Sargassum, Margate: "Exquisitely good taste" - restaurant review
Sargassum, Margate Harbor Arm, Stone Pier, Margate CT9 1AP (01843 229270). Small plates £7-11, large plates £9-19, desserts £6, wines from £25
It's the simplest of dishes: half a dozen fat anchovies, the color of well-varnished teak, lie in a pool of dark green olive oil, sprinkled with fizzy droplets of what turns out to be lemon juice. At first glance, very little happened to make it happen at our table. Some really good anchovies, meaty, salty and potent specimens with a lingering depth of flavor, were simply pulled from their resting place, dressed and sent on their way. But there is so much more going on here; something that goes to the very heart of the best restaurants. It is the expression of exquisite taste. Sargasso in Margate is soaked in this stuff.
It won't be everyone's tasteful idea. Some will stare at the old red-brick squat building he calls home and roll their eyes. They will dismiss as ugly this low block murderer crouched by the breakwater along the harbor arm as he lay in the water. If they belong to a demographic with rectal problems and are familiar with certain over-the-counter ointments, they may complain of the hard, spindly stools you are asked to sit on while eating at the counter or high tables in the window. That general eye-roll could be extended to the monogrammed plates, the restaurant's name done in a blood-red font reminiscent of the late 60s futurism of Joe 90s. And let's not forget the record player and jazz vinyl collection. 70s funk from the likes of Idris Mohammed and George Duke, who play on it. The album cover is always displayed behind the bar so you know exactly what you're listening to while you eat.
Sargassum, Margate Harbor Arm, Stone Pier, Margate CT9 1AP (01843 229270). Small plates £7-11, large plates £9-19, desserts £6, wines from £25
It's the simplest of dishes: half a dozen fat anchovies, the color of well-varnished teak, lie in a pool of dark green olive oil, sprinkled with fizzy droplets of what turns out to be lemon juice. At first glance, very little happened to make it happen at our table. Some really good anchovies, meaty, salty and potent specimens with a lingering depth of flavor, were simply pulled from their resting place, dressed and sent on their way. But there is so much more going on here; something that goes to the very heart of the best restaurants. It is the expression of exquisite taste. Sargasso in Margate is soaked in this stuff.
It won't be everyone's tasteful idea. Some will stare at the old red-brick squat building he calls home and roll their eyes. They will dismiss as ugly this low block murderer crouched by the breakwater along the harbor arm as he lay in the water. If they belong to a demographic with rectal problems and are familiar with certain over-the-counter ointments, they may complain of the hard, spindly stools you are asked to sit on while eating at the counter or high tables in the window. That general eye-roll could be extended to the monogrammed plates, the restaurant's name done in a blood-red font reminiscent of the late 60s futurism of Joe 90s. And let's not forget the record player and jazz vinyl collection. 70s funk from the likes of Idris Mohammed and George Duke, who play on it. The album cover is always displayed behind the bar so you know exactly what you're listening to while you eat.
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