. Huge, with ample toppings and nothing like the uniformity of a chain restaurant pizza. He had to take two slices home and if he can’t finish it (possibly because he ate half my steak) you know it’s big.

Pork with a selection of vegetables was similarly enjoyed by Jim’s wife Kate. She couldn’t finish hers either but nonetheless gave the meal an enthusiastic thumbs up. Homemade desserts of ice cream, apple pie and cheesecake were shared among us and thankfully were quite light. Again they were excellent, and each was under £3.

The ups and downs of this neglected corner suggest it’s a difficult location for a restaurant. But all this place needs is to get people through the door. Once you’ve been here you can see for yourself the effort that goes into the food.

Add to that its uniqueness, quality and remarkable value, and you’re on to something good.

Polish customers are frequently out in force, especially on a Sunday but Nick has driven up the proportion of English customers from next to nothing to around 15 per cent. He wants many more.

England, he says, is the country that gave him his chance and he wants the indigenous population as well as a wide variety of nationalities to enjoy his food.

The prices, especially of the giant pizzas, are exceptionally low and you can even get a coffee and cake for £2.25.

Opening before lunchtime on weekdays is designed to attract swimmers from nearby Central Pool where, in the evening, you can park and Egipteca will refund your parking fee.

There is only one thing to do – give it a try. It’s one place you can really afford to.

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