Regis and Alex Crepy launch two ventures at Cambridgeshire’s Ben’s Yard
Amelie Restaurant has a contemporary botanical interior and seats 150 including a covered outdoor terrace while the smaller Amelie Café & Bakeshop is focused on salads, savoury and sweet tarts, desserts, pastry and coffee.
The two new ventures join Amelie at The Grafton and a pop-up Cafe at the Cambridge Cookery School as well as Bury St Edmunds bistro Blue Fig which Crepy co-owns with fellow restaurateur Lamen Reddy.
Collaborating with Regis, chef Rory Landells will lead the kitchen team at Amelie Restaurant, which offers an ‘attractive, good-value menu of freshly prepared Mediterranean-inspired dishes’.
Smaller and bigger plates include Hispi cabbage with light mustard, tonkatsu sauce, crispy shallots and spring onion; beef cheek braised in Guinness; sea trout with Stuntney Estate potatoes, asparagus, Prosecco, brown shrimp butter and capers; and aubergine with harissa and maple glaze, feta, roasted vine tomatoes and toasted pine nuts.
Nethergate Wines, an independent wine merchant based in Suffolk, have crafted a diverse wine list to complement the food.
Prior to launching a string of more casual operations Regis owned several fine dining restaurants in East Anglia for over three decades including The Great House in and Maison Bleue, Bury St Edmunds.
“We are very excited to have the opportunity to expand Amelie restaurants in this glorious location - a perfect spot to meet up with friends and family,” Alex says. “We’re looking forward to extending a warm welcome to everyone and sharing our modern food, as well as introducing our signature flam-kuche, the crispy yeast-free flatbread spread with crème fraiche and a tasty combination of toppings.”
Ben’s Yard co-founders Alastair and Victoria Morbey added: “The Crepys have an enviable reputation in East Anglia for excellence in food offering and service, having owned and run such an array of superb restaurants in this region. This combined with their family business ethos, and commitment to the community, makes them an invaluable addition to Ben’s Yard.”
Close to Cambridge near the village of Ely, Ben’s Yard is billed as a family-friendly destination with independent retailers of fashion, homeware and lifestyle products alongside food and drink, wildlife trails and a play area.
