Gurkha Restaurant and Bar (Margate)

You're walking up Ethelbert Crescent in Cliftonville and you catch that smell—cumin, cardamom, chillies doing their thing. Gurkha's been quietly doing brilliant food here for years, and the 4.6 rating isn't accident. This is the kind of place where regulars know exactly what they're ordering, where the kitchen takes real pride in dal and momos alongside your standard curry house fare. The bar side means you can actually have a proper drink with your meal, not just a watered-down lassi. It's unpretentious in the best way—no faffing about with molecular gastronomy, just good food that makes sense.