No. 42 by Guesthouse, Margate

Worth getting out of bed for

Marine Drive is Marg’s main promenading drag, so close to the golden-sand coast that a zealous fish could maybe make the leap from the bay to your window (this is very unlikely though). The star of many an old time-y postcard, and hazily visible in the back of several Turner paintings, it flicks around into the Harbour Arm passing by local superstar the Turner Contemporary on the way. The gallery helped to pump life back into the town and it’s been thoughtfully designed to show off sea vistas. Its exhibitions are always engaging and visually arresting. More folk art in style is the Shell Lady at the end of the harbour, a statue in the style of whimsical gift shops, allegedly made in tribute to Sophie Booth – Turner’s lover and landlady (Turner’s kind of a big deal here). But wait, there’s more shell-based fun to be had at the curious Shell Grotto, an actually remarkable subterranean feat of decoupage, which was supposedly discovered in the 19th century when the homeowner above was digging a duck pond – but like the walls and ceilings here, the legends around it may be heavily embellished. Take a refreshing dip in the tidal pool, or hire a boat for a jaunt along the Kentish Riviera, and embrace the kitsch at revived amusement park Dreamland. If you like its tongue-in-chic stylings, then you might find a retro neon sign, awning or even a spinning teacup at the likes of Junk Deluxe, Fez (on the High Street) or other vintage emporia (we also like Paraphernalia and Whistle Dixie (on King Street) for one-of-a-kind clothes and homewares). The OG outpost of home-grown skincare brand Haeckels is a must-visit, not just for seaweed-enriched creams, but to indulge in its spa treatments and get a gut-health consultation. At this point, you should pick up fish and chips from always-busy Peter’s Fish Factory (on the seafront), or a gelato from Lulu's (we like the kefir and passionfruit, Bronte pistachio or refreshing raspberry and mint sorbet) and sit in reflective poetic silence at the Nayland Rock Shelter, where TS Eliot came up with part three of The Waste Land. Or end your day on a cheerier – if weirder – note by catching some avant-garde music at the Tom Thumb Theatre or partaking in joyfully silly pop quizzes and pole-dancing sessions, or watching drag kings and queens do their thing at Camp bar, up in Cliftonville.

Local restaurants

Cuisine takes a sea-fare-ing turn in Margate, where fresh catches are both deep-fried and fine-dining – we recommend booking ahead, because some of these places are small in size but giant in reputation. Mori Mori has beautiful bento boxes, a punchy ramen with a soy and nashi pear broth base, and izakaya plates – we like the bao sandos, okonomiyaki and white-crab onigiri. Angela’s makes for an elegant date-night spot (even if demolishing cider-drunk mussels, ray in peppercorn sauce and garlicky lobster puts that end-of-the-night kiss on hold). Buoy and Oyster is a touch more traditional – you could just pick away at the seafood bar’s Bloody Mary prawns and ’nduja-piqued scallops, or try something more unique: the mussel carbonara or South Indian monkfish curry. On the Harbour Arm, Sargasso is a DFL (its chefs used to work at East London’s Brawn) that’s fully settled in and embraced by locals; each of its plates deserves a little squee of joy (at the time of going to press, its parmesan puffs are off the menu, but if you see them, order several plates), with the likes of mackerel with monk’s beard and a shot of blood orange, or clams marinating in sherry, though even simple plates such as egg mayo and anchovy or oysters with hot sausage will have you swooping in like a seagull. And, Bottega Caruso is a surprisingly authentic Italian where fresh pasta is crafted each morning using imported Italian aged-grain flour and the chefs have made ingredient connections across Kent. Nibble at very-small-batch parmesan with persimmon, borrow a paisan’s sense of nostalgia for the family-recipe ricotta dumplings and squeeze in the tiramisu, which is slugged with aged rum.  

Local cafés

Mannings seafood stall (by the Turner Contemporary) may be a van dishing out whelks that you eat with a toothpick, but a selection of champagne and oysters adds some ooh là là. Fort’s Cafe showcases very special coffee roasters, serves delicious brunch-y, eggy things and focaccia with meatballs (or even more intriguing fillings), and some daring flavour combos – anchovies and strawberry anyone? And the Old Kent Market was once a cinema, but now it’s a pizzeria, bakery, Greek restaurant, roastery, sweet shop and various bars (including one set in a bus) in its new food-hall guise. Wildes can be both the cause of and solution to your hangover, with both a classic-reviving cocktail menu of Sherry Cobblers and Snowball Royales, and a brunch menu offering brioche buns filled with truffled scrambled eggs and tarragon mushrooms on sourdough. 

Local bars

The Lifeboat is less spit and sawdust than it used to be (they’ve quite literally swept the sawdust away), but it still feels like the kind of boozer you might hear a few salty yarns in. In winter, the old stone hearth is lit, in summer the rickety long tables out front make for sociable pints, and we recommend taste-testing the Jenga-stacked boxes of fruity ciders. The Harbour Arms Bar is set on the, um, Harbour Arm, and for a micro-pub it has an impressive selection of local brews. Daisy is a cocktail bar with all the cheeky fun of a ribald vintage postcard. A machine pumps out teeny frozen Martinys, tequila shots come with a green-juice chaser to balance things out, and the Five go to Mexico is dubbed ‘the kind of margarita the Man From Del Monte would get in if he was having a big one’. Top up the tequila at Mariachi, where cocktails are by turns smoked, spicy, fruity and undeniably sexy. Pair with deep-fried Babybels from the bar-snacks menu. And you don’t need the constitution of an early-2000s Pete Doherty to have a rock-and-roll night at the gothic-style Arcady Lounge in the Libertines-owned Albion Rooms hotel.