Inspired by the seasonal restaurants that line the Catalan coast, the freshly opened Xiringuito brings a dash of the Mediterranean to Margate this summer.
Asif Khan designed the restaurant’s moveable, shrink-wrapped timber structure in collaboration with restaurateurs Conor Sheehan and Jackson Berg.
Xiringuito in Margate. Courtesy of the restaurant
Xiringuito in Margate. Courtesy of the restaurant
A selection of dishes, including chicken liver parfait bun and radishes with bagna cauda. Courtesy of the restaurant
Fresh oysters on the menu at Xiringuito. Courtesy of the restaurant
Ice cream taco. Courtesy of the restaurant
Xiringuito in Margate. Courtesy of the restaurant
‘It’s important that any restaurant’s food, drink, service, ambience and surroundings work in tandem,’ says Sheehan. ‘And as Jackson’s food is led by the relaxed but focused dining that Xiringuitos offer, rather than either [structure or cuisine] being more important here, both influence each other.’
The creative partnership was also borne of a mutual desire to question what a restaurant might be.
‘We realised that if we made most of the structure with local scaffolders it could be rebuilt somewhere else, and in a different configuration, without having to be moved or stored,’ says Khan. ‘This challenges the idea of restaurant ownership and maybe suggests a lower barrier to entry for new restauranteurs.’
And thus, a novel architecturally-arresting culinary concept is destined to hop around our shores for years to come.
