No Expert …but I know what I like – Food Blog, Restaurant reviews
Reviews, Guides & Maps
(July 2026)
Finally managed to visit Angela’s, the acclaimed seafood restaurant in Margate, and it’s certainly worth the trip. It is a casual, laid-back spot featuring two dining areas, an open kitchen, and – much to our surprise – an outside toilet!
The daily menu is displayed on a chalkboard.
We ordered the sea bass alongside a rather lovely bottle of Ark Pinot Gris.
It is definitely worth a return visit to try more of their dishes.
(July 2026)
We visited two of Thanets rooftop bars, one in Margate and one in Ramsgate – both very different but lovely in their own ways.
With it’s stunning views of Margate Beach and the hotels highly professional service, indulging at The Rooftop Bar is a real treat. To get to the bar you speak to the receptionist at the Guest House No 42 Hotel (High Street entrance), they check if there is space. They don’t operate a booking diary for the roof, so it’s first come, first served. Be warned you do have a bit of a climb (six flights of steps). Our visit wasn’t at sunset (which is the peak time), we simply had some pre dinner drinks. They serve cocktails, local beers, and a small, quality-driven wine list where bottles generally run over £60.
There’s only one flight of (external) steps to get to Noa, the rooftop bar at the Granville Theatre. It’s not a large venue, you can do a walk in for drinks but it’s essential to book a table if you want to eat there. They serve handcrafted cocktails (highly recommend The Pain Killer), delicious sourdough pizzas and roasts in the autumn and winter.
The staff are efficient and friendly and the place has stunning sea views. There’s indoor and outdoor seating.
It’s a popular pre theatre venue.
In case you missed it, the people from Margate Smokehouse have opened a pop up restaurant inside The Glass Jar on Marine Drive in Margate. It’s called MEAT American BBQ and they invited us to check it out. It’s hidden away at the back of the bar and easy to miss.
The menu covers lots of classic BBQ dishes like Chicken wings with blue cheese dip and Pork Babyback Ribs served with a lovely sticky BBQ sauce. Highlights for us included Beef Brisket served in a brioche bun and their Mac n Cheese Lollipop with BBQ sauce. We had excellent service from John the Chef and the friendly bar staff at The Glass Jar.
If you time it right you can also catch one of the free live music events hosted by The Glass Jar.
I have never been much of a fan of Margate, but I have to say it is starting to grow on me, helped very much by its burgeoning food scene. We decided to explore Margate before lunch, there was actually quite a lot to see, we managed to fit in a visit to the monthly Cliftonville farmers market, a brief trip to the Turner Contemporary Gallery and wandered around the old town which has lots of interesting shops, cafes and architecture. Margate has really embraced the art scene and there are retro shops everywhere.
The Ambrette is in the old town, just round the corner from the stunning Tudor House. The Ambrette has quite the reputation. Dev Biswal is famous for his spicing and is planning to open 4 more restaurants in Kent, which is very good news indeed. The hype is definitely justified, this is somewhere you feel you could order anything from the menu and not be disappointed. I have been to quite a few high end Indian restaurants and when it comes to food and service The Ambrette can hold its own. The room and ambience is less inviting, OK there is no flock wallpaper but instead the tables and decor would not be out of place in a bland Italian restaurant. This place is special however and it really would not take much to elevate it.
We had a delicious amuse bouche where my only complaint was that it was served on a cocktail stick rather than having a small spoon which would have ensured that I got every drop of the beautiful sauce off the plate.
We started with the Crab and beetroot cake, locally grown sea purslane and Crab riata and the Dosai with gently spiced potatoes, mustard and onions and Coconut chutney. The flavour of the crab and potatoes were both enhanced by the accompaniments and spicing. We were then presented with tiny tasting cups containing a delicious broccoli and pepper soup.
For main course we ordered the Kentish Mutton and pearl barley biryani, served with Masala potatoes, Kashmiri style sauce of cinnamon and saffron and the Claresse (fresh water catfish) with locally grown sea beet, served with kedgeree, sauce of coconut, ginger and mustard, again beautifully judged.
Dessert was also a triumph. Chocolate Samosas are a match made in heaven, and the delicate rose flavoured vanilla crème brulee was perfect.
Matching wines with Indian food can be difficult but not so here as the spicing does not kill your taste buds. Our bottle of Chablis was not lost, its fruity flavour complimented all the dishes.
GB Pizza in Margate is a trendy Pizza parlour that focuses on producing quality thin based pizza. It is only a few doors down from Domino Pizza and the contrast could not be more marked. The tables are refectory style but if your lucky you can also grab a window seat with a sea view. We shared a chorizo and chilli pizza which was super hot and absolutely delicious. They also import Gelupo Ice Cream from London, which again reflects their approach to quality. The staff were efficient with a friendly laid back manner. Food is ordered at the counter and delivered to the table.
GB Pizza are going places, more specifically they are opening a pop up in Exmouth Market in foodie Clerkenwell in London, where they will fit right in. So they are reversing the ‘DFL – Down from London’ trend to be ‘UFK – Up from Kent’. I really hope they expand within Kent though, I would love to have a local branch – please come to Ramsgate.
UPDATE : No longer at Exmouth Market.
The sun was shining on Boxing Day so it was perfect weather for a coastal walk along the Viking Trail, starting at Ramsgate and finishing in Margate. We had not planned to eat out, but after the 5 mile plus walk we were seriously hungry. When we arrived in Margate we found there were very few places open – ok we could have checked in advance and planned better, but sometimes it’s the unplanned days that work out the best. There were a couple of places that were full of people that we could have gone too, but they looked like the sort of places that were busy because they were open rather than for any other reason, which was why we were saved by The Lifeboat. It is an award winning pub, and I can see why – the food, drink and service were pretty special. We were well looked after by the lady who was literally manning The Lifeboat on her own.
The menu focuses on Pies, Puddings and Cheese, all great accompaniments to the Ale and Cider they specialize in. We tried a Pear Cider (Perry) and a wonderful Spiced Cider from Dudda’s Tun and ordered a Chicken and Bacon suet pudding and a Chicken, Brie and Cranberry Pie, both were served with lovely creamy smooth mash and a tasty gravy. This was perfect food for a wintery day.
The Lifeboat is well worth making a trip to Margate for, I certainly want to try some of the other pies and puddings on the menu.