Two Americans walk into an Italian restaurant… Not the start of a joke, but a real occurrence that happened at Bottega Caruso in Margate, a staple of the British seaside. This was back in 2019, “before Margate was so cosmopolitan”, explains Harry Ryder, who launched the restaurant with his wife, Simona. “I asked how come a couple of guys from New York were in Margate and they said: ‘To come and eat here.’”
Suitably confused, Harry pressed for more detail. “The guy leaned back, looked at me smiling and said: ‘Everyone talks about this restaurant in New York.’ That blew my mind. Still does.” It shouldn’t blow his mind, of course, given how Bottega Caruso is such an eminently loveable place – the epitome of a high-quality, personally run neighbourhood restaurant, one so appealing it even draws in those from well outside the neighbourhood.
To learn more about Bottega Caruso’s journey – and the positive impact it’s having on the Margate community – we spoke to Simona and Harry about all about their story so far.
How It Started
Today, Bottega Caruso is the model of a successful independent restaurant, but the journey to this point has been long and fraught for Harry and Simona. It started well, with a temporary stall at The Goods Shed in Canterbury, where the pair sold “fresh pasta and some sauces made by Simona’s family”. In need of a permanent space, they relocated to Margate’s Old Kent Market, which is when things got tough.In short, nobody came, except one man who ordered a takeaway pasta, hurled some expletives in the couple’s direction and stormed out. “Simona cried. I laughed,” Harry recalls. “That year was tough. We barely survived and by September we’d run out of money and couldn’t pay our rent. I put the big deli fridge that we’d bought on eBay and told Simona it’s over.
“That weekend, something amazing happened. We were busy! We sold out. And the weekend after that even busier. Zeren Wilson came and wrote about us, and Olive Magazine! Bang... it turned around just as we reached the precipice.” More success followed, as did the move into a bigger, more settled premises and a ‘proper restaurant’. Further good reviews helped boost the Bottega Caruso profile even more, and it’s been a hit ever since.
How It’s Going
The restaurant’s popularity is likely down to two key factors: its authentic Italian cooking and its inviting, genial atmosphere. The former is largely courtesy of Simona, whose Italian heritage and family recipes have inspired much of her Bottega Caruso menu. For her, the essence of Italian cuisine boils down to “simplicity and really good, fresh ingredients”. “I know it’s sort of assumed, but it is indeed what makes real Italian cooking so flavoursome and arguably difficult to achieve,” she explains. “People often tend to overcomplicate dishes and change them, but Italian recipes are simple, the ingredients are only few and the flavours are pure.”Harry, while only an honorary Italian, shares Simona’s passion for her nation’s sun-kissed cooking, having fallen in love with it at a young age. If he could only have one Italian dish again, he says it would be Simona’s lasagne. And for her? “Cavatelli with slow-cooked tomato sauce and filoscio, an egg omelette poached in the sauce. You use the sauce as a condiment for the pasta, then eat the filoscio as a secondo.”
Whichever of Simona’s dishes you order, it will come with a side of warm, genuine service and a lovely all-round atmosphere. “The main thing is that we are nice, kind and friendly,” says Harry of their approach to service. “Bottega Caruso is an extension of our home,” adds Simona. “It feels like a home dining room to our customers, and they often tell us how ‘at home’ they feel.”
All in the Family
It’s no surprise that Bottega Caruso appears so laid-back and familial – because for Harry and Simona, the restaurant is an extension of their family life. “We brought our own family essence into the restaurant itself,” explains Simona. When discussing Bottega Caruso and their journey with it, a mention of their family is never far away – be that the culinary inspiration from Simona’s parents in Italy, Harry’s stepmum Mel sparking his love of Italian cooking or the couple’s own children.“Sometimes it’s hard – hospitality and having a young family aren’t very compatible,” Harry admits. “But it’s wonderful to share the restaurant with our kids; they love it and they say they are proud of us so that’s a very beautiful feeling.” And just as they have brought their own sense of family to the restaurant, so too the restaurant’s team have joined their family.
“It’s hard to describe how much every single member of staff is so precious to us, how close we all are,” says Simona. Harry concurs: “We have so many wonderful people that work with us and have stayed for a long time – we are nothing without our team.”
Building a Better Future
It’s clear from the things they say that Simona and Harry have a real sense of community and benevolence in what they do. Their restaurant is all about sharing a part of themselves with others, bringing a little joy to someone’s day through food. With the same spirit, Bottega Caruso has played a key role in the founding of The Perfect Place to Grow – a café and training kitchen that teaches key employment skills to young adults in the Margate area.The programme was launched in partnership with Lee Coad from Angela’s, another wonderful Margate restaurant. “We became good friends and over many evenings after work we’d chat about starting something to help young people, what with Margate having so many challenges with youth unemployment,” Harry explains. “I myself left school when I was 15 and was quite rudderless, doing different jobs, some good, some bad. When I started working in a bar at 21, it completely changed my life. It gave me so much, and so I’ve always been interested in helping young people who are also lost or unsure, using hospitality.
“Not that the industry is for everyone, and not that what we do at The Perfect Place to Grow is trying to necessarily get people into hospitality, but rather using hospitality to teach the soft skills needed out in the real world. Being able to communicate with people from all walks of life, the value of food, the value of sharing and comradeship.
“So, we started The Perfect Place to Grow with another friend, Ani James. Tracy Emin [yes, that Tracey Emin] kindly gifted us a building in her TKE campus, and we’ve been going for over a year now. Ani and David (our wonderful chef and support worker) have done so well, and I am immensely proud of the place. And there is so much more to come!”
With the restaurant still pleasing Margate’s hungry diners, what’s next for Bottega Caruso seems an obvious parting question. Alongside an increased focus on wine – including the launch of a wine import company and the continuation of both their wine bar La Cantina and the LOW Margate wine festival – Harry says that he and Simona’s focus will be on “keeping Bottega thriving, growing the Perfect Place to Grow and being loving parents”. A fittingly sweet, open-hearted sentiment for such a sweet, open-hearted restaurant.
Hero Image: Simona and Harry Ryder, from Bottega Caruso in Margate. © Duncan Robertson
