Aviator hotel launches One Eleven casual dining restaurant
The 46-cover restaurant is headed up by executive chef Luke Wheaton, with ‘familiar food’ priced between £6.50 and £14 a head for a main course, providing a lower cost alternative to the more formal fine-dining experience available in the Aviator’s brasserie.
“One Eleven is a concept that we’ve had in the pipeline for about a year now and we’re delighted to have had the opportunity to launch it this month,” Aviator’s general manager, Michael Helling, told BigHospitality.
“The inspiration behind One Eleven came from wanting to offer our guests, visitors and wider public, an all-day casual dining alternative to our formal Brasserie, but our objective was also to not compromise on the quality of our food.
“Luke Wheaton has worked hard to ensure we maintain all our high-quality and local suppliers. For example, the meat used for our One Eleven menu is sourced from local family butcher A Turner & Sons, which is the same supplier who we have worked with for since the hotel opened five years ago, and whom we also source all our steak and meat from for our Brasserie.”
On the menu
The new restaurant was inspired by Sir Frank Whittle, the renowned British aeronautical engineer, as a subtle nod to the historically significant land and airport Aviator proudly rests on. The name ‘One Eleven’ leans on the informal style and stripped back interior of the new space.
It offers a selection of simple dishes including sandwiches and salads, classic pasta dishes, thin-base pizzas, sausages and mash, burgers, masala and Thai curry and a selection of homemade ice creams and sorbets. It also features a bar area, with seating for six. Beer is available on tap alongside a selection of bottled beers, spirits and soft drinks.
Aviator has two separate private dining rooms but these sit within, and are dedicated to, tasting menu reservations in the hotel’s Brasserie. The Sky Bar, located on the hotel’s first floor, provides a more relaxed lounge area, serving guests with a broad range of cocktails.
One Eleven at the Aviator hotel by TAG opened on Monday (15 April), with the hotel’s manager Helling confirming that business at the restaurant has ‘to date exceeded our forecasted projections’.
