Dining With Colour and Character

When was the last time you received a side order of real personality when eating out where you savored the food, enjoyed the décor, appreciated the atmosphere and were entertained by the characters that run the restaurant?

Quite a while back probably. A new restaurant has opened in Worthing that puts the spring back into your step when you set out for a meal.

Indigo Restaurant has grown naturally out of the in-hotel restaurant function offered by the Ardington Hotel. The hotel has invested in improving the approach to the restaurant, the décor and plans to introduce an outdoor patio for customers. Worthing's only AA Rosette awarded restaurant for the past five years, the menu centres on good quality steaks and seafood – and offers an excellent roast dinner on Sundays.

Indigo is aimed at the diner who enjoys tasting a range of menus in the evening costing between £15-25 and a little less at lunchtime when the lunchtime business customer is seeking a discreet, welcoming and convenient meeting location.

The secret ingredient is two marvellous characters who run it – the Margaroli brothers Simon and Richard, who bring together surprisingly English old fashioned stiff upper lip service with a wicked and often hilarious sense of humour. It’s no surprise that all the stage personalities who visit Worthing to play at the nearby Pavilion and Connaught theatres insist on staying at the Ardington Hotel. Set in the Edwardian terrace adjoining Steyne Gardens, just off the seafront, within sight of the pier, the hotel houses the excellent restaurant.

Indigo has cool white walls and crisp white linen, garnished with dashes of blue. There's a fixed-price menu that changes regularly, but if you're going à la carte, kick off with chicken and walnut terrine with sweet pepper chutney. Follow this with breast of guinea fowl with wild mushroom sauce and mash or pan-fried scallops with ginger and fennel cream. The glazed prune and Armagnac tart is legendary but try the excellent choice of Sussex cheeses if you’re feeling more savoury.

“We wanted The Indigo Restaurant to have an elegant, contemporary feel so we’ve used modern commissioned art and strong vibrant colours,” says Simon Margaroli. “To get the atmosphere just right, we even had music compiled to match the stylish décor. Devotees of rare grooves and obscure jazz/world music will feel their ears responding to an eating score that was put together by a local music archivist who specified the restaurant’s audio branding for us.”

For more information visit Ardingtonhotel.co.uk.