Elle's weekender: Margate Marmite

In answer to the standard in-the-office-lift-on-a-Thursday-question – “Any plans for the weekend then?”, my reply: “Going to Margate” was a bit of a ship sinker. 

“Good luck” one of my colleagues cheerfully replied. “Why?” another asked, clearly shocked. These reactions came in part from my colleagues thinking of me as somewhat princessy (false assumption based on the fact I assemble my own lunches with items from the Waitrose deli counter and drink Campari not beer on Fridays).

The reason why I, along with a sizeable influx of Londoners flocked to Margate this summer is the opening of the new Turner Contemporarygallery earlier in the year. This, along with Margate’s recent win of the Mary Queen of Shops high street revamp fund have made Margate the up and coming British sea side town of note.

But it’s not quite there yet. This is brilliant for many reasons, mainly because it still feels like a real place, inhabited by real people whos parents and grandparents grew up in the town. Because of this, Margate has a wonderful selection of vintage shops, full of original Margate-inhabitant clothing – they find it all a bit strange but go along with it anyway if it means making a bit of cash: “all this old sh**t we threw away, you lot are paying us for now. It’s brilliant.”

Image not my own (naughty blogger)

Bits of the town were gorgeous, other bits less so. I was initially nervy that we’d be staying in some kind of a beach-hovel, having left the boy in charge (not a princess, I promise). I was also slightly concerned about the food, having done 5 minutes of research and found that the nearest Zagat and Michelin restaurants were 30 miles up the coast in the foodie wonderland of Whitstable (now firmly on the do to list for this restaurant alone)

It’s important if you’re heading Margate-wards to do your research properly but if you follow any piece of my advice – follow this: embrace the town for what it is. Don’t stay in this Mr & Mrs Smith boutique– however tempting, because you can stay in a hotel like this anywhere and Margate won’t be the wonderful relic of old-school Fawlty Towersesque service forever. Enjoy it whilst it’s around.

Where to stay:

We ended up in this seafront B&B - a wonderful combination of shabby-chic, British oddity and genuine loveliness. The lobby and breakfast area remind me of the John Soame museum (one of my favourite London haunts), but the bedroom was more Manet's Garden of the Tuileries – all rose-papered walls and white shutters onto Turner's favourite beach.

Image not my own (naughty blogger)

Original working 1920s lift at The Walpole - image not my own (naughty blogger)

Where to drink:

Real ale pub, Newby place. This tiny little drinking den is gorgeous, cosy and sells a vast range of local ales as well as guest wines that change every month. The front room is intimate and oaky - fitting about 10 bar stools total, whilst the back is furnished with barrels for seats - popular with locals and tourists alike. 

The friendly management will be happy to chat and help you out with anything else you're after too and if you get peckish there's an excellent cupcake cafe across the way. Of course a cupcake would only be your mid-afternoon starter, as a cream tea is a mandatory element of British seaside old-schoolery. The Walpole does an excellent one.

Where to lunch:

Eddie Gilbert’s: Ramsgate. This fish restaurant sits above a fishmongers on an unlikely street in the nearby town of Ramsgate (10 minutes in a taxi). The menu is simple but the quality is good and well priced. If you want lobster remember to pre-order. The highlight was my ½ pint of prawns with aioli and the fritto misto.

Where to sup:

The Turner Contemporary hosts a dinner sitting between 7 and 9 on Friday and Saturday evenings - pre-booking mandatory. Here you can sit, over-looking the Margate front and beach as the sun goes down. Try the Kentish wine (Gordon Ramsay is a fan and serves it in more than one of his London pub restaurants).  It tastes like elderflower sap and smells like grass cuttings. The food here was hit and miss, but it’s not fair to overly criticise them for simplicity (there was one moment where soy sauce came into contact with far too much rock-salt – very upsetting for the tender beef strips it was sitting on). If you can be a little forgiving, this is the place for a summer’s evening meal.

What to see:

The Turner Contemporary of course. Exhibitions will change all the time, but for the moment Tracey Emin (Margate native) has been given this gorgeous space as her own. This is her next major exhibition following her retrospective at The Hayward Gallery in 2010 and well worth a look-see – especially for the large scale canvasses which look like painted nudes from a distance but once up close are actually hand-stitched embroideries made to look like paint.

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