I’m 41. Make TV commercials for a living. Live with Mrs Gannet, an amusing 3 year old and an oversized baby . Originally chose Ramsgate to be my second home but have now sold up and moved to Broadstairs full-time. Hurrah. Want to treat every meal as if it were my ‘Last Supper’. As such, won’t accept bad service. Won’t tolerate poor quality food. Won’t pay for either. In future when I get hungry I will become Thanet Gannet.
In my job I am lucky enough to visit many of London’s best restaurants on a regular basis and as such am always keen to make sure that good reviews have been bestowed before i pass through its doors. Luckily for me there are hundreds of books, magazines, papers and well crafted web-sites dedicated to the sole pursuit of informing potential customers of the delights and disasters that await their arrival. Thanet, on the other hand, has little to offer the intrepid gourmand who takes his precious taste buds into his own uninformed hands each time he passes over any establishment’s threshold. The obvious reason is that there is only a fraction of eateries here as opposed to London, but i don’t believe this is any reason to not offer the hungry or thirsty man some sound advice.
So, over the months and years to come I hope to record my experiences, and in turn opinions, relating to eating, drinking and dining in Thanet and surrounding areas.
Like your blog. Just to let you know that BeBeached is the only restaurant in Thanet to reach the final ten of the Taste of Kent Awards http://www.producedinkent.co.uk/TOKA/top_ten.shtml. We had a party there last weekend and the food was exquisite.
Dear Thanet Gannet,
I wondered if we could borrow your unique palette and pen skills to help us compile a view on this year’s line up for the Kent Restaurant of the Year 2009 awards?
Can you give me a buzz on 01843 578152 to discuss.
Cheers
Saul Leese
Reporter, Isle of Thanet Gazette.
Eddie Gilbert’s got a brillant write up in The Observer this weekend by Jay Raynor, who also managed to put another knife in to Harvey’s. If he thinks John Burton-race is “rancid” he should meet the owner, a charmer who keeps staff tips to all himself.
Yep. I very much enjoyed reading JR’s review and I’m now going to try the desserts.
Good to see Harvey’s getting a kicking too.
Just completed a review on Eddie Gilberts – Really impressive cooking in a comfortable and quirky environment. It is the antithesis of Harveys.
Dear Mr Gannet
IsleOne is a new website that showcases the best places to go and things to do in Thanet. It covers bars, restaurants, shops and places to stay.
We’d like to know if it’s possible to have a link to our site added to your blogroll. You can find us at:
http://isleone.co.uk/
Many thanks.
Hello.
Just to let you know myself and several other like minded people from Thanet have been using ‘Thanet Ganets’ mcc as the name for a motorcycle club/group since 1976. I registered the name back in the 90′s and again in 2005. Hopefully this will cause either of us no problems but just wanted to make you aware of this.
Regards
Garry
Garry
Hello.
Just to let you know myself and several other like minded people from Thanet have been using ‘Thanet Ganets’ mcc as the name for a motorcycle club/group since 1976. I registered the name back in the 90′s and again in 2005. Hopefully this will cause either of us no problems but just wanted to make you aware of this.
Regards
Garry
I searched your blog and found no mention of Thai. I strongly suggest trying out “Thai for two”,42 York Street, Broadstairs.
It is the best Thai food I have ever had, and I was extremely shocked to hear myself say that as it takes something quite amazing to get more than an “it was ok” out of me.
The HOT dishes really are hot, which is exactly how I like it, and their ribs are just melt in the mouth.
No rubbery meat or greasy sauces as seems to be the norm with most other Thai or Chinese places I have found.
Now I just need to find a really good chinese and Indian, as everything I have tried so far in Margate has been absolutely dreadful or barely edible.
You are quite correct. No reason for the lack of Thai other than the fact that I’ve been meaning to review two Thai places but haven’t got round to it. The first one is your fave, Thai for two, which is a few minutes walk from our house and invariably we get a take away from there rather than sitting in. I love it. The spice levels are great and the coconut rice is quite spectacular. I also love going to Bangkok in Cliftonville. Have you been? it’s an odd little place but i love the guy who runs it and the authenticity of the dishes i’ve tried. He’s coconut rice isn’t as good sadly but i can forgive him that. it’s also BYOB.
I don’t know any Chinese’s in Margate but Ambrette is good for a more modern curry and Ali Raj seem to do good take-aways on the few occasions we’ve ordered from them.
If you find a good Chinese please let me know.
Cheers.
yes I have tried Bangkok, I thought it was nice, nothing spectacular though, probably a bit on the mild side for me. The Ty8 further down Northdown Road is also worth a try, probably in the same league, quite nice but nothing to scream about, it is bigger though with a few more seats.
If I had not discovered Thai for Two I would still be using the other 2.
I have tried every indian in takeaway range, the problem I have found is that even one ones that seemed quite good initially, on my 2nd or 3rd visit I discover that every dish pretty much tastes the same. There is a new one opened recently right down the end up Cliftonville next to the co-op, it is called the Garam massala. It has been better than most I have tried, and the heat of a dishes is actually how it should it and I don’t have to ask them to make it hotter, which is another common issues, hot curry’s not being hot, and if you ask them to make it hotter they just seem to ruin the taste.
I was rather put off on my first trip when an Irate guy came in saying they had poisioned his mother.
The Regency Tantori in Westgate I liked initially. then again it got very samey as I tried other dishes.
I’ll give the Ali Raj another go, I have crossed that off my list in the past I think due to a bad experience.
I am probably more picky than most as I cook quite well myself and can do a restaurant curry so I know how it should taste, but as you need to prepare many dishes the day before as you need to marinade the meat, and I don;t really think about food in advance. I have also visited the Emperor of India in Maidenhead which is the best Indian curry house I have been to bar none, nothing else even begins to hold a candle this this place as far as taste and quality goes. They also have some very original dishes of their own.
The Ambrette is nice and the food is good, but no good it you fancy a curry or if you like it hot, I wouldn’t even call it an Indian Restaurant really, it just has a “touch of india” to the dishes.
i would like to think that the best restaurants would serve very delicious and healthy foods ;,.
I finally found a good Chinese, a fairly new one called “Yummy Yummy”. Although the first 2 times we tried it it was really good, but the 3rd time it was disgusting, like food went in the bin disgusting. So I guess they must have a good chef and a bad one, so it may be a case of hit and miss as to whether you get a good meal.
Russ,
Will give it a go and hope i get the good one. I’ve been enjoying Wongs of late. These places do seem to go in phases but the standard dishes we order haven’t disappointed. So far.
Cheers.