The Gladmans will open The Square Bar and Restaurant in October, having spent eight years running the nearby golf club restaurant together.
“We'll be sad to leave the golf club but the chance to open our own restaurant and put into practise the extensive experience we have both built up was too good an opportunity to miss,” explained Darren.
Located in the basement of an office block in Harrogate’s Princes Square, The Square Restaurant will serve modern British dishes with a strong emphasis on seasonal Yorkshire produce.
The restaurant will feature 80 covers, with outside and private dining areas providing space for an additional 20 and 25 people respectively. The separate bar area will offer a lighter menu of bar snacks.
Job opportunities
“We’re currently working with an interior designer and will be unveiling more details on the look of the bar and restaurant nearer the time,” added Darren.
“We believe the location will help connect the upper and lower areas of Harrogate’s town centre particularly as we’ll be offering a definite area in The Square Bar where people can simply sit and relax while having a drink and perhaps something to eat from our lighter bar menu.
“We’ll also be creating job opportunities as positions arise both front-of-house and in the kitchen. People should look at our website - www.thesquare-harrogate.co.uk- for further details.”
Darren is well-known on the region’s restaurant circuit having previously spent five years at Rudding Park where he became head chef and prior to that a spell at Ripley Castle.
In his new venture he will be the proprietor and head chef while Debbie will work as the assistant manager.
Solo restaurant ventures...
The opening highlights a burgeoning trend in the restaurant sector; recent months have seen a number of chefs embarking on their first solo ventures:
- James Knappett,formerly of The Ledbury and Marcus Wareing's The Berkeley, has opened a restaurant with his wife, combining a hot dog and Champagne concept called Bubbledogs with a more private, fine-dining element - Kitchen Table.
- James Durrant, who left Gordan Ramsay Holdings in 2010 having been executive chef of Maze, teamed up with his wife and father to launch The Plough Inn earlier this year.
- Ed Shaerf, a former chef at The Ivy, opened his first solo project, One Blenheim Terrace, late last year.
- Reis Remzi, the 21-year-old son of Olgun Remzi - owner of noodle restaurant chain Miso - has launched his own company and opened the first site under a new restaurant concept, Branded: Steak & Burger.
- Ollie Dabbous, former head chef at Texture in London, and Oskar Kinberg, former bar manager at the Cuckoo Club, opened their first solo venture - Dabbous restaurant and bar - in the heart of London’s West End in early 2012, which has already received a number of rapturous reviews.