New restaurant for landmark hotel
The restaurant of the landmark Martinborough Hotel is changing hands.
Husband and wife duo Adam and Nicola Newell, who have extensive experience in the restaurant industry, will take over the renamed Union Square Bistro and Bar on May 7.
Nicola said the pair were excited by the opportunity.
‘‘We’d been looking in Wairarapa for a while and nothing had really grabbed us, then the hotel’s restaurant came up.’’
It will mark a return for Adam who, two decades ago, worked in the hotel for around five months.
The duo established Wellington restaurant Zibibbo in 2000.
Adam has worked in Michelinstarred restaurants in London, as well as eateries in New York, Tokyo and France. He has a Michelin star himself, awarded when he was the chef at London’s Fulham Road Restaurant in 1995.
‘‘We’ve been living in Wairarapa for the past four years, planting and establishing our olive grove, and were looking for the next challenge,’’ Nicola said.
‘‘The bistro will serve modern New Zealand cuisine with a French influence and will use fresh local seasonal produce, much of it sourced from our own market gardens.
‘‘We’re aiming to have wide appeal; everyone from the local farmer to the international visitor.’’
Joining them will be Paul Dicken, who has worked as a chef at some of Wellington’s most celebrated fine-dining establishments, including The White House and Icon Restaurant.
In 2000, Dicken set up his own award-winning bistro Trafalgar Square. He is currently a chef tutor at Le Cordon Blue’s New Zealand school.
‘‘We’ll be changing maybe the style of the service and the style of the food but the style of the restaurant will be staying mostly the same,’’ Nicola said. ‘‘We want to be the local bar in town, a place that appeals to everyone.’’
The trio’s Union Square Bistro and Bar will open to the public on May 13.