Margate Restaurant Guide

Lee Coad and Charlotte Forsdike’s “homely” three-year-old is proving “a great addition to the local food scene”: “a tiny (so slightly cramped), bright, café-style resto” (26 covers, plus open kitchen) “near the front in the chic part of hipster Margate”. The focus is on fish and “sustainability is at the heart of everything they do”; the end result is food that’s “unussy” but “sublime” alongside service that’s “warm and friendly” (if “at the limits of what’s possible in the space”). “Hard to get into but definitely worth persevering!”

“Amazing and very different” Indian “fusion” cuisine (fans say it’s “better than Benares in London”) inspires nothing but praise for Dev Biswal’s “buzzy” Margate HQ, opposite the Turner Gallery – and with outposts in Canterbury and Rye. In 2018 it relocated to the former Hoy pub after eight years at its original King Street site, and the “much more comfortable” surrounds contribute to make a visit a “real joy”.

“Lifting the area of Margate!” – this family-run bistro boasts large windows with sweeping views over the sands and an outside terrace for sunny days. All reports are of “fantastic” food from the menu which majors in fish and seafood.

“Unusual toppings on wafer thin crusts” – the best pizza for many miles around – “compensate for the basic amenities” at this “friendly” sea-front venture, as does its “top seaside view”.

2017 Review: In the Old Town, and run by a Bajan chef, this venue in a “beautifully furnished” former butcher’s wins plaudits for its “interesting”, Caribbean-inspired cuisine – a “casual” and “noisy” sort of spot, where “the sound of chatter and laughing adds to the enjoyment”. Top Tip – the bi-monthly Caribbean evening is “not to be missed”.

Scandi-influenced small eatery and gallery that’s become one of the best known in Shoreditch on Sea, thanks to its “friendly service and interesting food” – primarily fish, and also some local cheeses and charcuterie (plus one or two veggie options). Opening in winter 2019, a neighbouring natural wine bar from the same team, so that visiting hipsters feel even more at home, called ‘Big Naturals’.

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.