The Camden Town Bar – Hunters Restaurant opens at The Raithwaite Estate – Landmark Astor Hotel sold – Fuller’s looking good in the design stakes – Sale of Ivy House Country Hotel – The Cafe in the Courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields – the customers love it – OBIKÀ’s unique Italian dining experience arrives on Charlotte Street
The Camden Town Bar
In celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Underground, and to coincide with the London Design Festival, Transport for London (TfL) are collaborating with Camden Town Brewery to install a micro-brewery and bar at designjunction to launch brand new heritage tile and textile collections by Fired Earth and Kirkby Design.
It is a pop up bar just for the dates 18-22 September, located at The Sorting Office, 21-31 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1BA.
Hunters Restaurant opens at The Raithwaite Estate
Hunters Restaurant is the newly opened dining destination located within The Keep at the heart of the picturesque Raithwaite Estate, joining the Yorkshire fine dining scene.
The menu at Hunters Restaurant is inspired by fresh, local Yorkshire produce and exquisite artisan ingredients. The seafood and fish comes straight from neighboring coastal fishing villages and is brought to the hotel fresh each day, whilst the meat is hand-reared and sourced from a local farm in Ripon.
The newly designed restaurant is flooded with light from a stunning glass ceiling, which highlights the clean contemporary lines within the spacious room. Modern décor such as black slate flooring, plush carpets and an ebony feature room divider is complemented by luxurious furnishings and large elegant sofas in the adjoining bar.
The monochrome tableware is offset by natural touches, such as fresh blooms of flowers picked from the Estate’s 100 acre grounds, and freshly baked breads.
The recently renovated retreat, which opened as a hotel in October 2011, has been brought back to its glorious prime. Originally a 19th century country haven belonging to a shipping magnate, it has now been sensitively transformed and comprises 73 contemporary guestrooms, while 10 individual charming cottages, tearooms and spa pods will be built in stages over the coming two years. A beautiful spa, sauna, swimming pool, fitness suite, two restaurants and two stylish bars complete the luxurious refurbishment, establishing the property as one of the finest luxury country retreats in the North of England.
The Raithwaite Estate, Sandsend Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire, Y021 3ST
Landmark Astor Hotel sold
The Astor Hotel on Plymouth Hoe has been sold by Colliers International for twice the price previously estimated. It is understood that the 54-bedroom property could now end up being converted into apartments or student accommodation
The Astor, named after Plymouth’s Lady Nancy Astor, the first woman to take her seat as an MP, was originally a private residence and the property retains many features including intricate cornice work and chandelier lighting typical of the era.
Within walking distance of the shopping centre, cinemas, Theatre Royal and the Plymouth Pavilions Leisure Complex, the Astor was featured in an episode of Alex Polizzi’s Hotel Inspector, on TV’s channel Five in 2010.
The joint administrators, Nigel Morrison and James Stares of Grant Thornton UK LLP called in industry specialists Colliers International to sell the Victorian Hotel which went into administration at the beginning of the year. Hotels director Simon Wells said, “We were called in by Grant Thornton and convinced them we ought to hold out for a higher price – this proved to be the correct decision given the subsequent interest.”
Fuller’s looking good in the design stakes
Fuller’s, the London brewer and pub operator, has been shortlisted in the prestigious international Restaurant & Bar Design Awards for The Tokenhouse pub (pictured above), reflecting the company’s commitment to innovation and excellence in everything it does.
Fuller’s worked with international hospitality design company Harrison to transform The Tokenhouse into a contemporary pub that reflected traditional values and highlighted its British food offering, the bar and excellent service. To entice customers inside, the bar was relocated to be visible from the exterior, and a strong emphasis was placed on branding to promote a friendly, inviting environment.
The news follows further design success for Fuller’s after The Parcel Yard at King’s Cross station and company’s own coffee brand, Brewer Street Coffee, also impressed the experts and won two Red Dot awards in the Communication Design 2013 category.
Sale of Ivy House Country Hotel
The award-winning Ivy House Country Hotel located in Oulton Broad, close to the Suffolk coast, has been sold by Christie + Co.
The 20-room, 3-AA Star hotel had been owned by the same family since 1910. Former owners Paul and Caroline Coe had developed the business over the last 20 years, largely from properties already in existence, from its early days as a small bed and breakfast operation. They added the renowned Crooked Barn restaurant, a purpose-built conference centre and additional letting bedrooms. The business became very popular and its lovely setting close to the Broad itself guaranteed good levels of both commercial and leisure trade year round. Ivy House had two AA Rosettes and had won the ETC Eastern Region Small Hotel of the Year in 2004.
The business has been sold to Dr Adrian Parton MBE, a serial entrepreneur, who had recently sold other business interests and he completed the purchase within three weeks of agreeing terms. Adrian and his cousin Keith Parton, the General Manager, have already started work on making changes at the property and is looking at adding a dedicated bar and lounge facility to complement the existing accommodation.
The asking price of the freehold property was £1.35m although the sale price was not disclosed.
The Cafe in the Courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields – the customers love it
The Cafe in the Courtyard – a temporary cafe at St Martin-in-the-Fields by Platform 5 Architects – has opened to visitors.
Situated between Trafalgar Square and The Strand, the cafe animates the courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields: a rare open space in central London that had been largely under-utilised despite thousands of tourists and workers passing by every day. Since opening, it has welcomed almost 9,000 visitors and is expected to serve up to 15,000 people by the end of the season.
St Martin’s commissioned Platform 5 Architects to design a new café to provide a welcoming facility for local workers, residents and tourists as well as to generate income to support the work of the church and the long term preservation of its listed buildings.
The Café in the Courtyard is a small, self-contained temporary structure in the corner of the courtyard, opposite St Martin’s East Window. Its simple design is sympathetic to its historic surroundings, while contemporary materials are used to provide a pleasing visual contrast and a focus for the site. It is a simple portico structure with a lightweight appearance, with deep eaves that provide shelter or shade during the day as well as a storage area for tables and chairs at night.
The cafe only operates during the summer months, it can be easily removed from the site and stored during the winter. Lightweight yet stylish tables and chairs are used during the day and stored within the unit when the cafe is not in operation. Simple stainless steel roller shutters secure the unit when not in use.
The cafe was prefabricated in Italy by Asteco before being installed on site in June. Platform 5 Architects hope that the unit will offer a contemporary and highly functional model for catering or retail outlets elsewhere, particularly in locations with high heritage value. Peter Allen, Partner at Platform 5 Architects said: “We are delighted at the success of The Cafe in the Courtyard. As we had hoped, it is a stylish little building that has brought a fresh identity and new activity to an otherwise underused pocket of London, and valuable additional income to St Martin-in-the-Fields. While producing something temporary yet stylish for such as sensitive site was a challenge, we believe our response offers solutions for similar organisations and sites.”
Allyson Hargreaves, Business Operations Director at St Martin-in-the-Fields Ltd said: “Platform 5’s design has exceeded our requirements by creating a space that not only beautifully suits the environs but also provides a practical work area for our team. As for our customers – they love it – and we are pleased to see some of them returning several times during the week.”
Pictures by Alan Williams Photography
OBIKÀ’s unique Italian dining experience arrives on Charlotte Street
Obikà, the world’s first Mozzarella Bar and Italy’s innovative restaurant concept is opening its doors in central London this September on Fitzrovia’s busy Charlotte Street.
Three times a week, Obikà’s delicious Mozzarella di Bufala will arrive fresh from artisan producers of Campania in Southern Italy, providing diners with an unrivalled taste experience. Made with the nutritious milk of the local water buffalo, Obikà serves the firm and flavourful mozzarella from the Paestum region, a stronger straw-ember smoked affumicata, and the sweeter, creamier Stracciatella di Burrata.
These unique mozzarellas can be ordered from Obikà’s mozzarella bar, paired with some of Italy’s finest products including prosciutto di Parma, grilled artichokes, and fresh Datterini tomatoes. Choosing not to use any onion or garlic, Obikà instead prefers to showcase the pure and natural taste of its ingredients so that they can be enjoyed unspoiled.
Famed also for its pizza, Obikà uses only stone ground petra flour from the long established Quaglia family before leaving it to proof for 48 hours and topping it with the finest organic tomatoes , signature Mozzarella di Bufala and many other delicious toppings.
A fervent supporter of the Slow Food movement, Obikà introduces a different ingredient each month picked from their “Presidi slow food” small artisanal products, to create a series of unique special dishes.
Simplicity and luxury
The brainchild of renowned Italian creative Silvio Ursini, the Obikà brand combines his experience of working for a global luxury brand with a passion for authentic Italian produce. The restaurant space itself reflects this, with its innovative fusion of simplicity and luxury across two floors, presented in an uncompromising contemporary setting. The interior – designed by the Italian architects Labics – features a bar and seating area on the ground floor, with Obikà’s unique Mozzerella Bar taking pride of place in the airy basement, where the mozzarella will be displayed, prepared and served.
With a dedicated deli counter inside the restaurant, Obikà’s new Charlotte Street location will build on the success of its Canary Wharf and South Kensington sites.
