Broadstairs Restaurant Guide

“Ben (Chatterton) is an unassuming genius”, say fans of his and wife Sophie’s minuscule ex-sandwich shop, which revolves around a seasonal six-course tasting menu (£65); “to get such awesome food out of such a small kitchen is truly amazing”.

For “a fab all-round experience”, you’d do well to visit this ten-year-old bar/restaurant under the historic York Gate, which has been split in two following the lockdown closure. There’s a new ‘seafood & frites’ bar, Flotsam & Jetsam, while the main restaurant has switched to a small-plates approach with Hispanic influences – mostly fish and seafood, with a choice of two steaks and an Iberico pork chop.

In a “great” harbourside setting, chef Craig Mather’s collaboration with hotelier James Thomas namechecks the heroic homespun flotilla of the Dunkirk evacuation, also echoed in the decor. The food, mostly sourced within 30 miles of the restaurant, is reliably “solid”, not least the “lovely fresh catch of the day with interesting saucing”.

2021 Review: With its “deep red walls, low lighting and candles”, this “romantic” basement dining room has a “lovely, old-fashioned and cosy ambience, and is decorated with framed covers of old editions of Empire magazine”. Craig Mather’s modern British menu focuses on “unfussy dishes, where the local seasonal ingredients are the star”, in particular “fish that comes straight from the small boats which ply the harbour”.

2019 Review: It’s hard not to admire the ambition of this swanky newcomer – the conversion of the town’s former, listed post office into a glossy, contemporary brasserie that’s at odds with the slightly downbeat milieu of the location. It got off to a rocky start (“a beautiful room let down by poor cooking, indifferent service and outrageous prices”); post-survey, they dropped the ‘Old’ from the name (i.e. it was formerly ‘The Old Post Office’) and simplified the formula.

“Interesting dishes and well-balanced set menus” are the attraction at this increasingly Japanese-influenced seafood café from chef-owner Kate De Syllas, who was part of the East London to Margate migration when she moved here six years ago. She took time out in 2020 to study sushi-making techniques in Tokyo, and has incorporated Japanese kaiseki and izakaya presentation.

With just a handful of tables, Harry Ryder & Simona Di Dio's “unique Italian family-run shop, kitchen and supper club in the heart of Margate’s Old Town” has won real raves since opening in 2017. “Ingredients are sourced from Simona's family and their neighbours” back in Foglianise, near Naples, and parlayed into some “amazing food” (including their one-off regional Italian menu nights during quieter months).

“The best pizzas by far with wafer-thin crusts and interesting toppings” are the draw to this seafront venture whose “set-up is pretty basic but the friendly staff compensate” – “oh and a lovely view of the beach (especially at sunset)” also helps.

2019 Review: Despite some teething problems after chef Eddy Seys’ 2017 arrival, all is now well at this “sophisticated” hotel restaurant “brightening up the almost derelict” high street, and with “a grandstand view of the lovely beach and sunset”; readers will be happy to know that the lunch menu is “now reinstated”.

“Very dinky” it may be, but Lee Coad & Charlotte Forsdike’s relatively new café-style restaurant is “just brilliant” in all other aspects; “the food is fantastic, delicious and characterful” (focusing on the “freshest fish ever”), and the location makes it “handy if visiting Turner Contemporary”… in fact, the “only complaint is it's so popular it’s hard to get a table!”.

“Excellent and quite adventurous seafood” (including, on one visit, “sea urchins that the chef had picked up from the market that morning ‘just to try’”) ensure the continuing success of this family-run bistro, buoyed by “young and enthusiastic staff”. “If you’re lucky enough to get a seat in the window, you can expect glorious views over Margate sands and the harbour arm”.

2021 Review: No reservations and counter-stool seating keep things informal at this new spin-off from Angela’s: an all-day seafood bar. Too few reports for a rating as yet, but such feedback as we have is very upbeat.

“The Mumbai street food dishes disguised as fine-dining are superb” – “a cut above the usual” – say fans of Dev Biswal’s Margate base, opposite the Turner Gallery (there are now spinoffs in Rye and Canterbury, as well as a takeaway kitchen in Ashford); even if there’s “less ambience” than in the restaurant’s original, tighter space in King Street. Afternoon tea is also a possibility here, “with high teas from the best days of the Raj”.

In a “lovely setting” overlooking the sea, this “reliable, family-run Italian”, with offshoots in Faversham and Canterbury, celebrated its quarter-century a couple of years back; with its “very good traditional” menu (seafood, pasta, pizzas) and “brilliant atmosphere”, it's “not flashy but always offers an enjoyable evening out”.

Ed Wilson and Josie Stead (of London’s Brawn fame) took over this small restaurant and bar overlooking the bay in July 2021 (after our survey had concluded). It features a Kent-ified version of the Brawn formula of small dishes, natural wine and music… plus coastal views.