Rockfish nets Poole Quay site

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Mitch Tonks is to open a restaurant in Poole Quay at the end of January bringing the total number of Rockfish restaurants to nine.

The restaurant will be located facing out onto the water opposite the Sunseeker yard and will seat over a hundred guests in total.

“I’m really excited about this location,” says Tonks, who also runs the more high-end The Seahorse in Dartmouth and three Rockfish-branded takeaways.

“Not only is it right on the waterfront but the building itself is wonderful with a big apex roof and lovely big space with a few tables outside to soak up the sun in the warmer months.”

Last month, Rockfish reported a sales uplift of 15% to £7.95m for the year end 2019. Tonks says that the past 12 months had represented a “real turning point” for the seafood restaurant business with “tremendous like-for-like sales”.

“In the year we opened a fantastic restaurant in Exeter, appointed Dave Strauss as restaurant director, continued to invest in our current people and our fish supply business, including having a dedicated trawler out at sea,” says Tonks.

In January the company received a £1.5m minority investment from Gresham House Ventures to support its growth, followed by a seven-figure finance facility from HSBC UK in March to support future restaurant openings.

Dishes run from classic seafood options – cockles and malt vinegar; a half pint of prawns; devilled sprats – to the more adventurous – spider crab croquettes; crisp fried prawns with Korean-style chilli sauce; and a fried prawn taco.