Take a faded Regency seaside retreat, acid wash it with creatives, and you have the town of Folkestone. Just an hour’s train ride from central London in Kent, down the coast from Dover, the town has seen a sea change of late, with artists, chefs, winos, weirdos and free spirits flocking in their droves to its vibrant, rainbow-hued shopfronts and cobblestoned lanes. Spurred on by the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust, Folkestone has experienced a tip-to-tail revival over the past two decades, of which the Folkestone Harbour Arm stands out most noticeably. Originally built in the 19th century as a railway and ferry terminal, it now cradles a profusion of bars, restaurants, pop-ups, street food stalls and, of course, art.
Walk down Folkestone’s streets, along its promenades, piers and beaches, and it’s impossible to miss the many artworks that have pinned it on the international map as a destination for the design-obsessed. There are over 70 striking pieces of art from world-renowned creators, including big names like Yoko Ono, Antony Gormley and Tracey Emin. Some of them have become emblematic of the city itself, including Cornelia Parker’s Folkestone Mermaid, a riff on Copenhagen’s famous sculpture (rendered more realistically, in middle age) or Richard Woods’ Holiday Home, small, brightly coloured houses in unorthodox situations, such as on the corner of a pier or floating in the middle of the marina.
In this same spirit, the Folkestone Creative Quarter has become a prominent community fixture, housing visually minded professionals running the gamut from poster archivists to film directors to musicians and designers. And, of course, these people need to eat and drink and often have discerning tastes. Unsurprisingly, the town has an excess of excellent places to eat and drink. Indulgence and creativity frequently go hand in glove, after all. As a result, similar to towns such as Margate, a set of people with culinary panache have upped sticks and moved to Folkestone. We visited in December to take its pulse and discovered a scene that set our hearts racing.
Pasta night at John Dory
Drink
John Dory Wine
102 Sandgate High St, Sandgate, CT20 3BY
John Dory Wine is the type of spot that you’d sacrifice a family member to have next to your house. Many of the best places require a pilgrimage, and making the trek from Folkestone south along the shingle beach with the whiff of brine in your nostrils on a winter night makes that first glass of crémant hit all the better. One of its co-owners is Zeren Wilson, known as Bitten & Written, a legend in London’s food scene, masterminding some of the capital’s best wine menus as a brilliant sommelier and consultant. Guests can grab a pew at candle-lit and worn wooden tables within eyeshot of the wine on offer, reclining languorously on racks, tantalisingly within reach. Kick things off with a blushing pink Domaine Collin sparkling from Limoux, and then zig-zag from white (Beaujolais Blanc 2022), to orange (Montenidoli Tradizionale 2022), to red (Carburnio 2018) for a serious start to the evening. Anyone looking to line their stomach can snaffle sumptuous snacks like Canterbury Chaucer cheddar pithivier; partridge, sherry and tarragon pie; or merguez sausage rolls. Spend an evening at John Dory and you may find yourself considering relocating.
The Lighthouse Champagne Bar
Folkestone Harbour Arm, Folkestone CT20 1QH
This place is amazing and unlike any champagne bar we’ve visited. Plodding along the Harbour Arm’s 19th-century stonework with waves growling against its flanks and herring gulls screeching into the wind, you could be forgiven for thinking you were back in the same era it was built. The pier curves inwards to shelter the bay. You can’t miss the lighthouse at its far end, a squat and circular brick tower painted white with big blue lettering in all caps reading ‘Weather is third to place and time’. The men building it in 1844 probably didn’t expect it to become its current incarnation – one of the prime spots in town to swig sparkling wine. The interiors are mega cosy, its exposed beams hung with exposed filament bulbs illuminating the copper and bronze accents, but even on a December night, drinkers seemed to favour the outdoor seating for champagne drinking. It was, erm, popping off.
thelighthousechampagnecompany.co.uk
Cabron in Folkestone
Joe Fischer
Cabron
30 Rendezvous St, Folkestone CT20 1EZ
If, like us, you occasionally need to smash through tacos and tequila with brute force, you can do so in Folkestone – specifically at Cabron, a Mexican bar on the aptly named Rendezvous Street. Beyond an umber-orange facade, the flavours on offer contend with what you get in the capital. You’ll find palmable tortillas wrapped around local beer-battered fish, beef quesabirria, tempura prawns and Mexican fried chicken. Wash it down with a wide array of drinks. Classic Mexican cocktails occupy pride of place, with a quiver of margaritas, palomas, and more interesting offerings like the La Llorona, with KAH tequila, Chambord, lime and blood orange.
EAT
Rocksalt
4-5 Fish Market, Folkestone CT19 6AA
Long hyped for serving some of the best seafood outside the capital, Rocksalt is the grande dame of Folkestone’s restaurants; it essentially put the town on the UK’s culinary radar. Head chef Mark Sargeant may have departed along with its Michelin star, but it remains the go-to spot when you want to push the boat out, holding onto two rosettes and serving up a fishermen’s bounty of local produce. The room is curled along the waterfront like a seal on its side, cantilevered above the marina with floor-to-ceiling windows that gulp in panoramic ocean views. In the summer months, diners clamour for tables on the outdoor terrace, but we were happy to cuddle up inside with a bottle of Saint-Véran chardonnay, watching the wind and water whip the glass. Kick things off with a local sparkling from Simpsons or Gusbourne and gird your loins for shoals of shellfish and well-considered fish dishes such as Rye Bay fillet of cod with a leek and charlotte potato broth, brown butter celeriac, toasted lemon crumb, and leek powder or skate wing with pickled cockles, green peppercorn, and samphire. You’d be remiss not to indulge yourself with a sweet full stop. Sticky toffee pudding for the win.
The Lighthouse Champagne Bar
Annapurna Nepalese Restaurant
15 Cheriton Pl, Folkestone CT20 2AY
Did you know that Folkestone has one of the highest populations of Nepalese in the United Kingdom? Nepalese Gurkha soldiers have a longstanding relationship with Great Britain, having served in the army since 1815, and in 2009, thanks in part to the activism of Joanna Lumley, who spearheaded the Gurkha Justice Campaign, many soldiers who had trained at the nearby Shorncliffe Barracks were given the right to live in the UK, and chose to settle in Folkestone. As a result, the town lays claim some of the best momos in the realm, served at Annapurna Nepalese Restaurant on Cheriton Place. Think fragrant, spiced wheat flour dumplings stuffed with minced pork, beef, chicken, or vegetables. Yum.
Marleys
2-4 South Street, Folkestone CT20 1RW
You know those steamy windowed restaurants where everybody appears to know each other at breakfast? Each town has one. For that experience in Folkestone, head to Marleys, tucked in beneath the steep cobblestone street of the Creative Quarter. Guests congregate around massive plates of full English breakfast larded with locally reared sausage and bacon; berry-studded stacks of pancakes showered with syrup; and creme brûlée French toast made with sourdough, custard and burnt sugar. Bolt it all down with lashings of coffee.
The Folkestone Creative Quarter
Matt Rowe
Sailbox
Harbour Arm, Folkestone CT20 1QH
The Folkestone Harbour Arm has a lot going on. In between dipping in and out of the delightful Christmas market (the outdoor cinema was offering kids woollen blankets and a special screening of Frozen), we
stopped in at Sailbox, a breakfast/brunch
bar situated in a shipping container within spitting distance of the briny waters of the Channel, for a caffeinated eye-opener and a breezy brekkie. Eggs royale provided sufficient ballast to fend off the biting coastal chill.
Little Rock
The Harbour Arm, Folkestone CT20 1QN
No, it’s not former American president Bill Clinton’s hometown in Arkansas; it’s the little sister to Rocksalt, situated beachside in a charming, weathered, whitewashed container. As you might have guessed, seafood is the name of the game here, and you can enjoy many of the same dishes at Little Rock which put Rocksalt on the map, with a bit of seasoning added to the mix. We’re talking local crab with brown crab ketchup and toasted sourdough; a curry of local huss with dukkha, mango chutney, coriander and a poppadom; and seared local scallops with whipped sweet potato, bacon and lemon crumbs. Local legend.
Shoreline Folkestone
Stay
Shoreline Folkestone
Lower Sandgate Rd, Folkestone CT20 1PS
Mermaid Beach was once an empty concrete lot; Shoreline Folkestone has risen from its ashes like a phoenix. Or, if we were to put too fine a point on the simile, a curvilinear razor clam that bends in a soft crescent away from the ocean. Designed by international architecture firm ACME, the development is a collection of 84 townhouses and apartments boasting spectacular views down the beach and across the sea. When we arrive on a bluebird day, the French coastline is easily discernible across the Channel. The building has received much press and elicited strong reactions for its design – a sweeping, undulating assemblage of balconies, bay windows, and terraces, with a communal garden in its hindquarters and the shingle beach ahead.
A number of the apartments in the block have been made available for rental, including the two-bedroom ‘beach house’ that we stayed in. London-based firm 8 Holland Street has decorated the spaces, and the interiors feel much more in line with Soho House than they do with Weston-super-Mare. While it certainly feels new, it also feels of a piece with a town that has a good eye for design. Kitchens are well kitted-out and perfect for families, but the strongest drawcard is the living room and its windows, which open up to vast, hypnotic sea views. Whether drifting off to sleep or unwinding to the whoosh of waves, prepare yourself for deep relaxation. f
Stays from £400 per night for a 2-bedroom apartment. Prices to buy start from £395,000. shorelinefolkestone.co.uk
