Barletta to take over Turner Contemporary cafe

Turner Contemporary cafe space Image Visit Thanet

Margate based restaurant Barletta has been appointed as the new contractors for Turner Contemporary’s cafe.

Since 2019,  Barletta has held residencies across Margate, including at Dreamland, Urchin Wines and the Rose in June. Barletta will take over the café space and launch their reimagined café and restaurant offer when the gallery reopens later this year.

Together, the gallery and Barletta pledge to use locally sourced produce and works sustainably. Founders of Barletta, Jackson Berg and Natalia Ribbe bring over 25 years worth of hospitality experience with them gained from Margate, London and New York.

Jackson has worked at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, St John, Burnt Ends, Quality Chop House, Hoi Polloi and Bistrotheque.

Barletta Image Benjamin Eagle

He opened Xiringuito in 2016, a year long pop-up restaurant. In April 2019, he and Natalia moved back to Margate to open and operate a residency in Dreamland under the name Barletta.

Barletta moved into Cliftonville’s Urchin Wines for the winter season and following lockdown Jackson and Natalia opened Barletta on the roof at the old Ziggy’s site and took over the kitchen at the Rose in June pub in Cliftonville.

Natalia moved to London in 2012 after working her way up from the bar to hospitality manager in Vienna and New York. While in NYC she worked for Michelin star chef David Bouley, legendary NYC hot spot Le Cirque, Union Square beast Blue Water Grill and Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio.

In 2016, whilst living in London, she set up L.O.R., a UK- based initiative supporting women who work in the hospitality industry through events and education.

The café, and gallery’s Foyle Rooms, will be available to hire from when Turner Contemporary reopens for events and weddings which work within government restrictions. Currently, the gallery has availability for events and weddings which can be booked by emailing: [email protected].

Foyle Room Image Jonathan Ryan

A spokesperson for Turner Contemporary said: “We’re pleased to be working with an ambitious, creative and local company who will bring a fresh approach to the café and are excited to see Barletta’s vision unfold. We will ensure that sustainability is at the heart of the café’s offer. Our café plays a key role in enhancing the visitor experience, driving income for Turner Contemporary, but also creating jobs and supporting local suppliers.”

Photo Felicity Spector

A Barletta spokesperson added: “We have been lucky to be a part of the iconic Dreamland and we are so excited to now be joining forces with another symbol of Margate. We are really looking forward to bringing that same Barletta energy to the space, with a bit more sophistication than you may have seen from us at our previous venues.

“Expect a vibrant and seasonally led menu, an elevated pastry and cake offering, great coffee, delicious and accessible wine all with sustainability and fun at its core.”

For supplier enquiries, email: [email protected] or [email protected]

A reopening date for Turner Contemporary is yet to be announced.

11 Comments

  1. Boycott Turner contemporary. They treat their employees terribly letting them go before Xmas and making them fight for a handful of permanent posts.

    • There is no point in Boycotting The Turner. As it is still going to be free entry. As far as I know there only income is from their very generous funding, and grants. They receive So footfall is unimportant to them. The only people who have any idea how many people going in, who many only go to use the toilets, is staff inside. I know for one if my job was dependant on visitor numbers, and one of my job was to count them. I would add a few. The only way The Turner can ever be classed as a success is when they start to charge a small admission charge say of about £10 and stop all the grants.

      • They alledgedly had sensors in the doorway that counted the numbers going in/out, but no verification of what the entrants did or where they came from. Some of the figures given out in the early days were pure farce. It’ll never standon its own two feet even with the income from its gifted car park, we will just have to believe that the visitor spend enough in margate to make it beneficial overall. As to pricing in the cafe/ restaurant i’d guess much will depend on the deal between the gallery and operator.
        Can’t imagine that other function room operators are going to be best pleased at having competition who’s facilities have been provided at nigh on zero cost from the public purse. Hopefully the calculations on the benefits to the area will take into account other businesses that have suffered from subsisdised competition.

        • Yea this footflow isnt a true figure. I went when it first open to see what you get for a 17 million shed.
          In fact I went in twice ! Why ? Well the first time it took me about 10 minutes to look at the ‘art’ by 5 year olds, and some chair swinging around in a room, and I was back outside.
          I thought I had missed something and went straight back in again and asked is there an upstairs ? No came the reply so I went back out side so I count as two entrees lol. Now if I had to pay a 10quid entrance fee i would never have gone in, and havent been in since.

  2. The previous cafe offerings were a bit of a disappointment. I was always surprised at the lack of simple organic ingredients and the slightly overpriced nature of the catering.
    It would be a great shame if the cafe Bartletta just becomes another venue for those”nice” visitors to the town with deep pockets at the exclusion of locals with less disposable income.
    After all everyone should be able to enjoy the view from the cafe given so much public money and subsidies have gone into establishing the gallery.

    • No – sorry mate – only something that looks like a couple of shrivelled up carrots with a handful of nuts from the birdfeeder chucked on top ! (see first picture)

      Despite the fact it is locally sourced it will probably still set you back £25 ‘cos you are paying for the experience not for the grub !

  3. If someone serve me some brunt carrots and nuts , well lol some people have more money than sence lol who orders a shrivelled carrot ?? Lolol

    The fact that the TC thinks that is the correct food for the TC proves the people who visit can clearly afford to pay an entrance fee. No one in their right mind orders a carrot

Comments are closed.