The new found spiritual home of the unplugged souls of London.
Margate welcomes you.
Now back in vogue with the day tripping cultural tourists, Margate has become somewhat of a fascination, and those hungry from their adventures in the summer will invariably find themselves in an area known as the Piazza.
Lets talk about price point.
This is how its done. Please.... Not please can you come, but aim to please, and SELL.
Im happy to say that SLAB knows exactly what what it is.
NOT PIZZA... PIAZZA... Its a whole different thing....
Located at the edge of the old town, facing the sea, this is where you want to be if you are in the business of flogging food.
THE HOT SPOT, THE SWEET SPOT.
MARGATES CULINARY EQUIVALENT TO LONDONS COVENT GARDEN.
This is a crucible for casual diners to enjoy their meal Al fresco in the glorious sunshine with views out to the spectacular beach and harbour.
Essential wear is Aviator sunglasses and a little dog that fits in a side bag (pink hair optional).
Have I bigged it up enough yet?
Once a dull underused after thought, it is now the place to have a restaurant because of the outside seating.
Hands in the air for a bit of PIAZZA? ME!!!!
Each restaurant has claimed its territory and put signs up saying customers only.
The trap is set. (This is purely for dramatic build up)
Now imagine the people who run these restaurants hiding in wait, locked and loaded - ready to explode like a bullet from a gun to snare the unwitting customers in their trap, like a snake hipped italian waiter in Venice, primed to stiff you with a 50 Euro coffee...
Thankfully that's not the case here...
Just don't try and buy a portion of chips from down the road and sit in these seats!
This is the trap you dont mind being caught with!
Today my review is based on one of those restaurants, but not a food review.
Yes, I have eaten there, it was fantastic.
If the owners want to invite me back for a food review I will happily have another go.
This review is about the food, but more so why its so good.. Theres a big difference!
Hopefully I achieve through my meandering words to show you why it is brilliant, and for other restaurateurs to take notes...
Margate has a good many places to eat, but few really good ones... (ps this ones pretty darn good)
So that bit out of the way, back to what I am here to do.
This is a story of how someone took a giant leap of faith for a shot at success in the sunshine and smashed it out of the park.
I will start with the people behind it.
SLAB is owned and run by a husband and wife team that had never ran a hospitality business.
Sure, they had their own ideas from eating at different places, they did their research.
We all have our ideas, ambitions and dreams, but would you gamble everything not really knowing what you was doing?
Using a simple concept with a clear and identifiable offering they have turned a forgettable restaurant into one of Margates most popular food destinations...
They call it SLAB.
STEAK - LOBSTER AND BURGER
I'm a fan boy of these two, they've nailed it.
Sit down strap in, you know what's coming.
This isnt Michelin Star. This isn't trying to be Michelin Star.
There are very few tiresome cheffy touches on display here. No thick sauces are plastered to the plate in a teardrop with the back of a spoon.
Nothing is incarcerated on only one side of the plate. Instead, it’s a crowd-pleasing menu of mildly restless bistro food, at very good prices; cooking which never drifts into the culinary equivalent of a fake eyelash or perma-tan.
They give you get exactly what you hoped for.
Thankfully they care and that is evidenced in what they do. Their business model isn't to disappear to Benidorm at the first sight of autuminal rain.
They keep pushing even when everyone around them are packing up.
They diversify which is one of my indicators of a successful hospitality business.
So where do I start?
Lets take a look at the menu....
You wouldnt have to walk too far in Margate to sit in a restaurant that specialises in something, oh lets just say fish, and pay a premium for it.... and the je ne sais quois...
The "je ne sais quois" is the bit you pay for, but you dont know what it is. Some use the word provenance to articulate the authenticity of the ingredients on their menu, its a good word, but today im using je ne sais quois whenever there is a gap to fill to explain the unexplainable.
So there.
So you expect everyone to be like that then? Restaurants over charging? Catching you in that tourist trap?
Getting you to pay extra for a bit of good ol je ne sais quois.
I scan my eyes over the starters, they all sound delicious and well below a tenner.
This is indeed a good start, remember, you are now sat at the prime spot for Al fresco dining in Covent Garden-on-Sea, a'la Margate.
If you wanted to pay to eat plenty of je ne sais quois, surely you would find it here?
Burgers. One of their claims of excellence. £12.
There are average pubs around here that are trying to sell them for £14 plus, of course they are smoking something in my opinion, but not here (well they do but thats another story) If a burger is a main and made to the standard they say then £12 is pretty decent.
Steak. From £18. Like I said, you know what you are getting yourself into and £18 is a keen entry price, cooked over charcoals it sounds irresistible already...
Lobster... £35. Well as above, if thats what you want, thats what your going to have to pay.
But you will do so knowing that its in the best hands, and its fresh..
Im willing to bet that there will be some places that will palm off the frozen ones you get in a budget supermarket and charge top prices. They can get away with it, because its lobster.
I have reviewed a couple of seafood restaurants in Thanet now, one claims to be exceptional, they are both far from it to the point of being downright deluded.
They can shove their je ne sais quois and their provenance up their extractors.
Second rate products and cookery is not in SLABS vocabulary.
What are they Smoking
Ever seen a restaurant say chargrilled, you think its over charcoals, but its not. Its just over hot bars heated with gas. Ive even seen chefs use a red hot iron to scorch lines into an opaque steak to recreate the effect.. I hate lazy fakery.
When these guys say chargrill they mean it. The above picture is of their BBQ Smoker which they use to give their food the flavour that takes you from a 6 or 7 on the yum scale all the way to 10.
Not into meat? Well you might guess this isnt the one you are looking for.
The rest of the menu provides alternatives, but by no means lesser options, each meal thought through, improved, decent brasserie munch.
So is that it, its that easy you ask?
Is this business model enough?
The reality of running a hospitality business in a coastal area is that you have to diversify.
I have championed their simple but highly effective business model which they articulated through branding and delivered on a plate, but this only tells half the story.
A restaurant here is not like one in Covent Garden London where there is a constant demand every day, all year.
This is why you have to think about diversifying
If you do not move with the tide, you are stranded until the tide comes back in.
That analogy is so true of a restaurant in Thanet.
What is the one meal people will take a special trip out for?
The Sunday roast
I made quite a fuss about roast dinners in my review of The George and Heart. Its worth a read before you go on.
In typical SLAB style, they have taken the humble roast and made it the best they could, quality ingredients, superb cookery, competitive prices...
Their social media is full of pictures posted by customers with their plates of food which look sensational....
Diversity in action
What does diversity mean?
It means to keep in line with your core identity, but take advantage of things you cant affect rather than suffer the look of a football manager taking a 6 nil stuffing on Boxing day because your team chowed down on Christmas day while the other team trained. It means being ahead of the game.
It also means looking at new ways to keep money coming in, take nothing off the table, be creative.
The seasons change... most Londoners will never have known a seaside town in the winter.
I'm sure some think we suddenly turn into winter olympic villiages or a winter wonderland-on-sea. I wish both were true, the reality is far from that picture. (However I wish Dreamland would embrace this notion)
Its bleak, its windy, its wet. Its cold, and people are either saving for Christmas or financially crippled by the aftermath of it.
Either way the sandy miles of smiles is turned to gritty miles of misery.
So what does SLAB do? They understand that in order to succeed they have to diversify, but keeping within their core values:
Know your market.
Know your product.
Make it irresistible.
SELL IT.
They make it IRRESISTIBLE
2 course for £10.
Let that sink in. Fresh food, cooked for you, 2 plated dishes £10.
Cheaper than a Big Mac meal with some nuggets but immeasurable in its quality they are putting out an unmissable menu designed to please.
This is my final point (for this review at least)
SELL SELL SELL!
Any process which means the transference of money means sales.
That goes for Lawyers, Plumbers, Dentists, Vets and Restaurants.
We are obviously focusing on Restaurants.. For the rest hear me out. Each proclaim the merits of their own advice or service. But without selling themselves they cant operate. Yes even Dentists when they suggest a £60 hygenist appointment. Okay you might look better for it.. But they dont pay a hygenist to do nothing do they...lean back open wide.. Let me fill your cavity....
Anyway im not picking on Dentists or Vets for that matter, your pet will feel better for that injection....
This point is often missed by people who run hospitality businesses.
If you dont scream about what you do, then no one will know, because unlike the Lawyer, Dentist or Vet no one is going to knock on your door when most in need.
You have to Sell as if your life depends on it.
I like the occasional Matrix movie reference, I use this one alot because some hospitality businesses are unable to understand this honestly...
Know thyself
But if it could be anything else what would it be?
Well they have a neighbouring restaurant called
Have a guess what they are great at..... (review to follow)
HOW DOES IT SCORE
1) Is it to the expected standard? Without question it does not disappoint, but its transparent effort to raise ths bar means ONE STAR AND ONE BONUS STAR.
2) Does it do something that you have always wanted to try? I can buy and cook an amazingly steak at home, but quality fresh lobster is a huge pull. It pains me but only ONE STAR.
3) Is it fairly priced? YES. On balance it is great value and prices to please you. ONE STAR.
4) Cleanliness, including customer toilets. No criticism ONE STAR
5) Service. Unstuffy, attentive. ONE STAR.
CONTRIBUTING EVIDENCE
A) Does it have a clear and relevant identity? This whole review is based on it...
B) Does it stand out for quality and standards? Im not sure it stands out, I think it is probably still known as the place that sells lobster in the summer. Despite my microscope revealing them im not sure that others would look so far... Brre its cold in the winter...
C) Is there areas of the business that someone else does better? No-one comes to mind locally.
D) Does it diversify? Absolutely.
E) Will customers return without hesitation? Absolutely. If you want Steak, Lobster and Burger then you will not be disappointed... Or a roast dinner... Or a £10 2 course meal for that matter.
You made a believer out of me.
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