Kent
in South East England

Holder of one of the UK’s first Green Michelin stars, everything’s just so at this little Old Town spot with Thonet chairs and tactile recycled plastic tables – not least the seafood caught fresh from local dayboats, from Thornback ray or skate wing to buttery Dover sole with cockles. The pure vision of owners Lee Coad and Charlotte Forsdike, and head chef Rob Cooper, extends to ceramic dishes made from fish byproduct. A stay at one of the three bright Angela’s Rooms above guarantees a reservation. 

A love letter to rustic Campanian cucina povera isn’t exactly what you expect by the seaside – but there’s no questioning the provenance of this spot run by Harry Ryder and Simona Di dio, who mined her nonna’s cookbook for simple but wondrous staples like the verdura e fagioli greens and beans or bread balls cooked in the family’s rich red sauce. The tiramisu and house-made limoncello cream are sublime, and if you get there early you can sometimes bag an outside seat. 

The Turner Contemporary will likely be on your itinerary anyway, but it’s worth a detour to the crisp white Carl Freedman, which feels even more connected to the Tracey Emin vision of Margate as an art leader. Local artists often get their first big shows here – like the ethereal dream scenes of Laura Foote or the sexualised female Edens of Vanessa Raw, another artist who completed a residency at Tracey Emin’s TKE Studios down the road. Locals quietly covet the limited edition posters. 

When did a museum last make you LOL? The brainchild of brothers Bertie Terrilliams and Ned Suesat-Williams, with their friend Chase Coley, it’s hard to explain this place – essentially an idiosyncratic joke with a serious message, which uses crab facts to explore climate change, capitalism and the history of pretty much everything. Imagine a spotted reef crab moonlighting as a trade unionist, or a video of a human failing to shed armour in the way a crab would. Or just go and see for yourself.   

A must see during your visit to this quirky sea-side town. Deal Castle is an architectural highlight and is at the centre of the history of this town. Spend a few hours inside to learn more about Deal and look around the outside for beautiful views. 

While Angela’s needs booking, its seafront small-plates little sister is walk-in only. The setup may be more casual, but the often pickled or cured dishes are just as good here: silken crab tarts with shortcut pastry, smoked prawns with aioli, raw bream with brown butter and apple. Pair with a Sophie Evans skin-contact Kentish pinot gris and a neon sunset from one of the outside tables looking the Main Sands, and you have something approaching the Margate Dream.

Beyond the green rolling fields and frolicking cows lies the tamed wilderness of Elmley Nature Reserve, where a collection of stays, from farmhouses and cottages, to cabins and bell-tents, are tucked thoughtfully into the landscapes. Complete with outside baths, wood-burning stoves, and uninterrupted countryside views, alongside a pizza shack, breakfast hampers and wellness treatments all on hand. It's rural camping with a considerable dose of added on luxury. 

A creative trio that includes Gabriel Chipperfield, whose father designed the Turner Contemporary across the road, are behind this grown-up 14-room hotel – a sensitive conversion of a sea-facing hotel that first opened in 1820. There’s serious art dotted about the place, with a Tracey Emin line drawing in the ground-floor Colina bistro – serving bright Southern European small plates – and one of her neons in a nook in the two-storey subterranean bar, which regularly hosts book talks and cultural events.    

Housed in a former fisherman’s cottage, this long-standing high street stalwart celebrates contemporary craft with a sustainable bent, from practical household brushes and bamboo baskets to jewellery and wool socks. Artwork – abstract Japanese woodblock prints by Fi Brown, floral silhouette etchings by Janie George – is another central theme. Each shelf of ceramics has a card that tells you a little about the makers who include, for instance, Pottery West, Pip Hartle and Gillian Highland. 

Stroll down this iconic street in Deal and marvel at the beautiful architecture, cute boutiques, and small restaurants. The quietness and beauty brings us back here again and again. 

A takeover of the former Sands Hotel, facing the Main Sands in the thick of it all, No. 42 is part of a boutique brand that has hotels in York, Bath and Brighton. Neutral-toned rooms with Crosley vinyl players feel like the Balearics-meets-Kent coast, and there’s little messing with Whitsable oysters and Kentish ribeyes at the Art Deco-ish Pearly Cow restaurant with stellar terrace views. The rooftop bar buzzes come summer, and there are treatment rooms and a copper bath in the basement spa.     

Okay, Margate has more great restaurants than we can mention here, but at a certain point you need to sit on the steps overlooking the Harbour Arm  with a fish supper from Peter’s, which never fails – even when the deals get eyebrow-raisingly good, like £4.50 for flaky haddock and chips. Don’t worry: as the seagull’s also know, it’s still good. If you want to be classy, pair with a Little Swift cocktail or beer from the Xylo microbrewery.  

The revamped Centre shopping arcade still has Peacocks and Poundland, but also has a cool tequila bar, New York-style pizzeria, great coffee shop, indie gig venue – and now this modern bistro, with racing green walls, metro tiles and recycled table tops for comforting small plates from chicken karaage to charcoal blackened leeks and featherblade beef bourguignon. Owner and ex-Jamie Oliver MD Ryan Jacovides is a Margate lad, and passionate about local produce, with Kentish vineyards dominating his listing of sparkling whites especially.    

It’s worth the jaunt up the hill to this slightly hidden Cliftonville pub, overseen by long-time publican Deke Eichler, who also runs the cool Off License bar on the sea-facing Cliff Terrace. The vibe here is cosy and timeless – think beautifully aged wood, antique mirrors and vintage movie posters – and the smash burgers, buttermilk fried chicken and rosemary fries from local brand Hay’s make for the most reliable comfort food in town.   

We've got to love this spot in Kent for its huge array of antiques and art. A visit to Sans Pretention is always fun for the simple reason that you never know what to expect. From a delicate 19th century oil painting, to a hanging rug, and a golden plated cowboy boot, visiting this spot is very much like taking part in a mysterious treasure hunt. 

Ed Wilson and Josie Stead, makers of Columbia Road favourite Brawn, are behind this brick-walled Harbour Arm spot, serving Med-influenced small plates of serious quality given the narrowness of the bar-style open kitchen. Happiness is sitting outside on a summer’s evening with a Pantelleria orange wine and a full table: of Cantabrian anchovies, airily magnificent parmesan fritters or red mullet with fennel and fregula. Stay long enough – Wild Turkey 101 Old Fashioneds will help – and you might see the tide fully wax or wane.   

There’s a free sauna by the tidal pool on Walpole Bay, run by the skincare brand formerly known as Haeckels, but this one on the Main Sands has more reliable hours. There’s a barrel sauna and a glass-fronted electric sauna: the latter has better views, but we prefer the vibe and heat in the barrel, where it’s customary to wear gnome-like pointy felt hats for heat regulation, and to take a dip every 15 minutes – in the cold-water barrels or the sea.

Margate evenings don’t get more grown-up than at Sète, away from the Old Town on Cliftonville’s Northdown Road. Ever-chatty owner Natalia Ribbe ran another Margate favourite, Barletta, before opening this loving take on the European bistro, with a warmly cosy wine bar in the frontal, with a thoughtful selection of French-leaning wines lining the walls; and an elegant restaurant space out back, where chef Andy Lowe might serve pork rillette or braised lamb with lentils and aioli on his changing menus.   

Another place that leans into Margate’s slightly oddball spirit, no one actually knows how or by whom the Shell Grotto was created. The story goes that a local boy discovered it by crawling through a chalk passage in the 1830s, finding a mad subterranean lair adorned with 4.6 million shells depicting trees, gods, phalluses and more. Whether it was created by pagans or a secret Regency-era sect, no one knows – but it’s good fun, and the gift shop’s a winner. 

Another local-leaning Cliftonville joint, Streets is an amalgamation of motorbike-obsessed owner Vikram Mertia’s other favourite things: natural wines (he also runs natural wine merchants Riding Wine Co), craft beers and Indian small plates inspired by street food from his childhood. Think Brussel sprout bhajis, Bengali pakoras with date and tamarind chutney, keema sausage chaat or tofu tikka masala. The relative rawness of the Northern Road space only adds to the sense of a mash-up that’s unexpected but really works.   

Ex-London music industry types Kelly Love and Dan Williams reopened the Grade II-listed George and Heart in late 2019, and have created a much-loved pub with rooms that happily sits somewhere between cosy and anarchic – laying on Sunday roasts, pumping Pride events and quizzes over Pink Palomar cocktails with similar panache. Each of the six rooms and two suites is an artful one-off, like the warm-toned, 70s-inspired Poodle and Blonde suite by the design duo of the same name.     

The Pig at Bridge Place is a boutique country hotel in the heart of Kent, offering a perfect blend of rustic charm and contemporary luxury. Set in a historic manor, it seamlessly combines its heritage with a relaxed, inviting atmosphere. Guests can savor the finest local produce in the restaurant, unwind in the gardens, or explore the surrounding picturesque countryside, making it an ideal destination for those seeking a tranquil and stylish escape.