The owners of Seabird café and bar in Ramsgate are celebrating after winning their planning appeal for a 60 minute extension to their opening hours and launching a new venue in Margate.
Seabird owners Stuart Langley and Damian Williams had originally applied to Thanet council to extend the opening hours at their Addington Street business in November 2024 but approval was withheld after the application attracted complaints from nearby residents.
Six months after the initial hearing date, and without any progress on the application, Seabird took their application to appeal for non-determination. The appeal has been granted in December and Seabird can now trade until 10pm on weekdays and until 11pm on weekends.
Stuart said: “We were amazed that it took 13 months for us to be given permission to trade to such very reasonable hours. We fully appreciate we are in a residential area, but we are surrounded by other hospitality businesses, all of whom open significantly later than Seabird.
“2025 was a year of huge instability for Seabird, as the uncertainty around our application impacted ourselves, our team and our bank balance – with total legal fees for our application and appeal coming in at around £5k – a huge amount for a such a small and still establishing business.
“Our next challenge is to vary our alcohol licence to match our permitted hours – which may take another few months or so – and in the meantime we’ll be looking to use the excitement of our new Margate project to evolve and improve what we do in Ramsgate.”
The Seabird team is building on the success of the first site with a second Seabird, fully opening in The Parade, Margate this month.
Damian said: “We can’t wait to get fully open.”
Occupying the former Margate Coffee Shed facing the seafront, Seabird Margate will be an all-day-and-night spot serving breakfast, brunch and coffee to sit in or take-away, followed by bar snacks, plates, craft cocktails, tasty wines and draught beer all evening.
Damian said: “We are already open all day every day, seven days a week, but we’ll truly become Seabird when we start opening evenings too”.
Previews are scheduled every Friday and Saturday from February 13th.
Damian added: “Everyone is welcome to book into our preview weekends and we’ll be opening more evenings a week as we get closer to Easter.”
“We are still working on our launch menus,” Stuart added, “but guests can expect more of the good stuff that has worked so well in Ramsgate; great cocktails, superb food, relaxed and friendly service, and carefully chosen music and Hi-Fi sound.
“The Margate site is looking good already but there’s lots to do before we are offering the full Seabird experience. Every week we’ll be introducing something new until we are everything we want to be.”
Seabird has launched a crowdfunder for anyone who wants to support the bid to vary their licence in Ramsgate.
The fund will help cover the ongoing legal costs of appealing their planning application and enlisting expert solicitors to steer their licencing application.
Find it at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-seabird-fly.
To attend a preview of Seabird Margate, contact Seabird via their Margate Instagram.
Seabird Ramsgate
Winter Opening Times
Thursday / Friday
4pm – 10pm
Saturday
11am – 10pm
Sunday
11am – 4pm
Seabird Margate
Winter Opening Times
Monday to Sunday
9am – 5pm
Friday & Saturday from Feb 13th
9am – 10pm
Bookings & Enquiries
I: @seabirdramsgate // @seabirdmargate
I don’t get them doing a crowdfunder when it’s a business! In theory you become a shareholder in the business because you are investing.
“carefully chosen music and Hi-Fi sound.”. & “Our next challenge is to vary our alcohol licence to match our permitted hours”. I feel for the neighbours, their concerns haven’t been addressed. I wouldn’t like to live near this place! I also, agree with Dave, regarding his point about crowdfunding, either you are a business or you are something else!!!
So ,if the crowd funding does not get the money ,do they close down, another so called small business surviving on crowd funding, great business plan
Seabird website advertises Good Food Guide 2025 – which when linked via their website states Seabird is not listed / cannot be found in the Good Food Guide 2025 .
Carefully chosen business practices, along with carefully chosen music and Hi – Fi sound ?
Well done Seabird! To those commenting above, I think this is a thoughtful business, it’s not churning out noisy drunks and is certainly just as good a neighbour as Eats n Beats was before it. The delay in the permissions has cost them, and my understanding is that the process has been unnecessarily convoluted. If you don’t approve of the crowdfunder, don’t contribute. There’s no need for adverse comments. The new year’s resolution to ‘be kind’ obviously didn’t make quite a few lists.
Fantastic news a asset to Ramsgate Town and Margate we need more of these restaurants not kebab shops and vape shops support is needed
Nothing wrong with supporting restaurants by eating there, and I may even be doing so myself. But if “support” is just paying their bills, then no thanks.
The restaurant looks fantastic and a great addition to the culinary choices within Margate. Good luck chaps and all the best! I for one will definitely be visiting as the menu looks yummy.