Margate’s development as a restaurant hotspot on the Kent coast continues apace, with the opening of two new restaurants in quick succession. The Wellington opens today in the Old Town from chef Billy Stock and his partner Ellie Topham (pictured) in a mid-Victorian former coaching inn, originally the Duke of Wellington.
The couple say they are returning the venue – most recently operated as Dukes bistro – to its roots as a public house, where they will “champion the best produce Kent has to offer, with some influences from across the Channel“.
Both worked in London before decamping to Kent, Billy at St John and the Marksman and then Sète in Margate; Ellie at Soho House and Kym’s (by Andrew Wong), then Uptown Farmhouse and Barletta on the coast.
Meanwhile, Will Jenkins has launched Willy’s inside the Margate House Hotel in Cliftonville, with a kitchen under Mark O’Brien, formerly head chef at nearby Samphire, who earlier worked under Robin Gill at Clkapham’s highly rated The Dairy.
Will says: “At Willy’s, we do comfort food our own way, classic British dishes, reimagined with wit and flair. It’s the kind of spot where good taste doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
The restaurant is decked out in a distinctive pink and red colour scheme, and offers a five-seat counter overlooking the kitchen, a 25-seat dining room plus another 25 on a heated terrace and a 16-seater private dining room.
