Two mouthfuls in and I’m trying to work out what that lovely taste is. Three mouthfuls in and I realise I’ve made a made a rather significant mistake. As a vegetarian I somehow completely managed to miss the description on the menu which, when double-checking, quite clearly states chorizo - aka good old-fashioned meat.
Do I stop and spit it out in disgust? No, I don’t. In for a penny, in for a pound, I scoff the lot. Some morals I have, eh? But, in truth, it was ruddy tasty and having not experienced the smokey taste for years, for those first few mouthfuls I was trying to put my finger on what delightful ingredient it was.
I do miss meat sometimes, I can’t deny. Am I now sat here racked with guilt? No, I’m not. It was, after all, in crumb form on the dressing on an extremely eye-catching scallop dish.
And I doubt the scallop was over-enamoured with being caught and pan-fried anymore than the pig who contributed to that chorizo. But I digress. I am sat on the outside terrace of a modern, tastefully decorated bar and bistro right on the promenade in Westgate-on-Sea - a pretty little place just outside Margate and normally best known for its fabulous old school cinema which comes with old school prices (£4 a ticket!).
The weather is pleasant, the crowds are low (it’s a Wednesday afternoon), and I’m about to put The St Mildred’s Bay eatery through its paces. It is not my first time here. I came not long after it opened back in 2022 and was left thoroughly underw.