Alain Roux: Skindles restaurant will channel the soul of the original hotel
Roux at Skindles will channel the soul of the original hotel that stood on the site in Taplow, Buckinghamshire, according to Alain Roux.
The Skindles hotel has been derelict since 1995, but the site is now being taken over by Michel and Alain Roux, who are preparing to open a restaurant within a new residential development being built by Berkeley Homes.
Alain Roux, who visited the Skindles hotel regularly in his youth, said the project was too good an opportunity to turn down.
"We are local, we love the area. To have the possibility to do this new venture on our doorstep is great. It's on the river too, so there is some connection with Waterside Inn," he told The Caterer.
"The name Skindles is well known in the area. I spent many hours there at the hotel when it was open, drinking soft drinks at the bar, on the dance floor and playing darts."
Roux at Skindles will include an open kitchen serving 50 covers on the ground floor, with a terrace outside accommodating a further 20. A bar will be created on the first floor, serving a range of wine and cocktails from an open list, alongside sharing plates.
The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Roux added: "The menu will be very different from the Waterside Inn, though most of it will be based on French cuisine. Nothing sophisticated, but dishes cooked properly that are enjoyable. True food cooked on site freshly, and a la minute if possible.
"We're not after ratings in guides or a Michelin star, what we want it to do is good bistro food with dishes that you can't find on other restaurant menus. We'll be including dishes that people might not have heard of, though it won't be crazy food. Good, freshly cooked food."
Roux at Skindles will form part of a new Berkeley development called Taplow Riverside, a project that will include 139 residential properties and a 60 unit care home.
Roux said: "It will be a stunning residential development. For the people living next door it'll be lovely to have a community feeling generated by the restaurant."
The team is yet to be established, but Roux said that both front and back of house will be led by former employees at the Waterside Inn and other Roux restaurants.
The Rouxs will take ownership of the site in October before a year-long fit out in preparation for opening in October 2018.
Michel and Alain Roux to open restaurant in residential development
Fork in the road: Alain Roux's path to the top
Videos from The Caterer archives
