Halley & Kip behind Margot

Welcome to our first feature. Staying true to Savour’s mission of spotlighting the city’s most notable restaurant founders, we are so excited to share how Halley and Kip brought Margot to life.

We walked into this beautifully sunlit space the other morning to meet the founders of Margot, a neighborhood restaurant in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. To be honest, we don’t look for reasons to cross the bridge—especially with the G train down all summer. But this interview might’ve convinced us otherwise.

The founders, Halley and Kip, welcomed us in and we immediately started bonding over our excitement for the interview. They had amazing energy and were super receptive, we knew it would be right to do an “MTV, welcome to my crib” inspired interview with them. Watch it here!

If you’re ever lucky enough to meet Halley and Kip, you’ll find that they are a dynamic duo and definitely friends outside of work (shoutout to their 36-hour stint in London). They met while working at a hospitality group for a few years and then left to found their own hospitality group (Three Top Hospitality)—how cool is that. Enter Margot in April 2023.

The interview was so fun and the insight we took home reassured us this newsletter was a good idea. It blends our passions for entrepreneurship and really good food, so we think you’ll enjoy it as much as we do. Welcome to Margot!

Running a restaurant has been super rewarding for Halley and Kip as they reflect on this past year with Margot. Their focus has always been on creating a space that felt like part of the community, and they take great pride in their dedicated team and the impact they’ve had on the space.

Fort Greene is an incredible neighborhood where they have wonderful regulars. "After a year since opening, we're proud that it very much feels like a space for the community," she said. It’s clear that Margot has grown into more than just a restaurant—it’s become a meaningful part of the neighborhood’s fabric. For both, the real reward comes from being open, taking care of their guests, and maintaining such a fantastic staff.

Their friendship was born out of the fact that they like similar restaurants and that they like to dine together. “In New York in particular, we love places like King, Estela, Chez Ma Tante, and we also took trips to Paris that inspired us, especially the wine bars. We had a short stint in London as well and fell in love with the River Café. So, a lot of inspiration came from those experiences,” Kip recalled.

What’s most important to Halley and Kip is that Margot feels like a gracious and authentic space—they work really hard to ensure that their team feels like that’s the kind of hospitality they can deliver. “We want everyone to come, experience it, and join in on the fun.”

Bites to Savour

Do you have any hot takes on the NYC food scene?

Kip: I think everything that’s opening post-pandemic is really interesting. My hot take is that it's better to dine in Brooklyn than in Manhattan right now. I think there’s more interesting food and service in Brooklyn. Not that it’s not fun to cross the bridge, but everything happening here is more exciting at the moment.

Halley: It's also exciting to see the next generation of chefs and restaurateurs coming up post-pandemic. There was a breakthrough, and now you see many young chefs starting their own places, along with hospitality operators going out on their own.

What's the wildest request you've ever had from a diner?

Kip: Oh, there have been some weird ones. Sometimes requests for celebrations and birthdays can get intense. Once, I worked at a restaurant where someone brought in a large cake shaped like a bear and wanted us to cut it into specific slices. It was pretty complicated. But at Margot, we’ve been lucky to have pretty normal requests. Our guests are very kind here.

If you could host a dinner party for anyone, who would you invite?

Halley & Kip: That’s a hard question! Hmm, I’m obsessed with Ina Garten, so I’d love to have a wine-fueled dinner with her and a lot of cake. We could also invite Martha Stewart—Martha, Ina, lots of wine and martinis, lady power at dinner!

Lastly, are there any other restaurants you recommend?

Halley: Yes! Our neighbors, Anoop and his partner Ham, just opened Strange Delight a couple of doors down from us. They’re a really interesting combination: Ham is an amazing chef (he does recipe testing for the New York Times and has cooked all over the place), and Anoop came up from the Momofuku world. This is their first restaurant project, you should definitely check them out!

See Margot come to life on Instagram

Halley and Kip also own Montague Diner in Brooklyn Heights—it’s definitely on our Shortlist now. Make a Resy to dine at Margot here and make sure to get the trout.

With compliments to the chef,

Jenn and Josh

Co-founders, Shortlist New York

Shortlist users who understood the assignment:

1. people watching for 1 — make that for 3! around Central Park?

2. dinner with my mom — this will either be therapeutic or send you straight to therapy

3. trendy dinner with drinks in Williamsburg — I think this may have been Halley and Kip

4. fancy anniversary dinner with mind-blowing food — she’ll never know he procrastinated

5. a killer chicken caesar wrap — murder on the dance floor

Keep up the creativity, we hope you continue to find what you’re looking for!

Get seated at shortlist.nyc