Where to eat in Margate: a local’s guide
Published 19 August 2026

Margate’s remarkable cultural and economic resurgence was kick started in 2011 by the opening of the largest modern art space in south-east England – the David Chipperfield-designed Turner Contemporary. Its success had a huge impact on the wider community, giving a new lease of life to the Old Town – it’s cool, vibey scene now summons visitors from far and wide to explore the offbeat galleries, artsy stores, cool vintage and home-ware shops, vibrant coffee shops, cafés and restaurants.

Arrive by train (90 minutes from London St Pancras International), and Big Shot on the seafront is more than likely going to be your first port of call when it comes to your morning coffee fix, perhaps with a grilled cheese sandwich - we love the Colonel Mustard option. Or seek out 12 The Centre, just off the High Street, the home of the brilliant Curve Coffee Store. For grab-and-go, you can’t beat the freshly baked sweet or savoury soft buns from Rise and Bun in King Street – the coffee is good too.

For a big breakfast, follow the road that curves past Turner Contemporary, heading uphill towards Cliftonville until you come to Forts Café. Their creative, umami-rich take on brunch classics, alongside cake, cookies and excellent coffee, is worth the walk. And it could all come with a view if you’re lucky to bag an outside table.  

An egg, bacon and sausage breakfast roll or a croque monsieur at The Perfect Place to Grow will do more than satisfy hunger pangs. West of the Old Town, another brisk appetite-inducing uphill walk, the daytime café is housed in a converted Victorian morgue and represents a coming together of Margate’s art and food scene. The Tracey Emin-backed project, in conjunction with ‘Very Good’ rated restaurants Angela's of Margate and Bottega Caruso, aims to support young people facing unemployment in the area. Overseen by a professional team, it’s one of Margate’s hidden gems.

A clutch of low-key places in the Old Town draw in a crowd of ardent regulars. They range from French Vietnamese chef Nathalie Nguyen’s cheerfully informal, pint-sized Thao Thao with its brief menu inspired by family recipes, perfect for one-plate grazing, to High Dive, Kirstie Fleck and Benjamin Vorono vibrant, tight-squeeze of a bar-restaurant. On offer is LA-inspired Mexican food that is immediately appealing in a vividly flavoured, fresh, attention capturing way. And if you can’t bag a table here, head to their seasonal, outdoor seating-only set-up, Dive, on the Harbour Arm where they serve tacos and their brilliant margaritas on a first-come, first-served basis. For a great-value takeaway, nab a place in the queue at Peter’s Fish Factory on the seafront to satisfy your yen for seriously impressive fish and chips.

At the higher end, anchor the day with a memorable meal at the famed Angela's of Margate. The unpretentious, bijou dining room has long been a crowd puller, expanding onto the pavement in fine weather, and now committed to opening for lunch and dinner all week. Rob Cooper is a steady hand in the kitchen with his superb fish-led cookery, but you still need to book in advance.

Which makes the equally bijou Angela’s Bar next door something of a bonus. Walk-in friendly and open all week, the focus is on cocktails, English wine, and local beer on tap, alongside coastal tapas plates such as smoked prawns, cod’s roe and marinated sardines. And they’ve even managed to squeeze in a tiny ice cream shop between the bar and the restaurant offering a selection of deliciously quirky flavours from Bears Ice Cream Imaginarium in Whitstable.

Or snap up a table at Bottega Caruso, Simona Di Dio and Harry Ryder’s endearingly popular, determinedly low-key restaurant. An established fixture on the Margate dining scene, an atmosphere of warm informality is matched by homespun southern Italian cooking inspired by Simona’s family recipes from Foglianise in Campania.

Don’t forget to stock up on artisan Italian provisions at Cantina Caruso, the restaurant’s deli next door but one. Worth noting, if you haven't secured a table at Bottega Caruso, it’s first come, first served at the Cantina when it transforms into a warmly atmospheric wine bar serving classic Italian dishes. Open on Thursday to Saturday evenings and Sunday lunch, it’s been garnering much praise recently, including being ranked second in Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2026.

Sargasso has a claim to the best views of any restaurant in Margate, thanks to a terrace that makes the most of its commanding spot on the Harbour Arm, overlooking Margate Sands to the Old Town. Inside, the deal is stools at high tops and counter, and sharing plates with flavours mostly from the Mediterranean.

Fancy a pub? Then seek out The Wellington, where Billy Stock and Ellie Topham are as devoted to their immediate Margate community as they are to delivering good food and drink to folk travelling to eat here. A bar menu offers proper snacks ((duck sausage rolls, Welsh rarebit) while the restaurant is noted for robustly delicious food and proper Sunday roasts.

If the Old Town and sea front feel overcrowded, wander up to Cliftonville’s Northdown Road, home to a thriving, diverse community and a haven of independent food shops, bars, cafés and restaurant. Here you will find the nose-to-tail Northdown Butchers, and Oast, Charlotte Keeys and Will Moss’s neighbourhood bakery and café popular for its for yeasted or sourdough loaves, as well as Asian grocers and the impressively stocked Polish delicatessen Nasza Biedronka.

Not to be missed is newcomer Sarns, chef James Lynch’s immensely likeable little sandwich shop. His regularly changing roster of generously filled eight-inch subs might include hot tuna, meatball or Reuben (10-day house-brined beef), and are available to eat in (on limited seating) or takeaway.

And here, too, is Sète, Natalia Ribbe’s dinky wine bar, noted for its short, expertly curated wine list and back-room restaurant’s brief blackboard menu of simple, seasonal and delicious European-inspired dishes. For a taste of East Asia, consider Kate de Syllas’ simple izakaya-style Japanese restaurant Mori Mori. It nourishes an appreciative local crowd with a frequently changing menu of colourful, bracingly fresh and zippy food (mostly locally sourced), shot through with inventive Japanese and north-east Asian flavours. 

Another off-the-beaten track gem is Lilie’s, which overlooks the North Sea near the Art Deco Lido tower. It’s a quirky, charismatic and welcoming tapas bar, good for Spanish classics and an interesting French and Spanish wine list. And if you are in the mood for a good Nepalese curry or grill the nearby Gurkha Restaurant and Bar on Ethelbert Crescent is worth knowing about – they do takeaway too.

Ready for a sundowner before heading back to the station? An ancient Old Town pub on Market Street has had a much-needed glow-up. Now The Lifeboat by Floc, it’s a cosy, welcoming place offering local Floc Brewing’s own brews alongside guest ales. While Cockle and Hen, which has taken over the former Dory’s site on the sea front, has cask and keg beers with the possibility of a famous Turneresque sunset thrown in. And this being Margate, of course both do cocktails.