Hip Hop Nosh - International Wrap Artists, Margate
Cinque Ports brings LA-style taquería eats and hip-hop beats to Margate’s front
With LA taquería-style food, popping decor and dope beats paying homage to hip-hop’s golden era, the Cinque Ports in Margate is fast becoming the destination spot we all want to be at.
And it’s unsurprising really, with Ray Marino and Alexandria Tait-Russell, the duo behind International Wrap Artists (IWA) (@iwawrapartists), at the helm.
They met in 1999 working in the UK’s largest tequila bar at the time, Navajo Joe’s, and have more than 30 years’ hospitality experience, from A-list members’ clubs in Mayfair to top restaurants and pubs.
Throw in Michelin-trained chef Nicholas March, who has worked in some of the UK’s best restaurants with chefs including Clive Dixon, Pierre Koffmann and Heston Blumenthal, and it’s quite the dream team.
Together they’re bringing ‘Mexican eats and dope beats’ to the Grade II-listed Cinque Ports, which has been transformed with bright pops of colour and decor paying homage to the golden era of hip-hop and street culture.
The food is another level and there’s an ever-growing selection of tequila and mezcal.
So put away your sombreros because IWA is not another Tex-Mex restaurant.
“I wanted to create a brand that was more authentic to the LA taquería-style food - more vibrant and a rainbow feast for the eyes,” explains Ray. “We also wanted to make sure we got the right blend of fine imported Mexican ingredients mixed with great British produce, local where possible.
Taken From @iwawrapartists Instagram
“So I took that, my palate and my experience of backstreet taquerías, as opposed to the Tex-Mex joints up and down the country.
“I grabbed myself a chef who has an impressive CV and I convinced him his next mission was to create a benchmark for Mexican food in Kent and beyond.”
Ray, who grew up in America but has lived in the UK for more than 25 years, says the IWA brand is a celebration of street food with street culture, with a particular emphasis on hip-hop from the mid-80s to 90s.
There’s the inspired NWA nachos, the Piggy Smalls taco - with roasted pork belly, banging crackling and stuffed with Mexican delights - the Dr Dresadilla quesadilla, The Snoop tortilla… can you see where this is going?
“We wanted to bring a bit of irony and fun to our menu,” says Ray. “When the food comes on the plate in front of you, we want you to say ‘Wow!’.
“It’s beautifully presented and we’re trying to pay homage to Mexico and street food, and also give a flavour-bomb explosion for your palate.
“We’re constantly chasing perfection, without sounding too pretentious - we’re just passionate. We just want to make the best restaurant of that genre that we can.”
Ray and Alexandria - the ‘queen of the pun’ and the driving force of all things design - previously ran Dreamland concession Naughty Floss trading out of a vintage van and also IWA from a taco truck.
But in 2020, the pair took on the Cinque Ports, part of the theme park’s estate, with the aim of “upping their game” at the seafront spot, which locals will remember as the former Punch and Judy party pub.
“If you come back from week to week, you’ll find something else has slightly changed or improved; it might be a new dish, a new sofa, the decor - so we’re still working at it,” says Ray. “This year, though, will be off the charts.”
Already they’re planning to launch the space downstairs as Decks, which will be a party space for its music nights, which often follow an act that’s been on at Dreamland, as well as private events.
“Music is important in what we do, even down to our backing soundtrack,” says Ray.
“We go from the classic roots of hip-hop one day to more of an easy 80s, ska and reggae vibe another. We chop and change.”
He says they are also planning to introduce bottomless brunches and happy hours.
There will be seasonal changes to the menu as well as new exciting dishes.
“We’ll have some cool additions. It will all be vibrant and exciting.
“Someone said it’s impossible to be unhappy when you’re in a Mexican restaurant and that’s true for us here.”
For more, see www.cinqueports.co.uk