Beneath floor in Margate is the mysterious Shell Grotto, a collection of chalk-walled salons adorned with hundreds of thousands of seashells that’s getting on for 200 years previous. Whereas all who enterprise there can agree on its creative deserves, there’s vast disagreement round its meant objective (folly, place of worship, secret HQ) – very like Margate itself.
JMW Turner, TS Eliot, Tracey Emin, the Libertines, all have ties to this coastal city – the creative credentials of which had been sealed with the arrival of the Turner Modern in 2011. And but past this cultural heritage, no person can fairly agree on Margate’s character – half kitsch seaside resort, half artistic cauldron, and half strange Kentish city that resists gentrification. Whichever half you come for, the ensuing cocktail is sort of the weekend tonic.
DRINK
All method of pours are extensively served in Margate. For beers, attempt the Harbour Arms, a micropub serving actual ales and ciders to bay-facing picnic tables. Mexicana devotee Dive is its neighbour on the Harbour Arm and specialises in margaritas and tacos. Margarita lovers also needs to add tequila and mezcal bar Mariachi to their checklist.
On Marine Drive, head to Dory’s for wine by the glass, together with an excellent English choice (and polished small plates which are lengthy on native flavour); or to exuberant all-rounder Little Swift, which has seasonal cocktails, wine and craft beers. Tucked into the Previous City, Wildes has a globetrotting cocktail menu, plus tables on the sq., and you may return the subsequent morning to assuage your hangover with their brunch.
EAT
Breakfast comes with elegant Twenties-style environment on the Pearly Cow. Simply downhill from the (closed) Lido, Forts is food-critic-approved and has nice espresso and loaded focaccias. A lot of the ingesting holes listed above additionally dabble in meals, thereby doubling as lunch spots. For dinner, the breadth of alternative is attractive.
Seasonal sharing plates paired with glorious wine await in a tiny shack on the Harbour Arm at Sargasso (DFL little sister to Brawn). At Bottega Caruso, it’s the Italian classics and everything-from-scratch authenticity which guarantee its reputation and imply you’ll must guide forward.
Margate stalwart Angela’s has constructed its enduring enchantment on finessed native seafood and seasonal veggie plates. All the time an excellent signal, the latter two eating places have ‘little sisters’ in Olivo and Dory’s (see Drink) respectively – so there are your back-up plans.
DO
Your very best Margate-rita is one half kitsch, one half seaside air, and one half artwork. For kitsch, we’re off to Dreamland, an amusement park that dates from the 1870s, to indulge our internal youngster with classic points of interest (ferris wheel, curler disco, carousel, loopy golf) and road meals. Seaside air may contain merely strolling the Foremost Sands, or braving a low-tide dip in both of Margate’s tidal swimming pools (the Walpole possibility has a seasonal Haeckels sauna hut, too).
For artwork, flip to the David Chipperfield-designed Turner Modern, a free-to-enter gallery with a rotation of world-class exhibitions and locally-themed airings. In Margate city correct, Carl Freedman Gallery is a up to date area with featured-artist exhibits (that occurs to be Tracey Emin’s neighbour). Speaking of which, Tracey’s TKE Studios typically has weekend openings to showcase the works of artists in its residency programme.
STAY
Two accommodations in Margate have not too long ago caught our eye – each boutique of their small-scale, detail-driven magnificence. No 42 by Guesthouse, Margate is in a major spot overlooking the Foremost Sands, however can be dual-aspect, opening onto the city’s outlets and again streets, too. Interiors are pale-hued, comfy and up to date, but it surely’s the raft of extras that impresses right here: a café and spa opening onto Marine Drive; a glamorous Twenties-style restaurant with balcony tables; and crowning all of it, a rooftop bar, for cocktails on the sofa washed down with sea views.
Set within the still-gritty neighbourhood of Cliftonville, a simple stroll from the center of city, up to date B&B Margate House is a nine-room townhouse set on a chic sq.: its flavour is seductively native, with every little thing from room perfume to furnishings sourced from Margate itself, and powerful creative leanings evident in its custom-made furnishings, placing artwork assortment, and thoughtfully curated rust-and-rose interiors. You possibly can keep at both lodge and have totally completely different weekends…
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