Hurrah! It looks as if the Millionaires' Playground is to get yet another fine dining experience! Not only is the Cannes of Kent home to one of the best eateries in the south east, Age & Sons (dubbed 'the finest restaurant in Thanet' in today's Observer), but now top chef John Burton Race is re-opening Harveys, on Ramsgate's rip-roaring royal harbour, as a fantastic fish restaurant.According to the excellent yourfannitinnit, JBR has coughed up 250 big ones to transform this formerly hideous boozer, which has been boarded up for the last year, into the dogfish's bollocks of piscine cuisine. The celebrity chef already has Michelin-rated nosheries under his belt. Shame, though, that Thanet College alumnus Gary Rhodes, who was once rumoured to have been in the frame to open up here, seems to have got cold feet. His puddings are yum! Of course, we already have one fish restaurant on the Croisette - Atlantis. But being a Thorley establishment I have to say from experience that that's more like Captain Digby Deluxe.
So, Ramsgate now has two top restaurants to Margate's one (the superb Indian Princess). And as reported exclusively by yours truly, Eddie Gilbert the fishmonger on Ramsgate's 'King Street will soon be serving fish and chips fit for a, er, king. But what about the poor old Dickensians? Surely the betweeded grannies, second homers and perma-tanned builders' wives in Boredstares deserve something a bit better than scampi in a basket? The deliciously delightful Oscar Road Cafe is all well and good for the best crab sandwiches in Kent during the day, but what about sophisticated dining once the sun's gone down? Well, step forward this joint:
Restaurant 54, the new gaff at the top of Harbour Street, opposite the Dolphin meat market. It's had umpteen different guises in the past few years, prompting the double glazing and conservatory millionaires who were leaving as I passed by last night to ponder whether the name referred to the number of owners it's had since the turn of the century.Still, from what I overheard they appeared to have enjoyed their meal, and of course it was only a short waddle for them down the hill to Harpers wine bar, where they no doubt rounded off the evening by larging it with the WAGS (of other double glazing and conservatory millionaires) before belling the missus to come and chauffeur them back to Kingsgate in the old V8 Range Rover.
Harveys in yourfannitinnit
The Observer raves about Thanet - and Age & Sons
Er, John Burton Race declares himself bankrupt
24 comments:
Richard I can recommend Osteria Posillipo Pizzeria in Albion Street Broadsairs, best to book in advance and in hot weather book a table outside.
Have tried Osteria Perosis, Michael, but was not that impressed. Still, in the interests of fair play, and because you've recommended it, I'll give it another go!
It may be something to do with having had young children for most of the last 20 years, and that Italian restaurants are very child friendly, I haven’t got as far as trying Age and son yet as we tend to eat out as a family and part of the pleasure for us is visiting a different town.
Oh yes and thanks for the link to Thanet Council Press Releases, with the council now Twittering I am hoping that they will soon get their own blog for them and save me the trouble.
How can Burton Race be investing in this when according to this link which is only a couple of days old, he has declared himself bankrupt???
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1189174/Celebrity-chef-John-Burton-Race-declares-bankrupt.html
Phoenix from the ashes?
Hmmm. Very fishy KPI, if you'll pardon the pun. I've added this new info as a link at the bottom of the item.
Good to see new nice restaurants, only problem the local clientle .
Took the nippers and Mrs to the Indian Princess last week ,great food as ever but slightly marred by a knuckle dragging moron coming in demanding a chicken korma. When told he could not have one the effing and blinding started, and went on for about five minutes. I got an earful when I told him his behaviour in front of kids was awful.
We still have an awful long way to go.
The Oserver piece was frankly a joke.
The usual lazy journalism , I wonder if they even came to Thanet.
Albion street a great place to shop ?
ruined by non-pedestrianisation high parking costs and rip off rates , there are hardly any shops left there. The pub recommendations were pretty poor as well , and Oscar Road cafe hardly ever open , vanity project for its journalist owner must have been hard getting that listed.
On the back of those suggestions I would never come back again if I was a tourist
The Oserver piece was frankly a joke.
The usual lazy journalism , I wonder if they even came to Thanet.
Albion street a great place to shop ?
ruined by non-pedestrianisation high parking costs and rip off rates , there are hardly any shops left there. The pub recommendations were pretty poor as well , and Oscar Road cafe hardly ever open , vanity project for its journalist owner must have been hard getting that listed.
On the back of those suggestions I would never come back again if I was a tourist
wow a bankrupt ex tv chef....i can almost smell the accelarant in the air ...and 756 is right the observer piece was the usual glib nonsense..that template must have made it round all the broadsheets by now..
Maybe Jimmy Godden could buy it . He could do table side flambe meals where your dish is cooked in a ball of flame at your table.
Might look more convincing on his next insurance claim
Sorry 7.47 that you had to meet our Council Leader under such circumstances.
The Observer bit must have been written by Borat.
The Shell Grotto was the only cultural offering, I bet there is more to do in South Ossetia.
I live in Boredstares and have never seen Albion Street as the happening shopping area. We lost Albion Books last year which was good ,whats left is a fossil shop , a barmy place selling new mystic junk and plaster fairies, and a overpriced secondhand bookshop .
This not enough for me to walk the odd 300yards from my house so it will not exactly lure a load of townies for a top notch retail experience.
I agree with the previous blogs about making it no cars or at least at controlled times
Does Broadstairs really need pedestrianising? After all, it's been such a success in Ramsgate and Margate (not). It'll just give the Stella swiggers a traffic-free place to hang out all day. That'll get the tourists flocking (to somewhere else).
Look at resorts in Cornwall like Snives and Penzance. They have created pedestrian-friendly precincts, but vehicles aren't banned. You just get fewer vehicles in these areas because the overwhelming number of pedestrians makes it very slow going, so you're better off parking slightly out of town.
And in Italy where their streets are even narrower you can still drive through most historic towns if you're mad enough. Technically speaking you can drive right up to the Campo in Siena if you feel like it but nobody does unless it's for delivery or to get to their gaff.
Kent Highways seem hellbent on wrecking Broadstairs for the sake of their own pet, box-ticking, budget-burning projects. The money would be better spent on improved lighting and signage IMO.
Personally I'd like to see a blanket ban on all vehicles with oil based internal combustion engines, while there's still enough crude oil left to manufacture the non-brewed condiment that day-trippers to the seaside love to put on their fish 'n' chips!
Think of the possible benefits...
No more planes.
No more smelly cars.
Greatly reduced supply of accelerants, used for circumventing property preservation orders.
Significantly quieter lawn mowers on a Sunday morning.
Output from this blog pared down to one post every two months. (Sorry Dickie, that one was meant to go under the heading 'pitfalls', but I didn't think one of those would help my argument too much).
The celebrity chef is 'helping launch' the restaurant, which will be owned by pub operator Richard Martin, well known to all local suppliers as *slow* with paying his invoices. Last I heard he was shipping his wine in from the NE because no merchant round here would give him the *credit* he wants!
Takes the shine of it doesn't it?
(His Dad is a good old boy though).
His dad that taught him his ethical and moral codes?
Well yes, he would undoubtedly be a good old boy, wouldn't he!
Not sure it follows that a son necessarily learns and takes on his ethics from his father - good or bad.
Fingers are crossed as the Head Chef of Harveys is a close friend.
And being right under Manston's main flight path, I'm sure that lunch will be an exciting, nay orgasmic, experience for you, dear.
Cheap too, if you go for the heads that your close friend cooks!
Do they have an arse chef, too?
In my experience, most restaurants do.
Yo Planespotter Lucy got yo number. Easy on the 'Fren when the plane is comin' thru.
Straight outta Compton / Manston
Out of touch ECR? There is a second fab restaurant in Margate - try BeBeached on the Harbour Arm - fantastic!
To Anonymous 7.56. As the owner of the Oscar Road Cafe, I can assure you that is far from a vanity project. And I have no connection with the writer of the Observer piece, nor had any knowledge that they had been in until afterwards. Perhaps they liked it because it's good? Also, we are regularly open every Thurs to Sun, hopefully you'll make it for a slice of the Isle's most excellent cake one of these days... Marina x
re: Harvey's - I can see JBR giving-up on another failed project. He's just downright lazy!
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