Food for thought as Coconut Tree plans for pop-up restaurant

FANS of The Coconut Tree have a big reason to get excited this summer with a new ‘pop up’ in a Cheltenham churchyard.

The award-winning Sri Lankan bar and restaurant has announced a community collaboration with St Paul’s Church.

For three-months from April 12 they will operate a ‘pop up restaurant’ on the church lawn next door to their flagship restaurant.

The temporary, 2,000 sq ft pop-up will seat up to sixty socially-distanced diners at a time and will be open Monday to Saturday 5-10pm, from April 12.

The street food pioneers will also extend the offer of 50 per cent off for all ‘eat-in’ customers (Monday to Wednesday) until the end of January 2022 (the offer currently applies to click and collect takeaways; this offer will finish on May 16).

Originally inspired to offer their own discount scheme after experiencing success with ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ last year, Brand Director Anna Garrod said that they are keen to use their reopening plans as an opportunity to put Sri Lankan cuisine firmly on the map.

She said: “During the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer last year, we saw a real surge in bookings; it gave us a new audience who saw it as an opportunity to try new things - and ‘go out for a Sri Lankan’!

“Now we want to introduce even more people to our unique dishes and laid back, island vibe, so will again offer 50 per cent off for all eat-in bookings Monday - Wednesday.”

Coconut Tree operations director Rodrigo Rashinthe added: “We’re thrilled to announce our ‘pop up’ right here in St Paul’s Cheltenham, where our brand began.

“The community spirit here has always been strong, and we are so grateful to our neighbours at St Paul’s Church, for the opportunity to serve our locally loved, island-inspired dishes in an outdoor setting.”

St Paul’s Church vicar, Roger Widdecombe, said: “We love The Coconut Tree and what they’ve done for our community.

“We’re delighted to be able to host the ‘pop up’ in our grounds and look forward to welcoming more people into this fantastic part of town.”

To view the up-to-date opening times and to book a table indoors or for the ‘pop up on the lawn’ visit thecoconut-tree.com/blog/2021-3-30/ pop-up-on-the-lawn-tct-cheltenham

The Coconut Tree in Cheltenham will reopen for indoor dining from the May 17.