Chapman to open Castle Bow Bar & Grill restaurant at the Castle
Kit Chapman has announced plans to open a new restaurant at the Castle at Taunton, almost a year to the day after it closed its principal dining room in order to focus efforts on its brasserie operation, Brazz.
This summer will see the opening of a new restaurant at the Castle, named Castle Bow Bar & Grill. In order to appeal to a wider audience and make the new operation more accessible, it will have its own street entrance on Castle Bow, the street that connects the town centre with Castle Green.
The old dining room, accessible only via the 44-bedroom hotel's main hall, will continue to be used for events and functions, while the new Grill will seat 40 and appear to passers-by as a stand-alone restaurant.
The traditional formality of the old dining room will be replaced by retro-chic which aims to be informal, relaxed, comfortable and stylish.
The menu will be ingredients-driven, relying on the seasons, clarity of flavours and simplicity of execution, priced in the region of £30 for three courses.
The former Michelin-starred restaurant was closed last spring as "Austerity Britain" took hold, Chapman wrote on the hotel's blog.
"We were losing money and ambitious restaurants across the English provinces were struggling. So we decided to up our game in Brazz, the town's lively town-centre brasserie, to concentrate our lunch and dining spaces in one area rather than two," he said.
While the strategy to concentrate Brazz has proved a successful one, ongoing demand from regular clients of the main dining room prompted Chapman to "build bridges" while at the same time appealing to a wider audience.
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By Janie Manzoori-Stamford
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