‘There is nowhere better to eat in Kent right now’

Tucked away on an unassuming corner in York Street, Broadstairs, Bar Ingo would be quite easy to miss if I hadn’t been looking for it. Opening last year, the intimate venue became a five-star rated restaurant in a matter of months. I’d decided to take the short trip down the Thanet Way after seeing the place pop up on Instagram.

And the experience I enjoyed on a heavenly Saturday night has completely wiped out any memory of what life was like before stepping into this fine establishment. Inside, it has a vintage black and white chequered floor. The walls are a gorgeous shade of red, with bottles of wine lining the shelves behind the servers and the kitchen in full view for the 30 or so diners the restaurant can hold.



The menu is written in chalk on a board on the wall, allowing the chefs to create new dishes on a whim. There were about 15 food items to choose from, ranging from bread, olives and cheese to octopus, chicken schnitzel and peppers stuffed with beef brisket. I was advised five plates for two people would generally do, though it was no easy task to narrow it down.

My meal was accompanied by a Verdejo Orange wine at £7.50 a glass and a Sabadi lemonade – a pair so refreshing and playful in taste, I was worried they would steal the show. How wrong I was.

First came the anchovies - not my usual style but with a slight taste of Marmite and a lot more salt, I found myself enjoying these more than I expected. The next dish, the jamon croquettes, was far more subtle with its salt content, while its paprika coat and creamy, warm filling packed a Spanish-tasting punch. They also came topped with guindillas, a long green chilli pepper which was incredibly moreish.

Next came the smoked crevette prawns, waiting for me to savagely tear them apart and cover them in aioli. Deshelling prawns can sometimes be a laborious task, especially with how cackhanded I am - but with a lot of fresh meat waiting underneath, it was a worthwhile endeavour. There was a bowl of lemon water to dip my hands into when done, though that smoky smell lingered for a while.

The patatas bravas were the best I’ve had outside of Spain, with big chunky wedges of potato cooked to golden perfection. As all good potatoes should be, they were fluffy inside with smooth skin. It’s hard to know why this particular dish was so outstanding, and I can only attribute it to the quality of ingredients and a bit of black magic.

But the real showstopper was the chicken schnitzel - heavenly breadcrumbed, sporting a thin layer of pickled red onion and coated in curry mayo. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the freshness of this dish was astounding, while it was perfectly cooked from top to bottom. The faint bitterness of the pickled red onion was soothed by the slight tang of the curry mayo.

These flavours were designed to dance with each other, battling it out yet always matching the other’s move. When I visited, head chef Tomas Eriksson was over in Sweden, leaving his 20-year-old son Rio in charge in his absence. It’s a lot of responsibility at any age, let alone as a young adult, but Rio’s calm presence in the kitchen was obvious from the second I walked in.

There stood a man destined to reach the upper echelons of the industry, a future Michelin-starred chef in the making – should he want that for himself. For now, perhaps it is enough to be part of a charming venue which can disarm and sway the harshest of critics with a handful of suave, small plates. Whatever Tomas and Rio do in life, they’ll always have a fan in me.

Truthfully, I believe it won’t be too long before the inspectors for the prestigious guide come knocking and recognise Bar Ingo for the iconic dining spot it is. I never doubted Bar Ingo’s ability to satiate me, but this was well above what I expected. How am I meant to eat anywhere else, knowing there is no better place in Kent for food at the moment? Out of five: Food: Obviously, this was fantastic.

I’ve fallen head over heels for the food here ***** Drink: Boasting a diverse range of wines and beers with a lemonade that’ll knock your socks off, full marks here too ***** Decor: I absolutely adore the way this place looks and feels. Intimacy meets aesthetic pleasure ***** Staff: The restaurant has family as its core, with a supporting cast of humorous and outgoing waiters ***** Price: The bill was a bit high, and usually I'd have been a bit wary of the price I paid – which was more than £100 – but for what I got I’ve come away feeling like I got the better half of the deal *****.