In September 2020 I wrote an article for Rye News A taste of the Med which featured Café Petit on Cinque Ports Street, a very popular street food outlet. Walking along Cinque Ports Street this week I passed Café Petit once more, you know the one, the tiny detached building with a pink front door and a matching pink bicycle fixed above it but now, it was empty.
It looked very sad, formally a thriving street food outlet serving Mediterranean dishes and run by a young couple who had put their heart and soul into the business while at the same time coping with the extra pressures of looking after their new baby. I and many I know had visited this venue which we all held in high esteem and I assumed the business had closed, for whatever reason but possibly due to the pandemic, thankfully I was wrong.
This is yet another success story for one of our local businesses who have survived the pandemic whilst others have fallen victim to particularly challenging trading conditions over the last 18 months or more. Café Petit has gone but the team behind it have moved on to bigger and better things by opening Marco’s, a street food grill bar at 6 High Street, formally occupied by the Devil in Rye and the Ambrette Indian restaurants.
If you have never been inside this building you are missing out, it backs directly onto the 14th century former monastery on Conduit Hill, a spectacular backdrop, especially at night when the floodlights illuminate this magnificent building which you can enjoy through the picture windows, as you indulge in all the Mediterranean delights from the menu. Incidentally, the Monastery was converted some time ago and is now home to Alex Macarthur Interiors.
Marco’s has only just opened so it’s early days for this new venture but if you’re looking for something a little different to the norm why not give it a try, the food has a Greek, Turkish and Mediterranean influence and the restaurant is very atmospheric inside. Café Petit had a very loyal following and I have no doubt that many of their regular customers will gravitate to Marco’s. Watch this space as another success story in the making unfolds, we will follow it up in due course as part of our series of dining out articles.
To book your table or order yourself a takeaway call 01797 227364 and if you want to see more, Marco’s is at 6 High Street, Rye, TN31 7JE.
Image Credits: Nick Forman , Ollie Clarke .
Just love it in Marcos it is fabulous
A real good news story. We knew this man last summer when we would drop in for coffee and baklava in the evening when most had closed.
Always friendly and efficient, I’m pleased to see he hasn’t given up.
Good luck to Marco’s in his new central location.
The loveliest people and fantastic food and welcome. They’ve created a beautiful interior too.