Restaurant in Westgate-on-Sea, United Kingdom
Seasonal British cooking, seriously reasonable prices.
A Michelin Plate restaurant at ££ prices in a small Victorian seaside town two miles east of Margate. Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez (both formerly of The Goods Shed in Canterbury) run a short, constantly rotating seasonal menu with precision and restraint. Booking is easy, value is exceptional, and the set lunch is one of the better deals in Kent right now.
Getting a table at Quince is not the ordeal it would be at most restaurants earning this level of recognition. Booking is direct, the room is small and intimate, and the price point sits firmly at ££ — a range that, given the cooking quality and the Michelin Plate awarded in 2025, represents one of the more compelling value propositions in Kent. If you have been once and enjoyed it, come back with a plan: the menu rotates with the seasons, so what was on your last visit is unlikely to be on the next, and that is precisely the point. This is a restaurant built around the calendar, and returning diners are rewarded accordingly.
Quince sits on Station Road in Westgate-on-Sea, a small Victorian seaside town two miles east of Margate. The room is simply decorated and intimate , no theatrical flourishes, no design conceits. What you see when you walk in is a modest, quietly considered space that puts the focus squarely on the plates. For a coastal town of this size, a restaurant operating at this level is notable. The service is smooth and unhurried, and the atmosphere reflects the ownership: the kind of place where the team clearly wants you to have a good meal rather than to perform one at you. For anyone exploring [our full Westgate-on-Sea restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/westgate-on-sea), Quince is the anchor around which a day or weekend trip can reasonably be built.
Chefs Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez both came through The Goods Shed in Canterbury, a venue with a strong reputation for produce-led cooking, and that influence is visible on the plate at Quince. The menu is concise and changes regularly , short dish descriptions that, as more than one diner has noted, undersell what actually arrives. The kitchen does not reach for avant-garde techniques or unusual ingredient pairings. Instead, it works with what is good and in season, and it works with considerable precision.
Game season is a good illustration of the approach: roast partridge breast and confit legs, bread sauce, watercress in two forms (fresh and puréed), and roasting juices. Nothing extraneous, nothing missing. A starter of ox cheek with cauliflower and mustard cream, described as meltingly tender and beautifully judged, sits alongside a hake fillet with salsify and mussels in a saffron sauce that lands with real depth and aroma. A cheese course built around Burwash Rose , a creamy, semi-soft cheese , is lifted with carrot cake and quince purée to produce something that reads as a dessert-cheese hybrid and lands accordingly.
The set lunch menu is where the value sharpens further. A Crown Prince squash and Shropshire Blue tart followed by the partridge dish cited above would sit comfortably on a menu charging considerably more. If you are a returning visitor deciding between the set lunch and the carte, the set lunch is the decision most diners do not regret. The wine list is built around interest and accessibility rather than prestige, with bottles from £25.75 and a solid selection by the glass.
The seasonal rotation is the central reason to plan visits around the calendar. Autumn and winter are when the menu leans into game, root vegetables, and the kind of rich, composed dishes the kitchen handles well. Spring and summer will bring lighter, produce-forward cooking in the same precise idiom. There is no single fixed dish to anchor a visit around , the menu changes too regularly for that , but the pattern is consistent: short menus, high-quality ingredients, restrained technique. If you are coming specifically for game, book between October and January. If the coast in summer is the draw, the cooking will be a genuine addition to the trip rather than a compromise.
For diners planning a wider Kent itinerary, [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant) offers a comparable produce-led approach further along the coast. Further afield in the UK, [Hand and Flowers in Marlow](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hand-and-flowers-marlow-restaurant) and [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) operate in a related register but at a higher price tier and with significantly harder booking windows. Quince is the version of this kind of cooking that you can actually get into on reasonable notice, at a price that does not require a special occasion to justify.
Quince is at 39 Station Road, Westgate-on-Sea CT8 8QY, convenient to the train station on the line running through Margate. No booking phone or website is listed in our data, so checking current availability via search or a direct approach to the venue is the practical first step. The room is small, which means that even with easy booking conditions, leaving it to the last minute on a busy weekend is a risk. Booking a few days ahead for weekday visits and a week or more ahead for weekends is a reasonable rule of thumb. The price range of ££ means a full dinner with wine sits well within reach for most budgets. Smart-casual dress fits the room without being prescriptive. For more on what to do around a visit, see [our full Westgate-on-Sea experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/westgate-on-sea), [our full Westgate-on-Sea bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/westgate-on-sea), and [our full Westgate-on-Sea hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/westgate-on-sea).
Google reviews sit at 4.9 from 146 ratings , an unusually consistent score for a small restaurant, and one that aligns with the Michelin Plate recognition. The combination of a high satisfaction score and accessible pricing at ££ is not common in Michelin-recognised restaurants. For context, other British Contemporary restaurants earning equivalent critical attention , [CORE by Clare Smyth in London](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/core-by-clare-smyth-london-restaurant), [L'Enclume in Cartmel](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lenclume-cartmel-restaurant), [Midsummer House in Cambridge](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/midsummer-house-cambridge-restaurant) , operate at ££££ and require advance planning weeks or months out. Quince is operating in a different bracket by choice, and the value gap is real.
Yes, clearly. At ££ with a Michelin Plate and a 4.9 Google rating from 146 reviews, Quince is priced significantly below the quality level it delivers. The set lunch is the sharpest value on the menu. Comparable produce-led British cooking at restaurants like [Moor Hall in Aughton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/moor-hall-aughton-restaurant) or [Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Great Milton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-manoir-aux-quat-saisons-a-belmond-hotel-great-milton-restaurant) runs to ££££. The price-to-quality ratio here is one of the better ones in Kent.
Smart-casual is the right call. The room is simply decorated and the atmosphere is relaxed rather than formal, but it is not a pub. You will not feel overdressed in a jacket or underdressed in good jeans. The ££ pricing and the coastal seaside setting both point away from black-tie territory. Dress for a good dinner out, not for a celebration at [Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/sketch-the-lecture-room-and-library).
The menu is short and changes with the seasons , do not arrive expecting a long list of options. The set lunch is excellent value and worth prioritising if you are visiting midweek. The room is intimate and small, so booking ahead matters even though the venue is not difficult to get into. The simple dish descriptions on the menu tend to undersell what arrives on the plate. Westgate-on-Sea is two miles east of Margate and is accessible by train, which makes it easy to combine with a broader coastal day out. Check [our full Westgate-on-Sea restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/westgate-on-sea) for context on the wider area.
Bar seating details are not confirmed in our current data for Quince. Given the intimate, simply decorated room and the small-restaurant format, a dedicated bar area is not a guaranteed feature. Contact the venue directly to confirm seating options before arriving and expecting counter dining. For a British Contemporary restaurant with confirmed bar or counter options, [Dog and Gun Inn in Skelton](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/dog-and-gun-inn-skelton-restaurant) is worth considering if that format is a priority.
Westgate-on-Sea is a small town, so the direct local alternatives are limited. The natural comparison point nearby is [hide and fox in Saltwood](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/hide-and-fox-saltwood-restaurant), which operates in a similar produce-led British idiom in Kent. For the coast more broadly, Margate , two miles west , has a wider restaurant scene. If you are willing to travel further for the same calibre of seasonal British cooking, [Gidleigh Park in Chagford](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/gidleigh-park-chagford-restaurant) and [Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Auchterarder](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/restaurant-andrew-fairlie-auchterarder-restaurant) are destinations worth planning a trip around, but both operate at a higher price tier. For Kent specifically, see [our full Westgate-on-Sea restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/westgate-on-sea) and [our full Westgate-on-Sea wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/westgate-on-sea) for a fuller picture.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quince | British Contemporary | ££ | Easy |
| CORE by Clare Smyth | Modern British | ££££ | Unknown |
| Restaurant Gordon Ramsay | Contemporary European, French | ££££ | Unknown |
| Sketch, The Lecture Room and Library | Modern French | ££££ | Unknown |
| The Ledbury | Modern European, Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown |
| Dinner by Heston Blumenthal | Modern British, Traditional British | ££££ | Unknown |
How Quince stacks up against the competition.
Yes, confidently. At ££ with a Michelin Plate, Quince delivers a level of cooking that would cost considerably more in London or a higher-profile destination. The set lunch in particular represents the sharpest value: multiple courses at a price point that reviewers have called 'seriously reasonable.' If you are weighing up a day trip from Margate for lunch, this is the restaurant that justifies the detour.
The room is simply decorated and the atmosphere is described as unfussy — this is not a white-tablecloth occasion. Neat, comfortable clothes fit the tone of a neighbourhood bistro that happens to cook at Michelin Plate level. Dressing up is not expected, but the cooking will make the meal feel special regardless of what you wear.
Book for lunch if budget is a consideration: the set lunch menu offers the same seasonal, produce-led cooking at lower cost than the carte. Chefs Ben Hughes and Rafael Lopez follow the calendar closely, so the menu changes regularly — what you read about online may not reflect what is being served when you visit. The restaurant is a short walk from Westgate-on-Sea train station, which is on the line running through Margate.
The venue data does not confirm bar seating. The room is described as intimate, which suggests limited capacity and a table-led format. Book ahead rather than relying on walk-in availability, particularly given the Google rating of 4.9 from 146 reviews, which points to consistent demand for a small room.
Westgate-on-Sea is a small town, so the immediate alternative is Margate two miles west, which has a broader dining scene including restaurants along the Old Town and Harbour Arm. For comparable produce-led cooking with a similar pedigree, The Goods Shed in Canterbury — where both Quince chefs trained — is the natural reference point, though it operates as a market restaurant with a different format. Quince is currently the area's clearest option for this style of seasonal British cooking at this price.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
