In any leafy suburb or town, there are unofficial signs that your neighbourhood is on the up. The arrival of the posh bakery chain Gail’s, for example, or proximity to newly constructed padel courts are desirable middle-class markers. But down in the Kentish seaside town of Margate, residents now have a new measure for how aspirational their postcode is about to become: the Madonna metric.
This week Her Madgesty the Queen of Pop visited the once premier Victorian seaside resort to hang out with the artist Tracey Emin, who grew up there and has lived there since 2016, gushing about the trip and her friend to her 20 million Instagram followers. Side note: Emin is not just Madonna’s pal, but her “pearl. A precious necklace that has been draped around a seaside town in England called Margate.”
As it stands, we have limited information about what Madonna did during her time sur la mer, but what we do know is that after meeting young artists who were part of Emin’s residency programme, they celebrated her visit with dinner at one of Margate’s tiny Italian wine bars.
“I get to eat at my favourite Italian restaurant which I’m not giving anyone the name of because then everyone’s going to go there and it only has one table,” Madge wrote on Instagram. Ha ha — too bad. If you’re a foodie, have been to Margate and are really good at zooming in on pictures, it doesn’t take long to figure out that the place in question is Cantina Caruso, a family-run bar and deli that critics and locals have fallen in love with.
By day it’s a shop specialising in natural wines and Italian delicacies. In the evenings, there is one big table for 12 (you have to email to reserve it), where you can eat small plates such as zuppetta di ceci e funghi (chickpea and mushroom soup) or bowls of lamb stew with polenta from £15, alongside £7 glasses of natural wine. Cantina Caruso is owned by Simona Di Dio and her husband, Harry Ryder (they also own the Campanian restaurant Bottega Caruso next door), who told me that Madonna and her 11 friends ate polpette di pane al sugo (Italian bread balls), cacio e pepe, cheeses and tiramisu until “11-ish… we’ve cooked for her before. It was a really lovely crowd,” he told me.
Inhabitants haven’t quite got their yard sticks out and started measuring the distance between their doorstep and the wooden benches that Cantina Caruso have outside (it’s only a matter of time). But “I can already tell that the price of my house will go up”, one local gleefully told me.
• Is Margate really as cool as Ibiza?
Like most Americans do, Madge has slightly romanticised her image of Margate, a once shabby town on Britain’s Brexit coastline. But the seaside spot has been zhuzhed up over the past ten years or so, earning a reputation as one of the best foodie spots in the country and a magnet for hipster Down from Londoners looking for a day trip.
Today in Margate — otherwise known as Hackney-on-Sea — you can’t swing a bottle of pétillant-naturel for groovy wine bars, a giveaway you’re in hipster heartland. Favourites include Angela’s, serving brilliant fish with Kentish ingredients, and Sargasso, the Mediterranean wine bar that is the sister property to the east London restaurant Brawn.
Margate hasn’t got enough resident Beckhams, mega-renovations or posh farm shops for it to compete with the Cotswolds as Hollywood’s British holiday destination of choice. Though, warning: Madonna has already announced it’s her “idea of heaven”. But that strip of coast has become the epicentre of food tourism in the UK. Twenty years ago food hounds would have ventured to Devon or Cornwall for a weekend by the sea. Specifically places such as Padstow or Rock, where blockbuster chefs like Paul Ainsworth have seafood restaurants. Today the winds have changed direction — now it’s the coastline from Kent to East Sussex that lures visitors in. An influx of Londoners moving out of the city has turned seaside towns full of nostalgia into the epicentre of Britain’s trendy dining scene.
The tell-tale rumbles began in Whitstable, which has been Kent’s foodie centre since Stephen Harris opened the Sportsman in nearby Seasalter in 1999. Things peak when you round the bend: past Botany Bay is Broadstairs, where spots such as Twenty Seven Harbour Street have become favourites. South of that you find Ramsgate then Deal, where foodies will have the Blue Pelican, which serves Japanese-style food, at the top of their hit list. Next along is Folkestone before you reach Rye and Camber, home to the ex-Bibendum chef Matthew Harris’s new restaurant, Harry’s, then Hastings and Eastbourne.
I’m not sure that I can imagine Madonna tucking into fish and chips in Hastings. Well, not yet. Which means that you can still get a table at all of the best restaurants before the Americans arrive.
• Madonna at 67: ‘Me and Dolce & Gabbana were young and pushing boundaries’
Bottega Caruso and Cantina Caruso, Margate 
Bottega Caruso and Cantina Caruso
These family-run twin spots, which opened in 2017 and 2018 respectively, might be tiny but have earned a huge reputation as two of the town’s best places to eat. Cantina is a wine bar and shop, hosting pasta-making classes too. Bottega is bigger, but with just a handful of tables where you can eat brilliant Southern Italian classics. bottegacaruso.com
Fifteen Square Metres, Broadstairs 
You may recognise the chef Tony Rodd — he was a MasterChef finalist in 2015 and has now opened this cosy restaurant with seasonal small plates. fifteensquaremetres.co.uk
Bar Ingo, Broadstairs 
Order a gilda pintxo and a chilled glass of albariño here, and you’ll be transported from this 20-seat corner restaurant in Broadstairs to the Basque country. bar-ingo.co.uk
Shesells Seashells, Folkestone
A seafood platter at Shesells Seashells
Perched on the harbour, this family-run restaurant is one of the best places for lobster and fish in Folkestone. shesells-seashells.co.uk
Harry’s, Camber 
A selection of dishes at Harry’s
The ex-Bibendum chef Matthew Harris’s new restaurant at the Gallivant hotel is just a stone’s throw from the beach. harryscambersands.co.uk
Angela’s, Margate
Lobster, garlic butter and bisque
A small restaurant serving some of the best fish dishes you’ll ever have, according to Alex Bagner, founder of the Rose and the Blue Pelican in Deal. angelasofmargate.com
The Sportsman, Seasalter
Cured trout fillet with apple and sorrel granita and seaweed
The chef Stephen Harris’s pioneering, world-famous restaurant overlooking the Thames estuary. For more than 20 years Harris has been serving superb local produce — Whitstable oysters, seaweed buttered slip sole — alongside delicacies from further afield. thesportsmanseasalter.co.uk
Kebbells, Broadstairs
Seafood sharing plates at Kebbells
WILLIAM HARLEY
Locations for a seafood restaurant don’t get better than this. Right on the coast in the seaside town, the menu here is the daily catch with a Mediterranean twist. kebbells.com
Sargasso, Margate
Cantabrian anchovies, rosemary oil
WILLIAM BUNCE
The seaside sister of London’s Brawn restaurant, this Mediterranean wine bar set against the wall of Margate harbour has become a stalwart in the town. sargasso.bar
Samphire, Whitstable
Maldon oysters with juniper mignonette and, below them, oysters casino
ANDREW HAYES-WATKINS
A laidback bistro run by a local family who use ingredients from the Kentish coast and nearby farms in their seasonal menu. Don’t miss a Sunday roast here either. samphirewhitstable.co.uk
John Dory, Sandgate
Charcuterie at John Dory, including Tamworth lomo
JOHNDORYWINE/INSTAGRAM
A cosy neighbourhood bistro and wine bar that ticks all the boxes, proved by its very loyal following. It’s always packed. johndory.wine
Seabird, Ramsgate
Coffee and local pastries by day, cocktails and Mediterranean comfort food by night. The ox cheek is an essential order. seabirdramsgate.com
Twenty Seven Harbour Street, Broadstairs
Chargrilled sourdough, potted shrimp butter
Think seasonal sharing plates cooked over fire with local Kent and Sussex wines and views of Viking Bay. twentysevenharbourstreet.co.uk
Dory’s, Margate
Gurnard ceviche, blood orange, sea purslane
Angela’s little sibling serving raw, pickled or baked catch of the day overlooking the beach. angelasofmargate.com
Sète, Margate
Globe artichoke heart with vinaigrette
A cosy Parisian-inspired wine bar and restaurant with a weekly changing menu and a wine list that champions organic and biodynamic wines. setemargate.com
The Rose, Deal
Sunday roast at the dog-friendly Rose, in Deal
HOLLY FARRIER
One of the chicest openings in Deal, this is a charming 19th-century bar, restaurant and boutique hotel where food is at the centre of everything. therosedeal.com
Harbour Street Tapas, Whitstable
@HARBOURSTREETTAPAS/INSTAGRAM
Set on the corner of the picturesque Harbour Street, this restaurant specialises in Spanish cooking with Kentish ingredients — plus a few specially sourced products from across Europe. It’s the perfect place for tapas, and includes classics, daily specials and a selection of natural wines. harbourstreettapas.com
Pomus, Margate
A one-stop shop: wine bar, restaurant, pantry and bottle shop complete with a basement tasting room plus a terrace. pomus.co.uk
The Blue Pelican, Deal
Chef Luke Green at work in the kitchen of the Blue Pelican
SETH CARNILL
This Japanese-inspired newcomer is already drawing in locals and diners from across the south. Based on a Japanese izakaya and from the same team as Deal favourite the Rose, this restaurant has Luke Green at the helm as head chef. He spent five years living in Japan and trained under Nuno Mendes. His clay-baked rice donabe is a thing of beauty. thebluepelican.co.uk
Palms Pizzeria, Margate
Pesto broccoli pizza
@PALMSPIZZERIA/INSTAGRAM
Pizza on the beach? You’ll want it as soon as you walk past this spot and get a whiff of its New York-style 20in pizzas, which won two gongs at the 2023 National Pizza Awards. palmspizzeria.com
Deal Pier Kitchen
Sea bream for two with new potatoes and tomatoes, and other Deal Pier Kitchen favourites
DOT DASH MEDIA
Locals will tell you this timber restaurant at the end of the pier is the best spot in Deal for breakfast, lunch or brunch of sweet lobster and crayfish rolls, with views of the colourful fishing boats. dealpierkitchen.com
The Zetland Arms, Kingsdown, Deal
Fish stew at the Zetland Arms
SETH CARNILL
Go for a bowl of moules marinière and Kentish ale sitting by the fire, overlooking Kingsdown beach and the white cliffs. zetlandarms.co.uk
David Brown Deli, Whitstable
@DAVIDBROWNDELI/INSTAGRAM
On the high street in the heart of Whitstable you’ll find one of the town’s best-kept secrets. Along with a well-stocked party and deli counter, there’s a marvellous menu of soups, sandwiches and lunchtime soul food from sausage rolls to Scotch eggs. davidbrowndeli.com
Updown, Deal
This is a beautiful farmhouse just outside Deal, run by husband and wife team Oli Brown and Ruth Leigh. Brown’s cooking style is rustic and elegant, rooted in simplicity, seasonality and local ingredients. A firm favourite. updownfarmhouse.com
Dining and Cooking