The Daily Telegraph
William Sitwell recommended a recently renovated old pub as a “great reason for a day trip” to Margate for its exceptional, comforting food, including, warm, creamy and salty buns and a drinks list that is “a love letter to the pure wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux”.
“The studied minimalism verges on the austere since the owners clearly have an aversion to things like cushions, throws and rugs. The softest things come by way of an old tapestry, and a bookshelf containing some instructional food tomes, a casserole dish and some stacked copper pans.”
William Sitwell - 2026-02-15The Guardian
Grace Dent found perfect shelter from a freezing day on the “south-east Riviera” inside a toasty “old warhorse” of a one-time coaching inn which has been revived by chef Billy Stock (formerly of nearby Sete and London’s The Marksman and St John) and “front-of-house queen” Ellie Topham.
“The ever-changing menu is a paean to things that make me happy: cep cream vol-au-vents, plump salted hot fresh rolls with good butter, chunks of brill with glossy peppercorn sauce, plates of chunky chips with hollandaise sauce for dipping.”
Best of all are the pies, “a thing of splendour and ever-present on the menu in different guises”. The lobster and cod pie contained a liquor “rich as a thermidor sauce or bisque and thick with lobster meat and perfect flaky cod. It was the type of sauce you weep about as you fear you’ll never taste its like again.”
Grace Dent - 2026-03-29
