‘PEOPLE SEEM PRETTY KEEN TO EAT OUT’
The past two days have been... intense. Since the Prime Minister’s announcement that restaurants can reopen from July 4, we’ve been working non-stop to make sure we can do this safely. We serve seafood dishes inspired by my Welsh upbringing (Brat is slang for turbot) and before coronavirus took hold, had diners sitting close to each other, creating an intimate atmosphere. We quickly realised that couldn’t be replicated, so decided to find another outside space. We landed on Climpson’s Arch, under a railway line down the road in east London, where we’ll be offering open-air dining (with a roof in case of rain) from July 11 until the autumn and hope to bring back our original site later in the month.
Even though our new venue is outdoors, we have still had to make some serious changes. We may limit walk-ins, so we don’t have groups queuing for a table. We’re also getting rid of menus, which are touched by so many hands. Instead, everything will be written on chalkboards visible from tables spaced at least a metre apart. And in the event that someone does get ill, we will contact everyone who was at the restaurant that night, via a secure app we’re using to collect every customer’s details.
There are difficulties behind the scenes, too. We are separating staff into teams, which will ensure that if one group gets ill they won’t spread it to others, and making sure that chefs are spaced apart.
Another challenge is finding enough produce to cook. When restaurants closed, the effects rippled far and wide. Our suppliers need a bit of time to get going again.
Our aim is to keep both sites open, spreading covers and staff across the two. Luckily for us, after all that time at home, people seem keen to eat out. Within a few minutes of opening our bookings, we were swamped.
Tomos Parry – owner of Michelinstarred restaurant Brat, east London As told to Helen Chandler-wilde