Arbutus founder Will Smith launches Scottish bistro

29-May-2017 - Last updated on 13-Aug-2024 at 16:14 GMT

Will Smith – co-founder of London restaurants Arbutus and Wild Honey – has launched a new neighbourhood bistro in Helensburgh, Scotland.

Sugar Boat also acts as a bar and wine shop, serving brunches, cream teas and seasonal a la carte plates using local Scottish produce.

It comes after Smith and his former business partner Anthony Demetre closed Arbutus in Soho last year.

Smith has since sold his remaining restaurant interests in London and returned to Helensburgh, where he lived while managing The Georgian Rooms at Cameron House in the mid 1990’s.

Chef Scott Smith, formerly of Arbutus, Wild Honey and Odette’s, is heading up the Sugar Boat kitchen, with dishes including hand-cut pappardelle with rabbit and mustard; sea trout, apple and fennel salad with pickled cucumber; and Scottish lamb hotpot with buttered kale and young vegetables.

Diners can also enjoy over 25 Scottish gins and cocktails at the bar, and snacks such as a haggis scotch egg and homemade pork crackling.

Writing on the restaurant’s Facebook page, Smith said: “Opening any new restaurant presents exactly the same level of challenges, irrespective of whether it's located in the middle of Mayfair or in the heart of Helensburgh.

“The effort, time and dedication that has gone into the planning and execution of opening Sugar Boat is no different to any other restaurant that I have owned. It's an exciting opportunity and I hope that members of the local community will enjoy the result of all the hard work and effort involved in opening the business and I very much look forward to welcoming them to Sugar Boat.”

The restaurant takes its name from the MV Captayannis, a ship carrying a sugar cargo, which capsized on a sandbank near Helensburgh in 1974.