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The menu style is pure Brasserie with many of the dishes brought together from fresh, local ingredients. Head chef Chris Howard has worked in award-winning restaurants in the UK and France and alongside celebrity chefs Paul Heathcote & Paul Gayler. It's a privately-owned, family business that prides itself on serving excellent food and drink in unique surroundings that guarantees a good time. There are 70 covers in the restaurant and up to 90 can dine in the bar. |
The Restaurant is separated from the bar by a full-height glass wall which cuts out noise to produce a very peaceful restaurant.
The Kitchen
Carford Group designed and installed the full kitchen from scratch. Owner Patrick Michael said: "From the start we wanted to use Carford because with them you know you're going to get the complete package. We didn't want a lot of different contractors trying to work together, we needed a company that would pull everything together from the planning stage onwards."
The design was a partnership: "We had an idea in our heads about how the kitchen should look, and Chris had his thoughts, then Carford pulled it all together with a design to make it work, with the limited space available. Ian Bryant held our hand all the way through and advised us well on the type of equipment we would need to cater for what we wanted to achieve.
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"Ian suggested we convert a dead area in the middle of the kitchen with a work area; Chris took that idea further with a larger, L-shaped system that has been very effective. "Carford finished well ahead of time, which took a lot of pressure off. " Equipment included Gram refrigeration and freezer; Carford hot cupboard, gantry, tabling, sinks and extraction system; Zanussi microwave ovens; Blue Seal convection oven; Falcon twin pan fryer, griddle, six-burner oven range and salamander grill; and Meiko passthrough dishwasher. |
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Equipment included Gram refrigeration and freezer; Carford hot cupboard, gantry, tabling, sinks and extraction system; Zanussi microwave ovens; Blue Seal convection oven; Falcon twin pan fryer, griddle, six-burner oven range and salamander grill; and Meiko passthrough dishwasher.
The Food
Patrick describes the food as fresh (using local ingredients when the quality is right) and cooked to order, not overcomplicated but extremely tasty.
The Service
Patrick's background is in providing high levels of service, first on cruise ships and then as part-owner of Cafe Shore in Bournemouth. He said: "People who know me know they will always be looked after; we major on excellent service - and it's not just me that will go the extra mile but our staff will too. If you want people to come back perhaps two or even three times a week, it's not enough to have a beautiful restaurant, you have to look after them."
Patrick is really pleased with the overall result and thinks the transformation to the building is amazing, giving both the restaurant and bar a lovely ambience. "I didn't know much about building work (although I know a lot more now!) and the work was more complicated than we expected, but the effort has been worth it.
"We didn't have a big opening, we opted for starting slowly and testing our systems on friends first, building up to a full night on the last day of a weekend. It worked fine and even without much promotion, we have been comfortably busy since opening."
