Xiringuito – don’t miss this!
Margate has become a veritable hotbed of trendiness in recent years. It is fair to say that it has now, properly, well and truly, up and come. And the rise continues with exciting new openings and events being announced seemingly every week.
Xiringuito stands out as something extra special even in the sea of arty unique-ness that Margate has now become (can you have a sea of arty unique-ness? Yes it seems that here, you can!)
Friends Connor Sheehan (front of house) and Jackson Berg (chef) worked together in London for several years, at some top restaurants, including most recently Bistroteque, where they were Head Chef and General Manager respectively.
So these lads know how to do things to a high standard. And clearly they also have a sense of fun. They have commissioned an award winning architect, Asif Khan, to build them a ….. tent….. which they’ve put up round the back of Dreamland…. kind of in the car park…. but sort of above it…. it’s a bit hard to find but worth the effort…
In the tent (it’s an extremely stylish one) you will discover a warm welcome from Connor and utterly divine food from Jackson, both ably supported by a team of kitchen and waiting staff who are all about providing an exceptional experience for their guests and will greet you with warm smiles and delicious smells as you enter the bright white nylon clad space with colourful eye-popping chairs and tables to park yourself on.
Children are welcome. It’s trendy but not stuffy here, quite the opposite. The name, Xiringuito (pronounced chi-rin-gito), is taken from the Catalan name for the
provisional, seasonal bars that open up on beaches during the summer months and references the transitional nature of the restaurant. You see, it’s just here for the summer, 2016, then it will be off somewhere else, we understand.
It’s not a bar, it is a restaurant, the food is top notch, making use of local and foraged produce. As you might hope, given the coastal location, that means fish, fish offal and sea vegetables are prominent on the menu but more unusual meat cuts also feature.
At lunch the food offering is casual, featuring Jackson’s take on the British seaside
classic Fish & Chips and lunch options include an out of this world Curried Soft Shell Crab Burger. At weekday lunch there’s a daily 3-course set menu. The evening a la carte has a wider choice with a changing selection of smaller and larger plates. Some example dishes include:
- Liver parfait bun, chicken skin
- Brown Shrimp, tarragon sauce, duck fat toast
- Bavette, oyster mushrooms, crab sauce
- Middlewhite stuffed squid, green goddess sauce
- Whole gurnard, monks beard, rouille
The dessert menu is all about ice cream and granita, featuring ice cream sandwiches,
tacos and donuts in experimental flavours as well as alcoholic granitas. The ice cream menu is also be available from a takeaway hatch with dishes including:
- Peanut butter & jelly doughnut
- Chilli chocolate taco
- Grapefruit sorbet screwball
The wine list is concise, interesting and well priced, featuring bio-dynamic, organic and traditionally produced wines. There’s also a nice selection of yummy cocktails!
So while you’re here in the sunny Isle of Thanet, if you like quirky and classy eating experiences, get yourself over to Dreamland Carpark and discover Xiringuito. Tell Connor and Jackson that Beeches Broadstairs Holiday Lets sent you – and think of us as you raise your glass and tuck in to a lunch or dinner we are certain you will thoroughly enjoy.
Tags: Dreamlandfoodie kentkent foodielocal producemargate pop upxiringuito