Located on Duke Street in Margate’s Old Town, The Wellington will feature a pub area at the front serving drinks and bar snacks, and a dining room at the rear offering seasonal British pub food.
There will be a focus on local produce and whole-carcass butchery, with the food – and the project more broadly – influenced by the pair’s love of French cooking and wine.
“We want to create a place that feels easy and welcoming, somewhere you can pop in for a pint and a snack, or linger for dinner with friends,” the duo say. “We’re aiming to complement Margate’s food and drink scene while keeping the spirit of a proper British pub.”
Stock is well known in the area, having cooked to critical acclaim at Natalia Ribbe’s Sète restaurant in Margate’s Cliftonville area and at The Rose Inn in Wickhambreaux, near Canterbury, which was listed in The Good Food Guide and included on the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropubs list during his tenure.
Topham, Stock’s partner in life and business, was general manager at Ribbe’s previous Margate restaurant Barletta, and most recently worked at Updown Farmhouse.
Over the past year, the pair have run Nashville fried chicken pop-up Chix Stock at Margate venue Cinque Ports.
This project is understood to be going dormant while the pair launch The Wellington.
Stock trained in London and held senior roles at leading restaurants and gastropubs, including St John and The Marksman.
The Wellington is scheduled to open at the beginning of December.