I just got back from a weekend in Margate and Broadstairs with a few friends. We were there for about 2 days and it felt so far away from normal life – I loved it. If you haven’t been, I think now is a great time to go. Of course, summer is the peak season but its quite crowded and we lucked out with the weather so if you have no plans for next weekend, I would highly recommend a Margate weekend.
I love going to UK seaside towns. They are usually super accessible. Brighton, Camber Sands and Margate are all about 1 – 2 hours from London, casual and fun. Now don’t go in expecting Goa, or the French or Italian rivera. Its not the typical seaside trip so I think you need to manage your expectations but once you realise its not a given that you can get into the water and lie on the beach the whole day, its a lovely break. I don’t even care about going into the water or swimming in the sea, just looking at the sea is such a calming experience.
How to Go
We did think about driving there but honestly, its such an easy (and most importantly, cheap!) train ride we just took the train there and back. Our return tickets going there Friday evening and coming back Sunday afternoon was £31 with £2 booking fee. The trains from London left from St Pancreas (go to St Pancreas International and go towards the section for South Eastern Railways.
Where to Stay
I have always wanted to stay at the Reading Rooms which looks beautiful and this is probably where I will stay if DJ and I go for a weekend. Since I was with a group of friends, we stayed in an Air Bnb just on the promenade. I won’t say it was amazing but it served our purpose. I loved sitting in the main room looking out of the window seeing the sea right there.
What to Do
1. Run on the Beach
I am not a major runner but went for a run in the morning and honestly, it was the most refreshing thing ever. It felt so good!
2. Long Walks
We originally wanted to walk all the way to Ramsgate but got way too hungry so ended up having lunch in Broadstairs and enjoying the beach there. The walk from Margate to Broadstairs is about 10 kilometres passing through some beautiful scenery. We really lucked out with the weather so it was a really lovely experience.
3. Walk around Margate
We also enjoyed walking around Margate and Broadstairs. We checked some bookshops and passed by some fun galleries and shops. Its lovely walking down the promenade.
4. Pop into the Turner Contemporary
I can’t say the art there when we visited was something for me but its a very striking building (although some of it was under scaffolding) and the museum shop is lovely. I did enjoy seeing the paintings exhibited on the ground floor. I am always drawn to the large pieces of completely impractical art!
Where to Eat
We had our first dinner in Giorgio’s which is such a lovely place. The staff makes it what it is. They are happy to chat and tell you where to have coffee and avocado on toast for breakfast. This dinner was such a good start to our weekend. I won’t say the Margarita pizza I had was the best but it was definitely good and everyone else seemed to enjoy their food as well.
For breakfast the next day we went to The Harbor Cafe Bar Kitchen on the promenade. Its a nice comfortable space for a basic breakfast. Oddly they did not allow us to split the bill which felt like a blast from the past and not exactly the best way to do business in 2022.
Lunch was at Wyatt and Jones which was probably the best meal we had on the trip. It was seafood so not particularly great for vegetarians but the food we ate was fantastic. I assure you these prawns tasted as good as they looked. We also tried eel croquettes which is not something I would have instinctively ordered for but glad I did – so good!
We had coffee in a cute little coffee place on the beach in Broadstairs called The Funicular Coffee House (recommended to us by the lady who served us in Giorgio’s). It was a hot and sunny enough day that I could order a cold coffee so I ordered an iced americano and it was fantastic. Definitely a recommend.
Dinner that night was at Barletta which is the restaurant in the same building as the Turner Contemporary museum. In all honesty, I don’t think I would recommend this one. I thought the menu was a little odd – there was 1 non-vegetarian dish and everything else was vegetarian but not particularly flavourful. For the mains, there was only 1 vegetarian option. I felt there could have been a little more variety or at least another options. The main I had was the hake which was extremely salty. I do feel bad about not flagging this off to the restaurant but honestly, I wasn’t sure what they could have done other than make it from scratch and I didn’t want to bother. We still had fun but yes, its an expensive place and I can’t say for sure I thought it was worth it.
Breakfast the morning after was at The Margate Coffee Shed. They were really lovely and accommodating but only had cooked breakfasts – no pastries which I what we were after. I won’t recommend my breakfast but the smoothie I had was fantastic.
Our lunch was at Waverly House which I think was the second best meal. We didn’t eat that much but everything we ate was fantastic. We had the sausage tacos, potato and cod croquettes, ham and chicken terine and a truffle lasagna could have eaten more of each if I had been hungry. Some of my friends didn’t like the Bloody Mary we all ordered and felt it was too bitter but I really liked it so no complaints from me!
On our way to the station in Margate we walked into the Olympia Bakery. I picked up the lemon cake they had which was excellent which is why this takeaway also made it to the list.
I always come back from a weekend trip with resolve to do more weekend trips but this plan always falls by the way side. I do want to go back to Margate during the summer for a weekend so maybe I will add in an update.
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the other posts I have linked as well. And now the usual guys – check us out on your preferred social media, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr – phew. And if you are sick of social media just subscribe to our emails. If you want to hear some chat about books, TV and food then make sure to listed to my podcast, Eat Watch Binge Read. The latest episode is linked!
– Anisha
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