Calcot Kitchens re-launches Westonbirt Restaurant & Cafe
The deal sees Calcot Kitchens re-opening the Westonbirt Restaurant and Café today following a complete refurbishment. The 100-cover venue, which seats a further 200 customers outside, is expected to feature new front-of-house design and branding and a revamped catering concept.
According to Calcot Kitchens’ general manager Michael French, the new design ‘draws strongly upon the arboreal setting and rarefied environment’.
“Similarly inspired by the impressive surroundings, the menu offering and food presentation will also in its turn accentuate the overall Westonbirt experience for visitors by instilling a real sense of destination,” he said.
Geared towards the family experience, the Westonbirt Restaurant and Café will feed all ages with a broad range of healthy choices made from regional produce sourced from within a 30-mile radius.
‘Exciting ideas’
Arboretum director Simon Toomer said: “Following a fair and competitive tender process, Calcot Kitchens has been chosen for its innovative ideas, strong environmental credentials and of course, high quality food and drink offer.
“They also have lots of exciting ideas about how to add to diners' enjoyment of the restaurant and café.”
The interior features an informal mix of furniture, sharing tables, tall bar tables and stools. The Westonbirt Restaurant’s layout also lends itself to a combination of self-service and table service.
A barista section will form part of the hub where homemade snacks, cakes, pastries and biscuits are on sale. The served main courses, such as Steak, Old Spot Ale and Mushroom Pie with Creamy Mash, are presented on wooden boards and in rustic earthenware bowls.
Food & hospitality
The restaurant is supplemented by a mini food court area within the terrace and patio just outside. A wood-fired barbecue and clay oven are featured while the Westonbirt Café, situated towards Westonbirt’s Great Oak Hall, offers other takeaway selections.
Calcot Hotels’ chairman Richard Ball added: “Our outside catering arm’s success in delivering Calcot Manor’s blend of restaurant quality meals and service to private events and venues beyond the hotel itself has secured a superb following.
“We are extremely thrilled now to be re-launching the Forestry Commission’s Restaurant and Café at Westonbirt and to have an even greater opportunity to serve a far wider audience with our particular blend of food and hospitality in the context of a very special day out at one of Britain’s leading rural attractions.
“We are confident that championing local produce in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way, in keeping with the Westonbirt ethos, will add greatly to the visitor experience. Certainly, everyone eating at Westonbirt can count upon delicious food and refreshments alongside a fun time.”
The Gloucestershire-based Calcot Hotels business dates back to 1984 when Calcot Manor opened as a seven bedroom hotel three mile outside Tetbury.
