Preserving British craft is at the heart of this shop – as are makers whose work is intrinsic to the land around them. For instance, ceramicist Steven James Will creates porcelain jugs with handles cast from lichen twigs; Chloé Rosetta Bell’s 2024 The Suffolk Fishermen Collection of vessels features glazes developed from fishermen’s waste crab shells and ash from traditional smokehouses; and woodsman Alex Walshaw makes sculptural hand-carved knives and spoons from fallen, coppiced and reclaimed oak or damson. 

By now we needn't say more, whether you like it or not we still go mad over small plates. Especially if they're from Lark. This is the epitome of small place gone big: from flavour, to its ambience, Lark is making moves in the food scene. Located in a former bus stop, as you can quite possibly imagine the space isn't fabulously glamorous; it is instead cosy, warm, and inviting. From sopressini cacio e pepe, to its skate wing with mussels and peppercorn sauce; Lark's greatness comes with its fearless attitude to experimenting. And boy does it pay off. 

On the Cliff Terrace stretch that includes cool spots including Fort’s coffee shop, the lively Bar Nothing and the skincare brand formerly known as Haeckels, Daisy does the most whimsically inventive cocktails in Margate – liquorice kir royales, say, or purple yam margaritas – alongside short ribs, char sui lions mane and the like from food residents Snake Oil Barbecue. Owner Felix Cohen’s usually at the bar, while his cute dog Esme tends to colonise the sofa.  

On once-grand Dalby Square, the nine-room Margate House is a cool twist on the old B&Bs that used to dot increasingly cool Cliftonville, up the hill from the Old Town. Owner Will Jenkins, who runs a London property company, did much of the restoration work himself, painting cool wood-panelled spaces in dusty pinks and burgundies, and adding vintage Polish posters. Many goodies are shoppable, including the Vyrao scents that waft onto Dalby Square, and a hotel restaurant is in the pipeline.