‘People want to get out and about’
How a popular Belfast seafood restaurant is getting ready to welcome diners back safely
Award-winning seafood restaurant Fish City in Belfast has extended its seating, installed outdoor heating and started a delivery service. Since reopening for outdoor dining, it’s been doing a brisk trade, bolstered by confidence in the vaccine programme, and is scheduled to reopen indoors from May 24.
“We created a dining room upstairs with a completely different feel,” says John Lavery, who owns the restaurant with his wife Grainne. “Anyone recording a high temperature is refused admission. Hand sanitisers are also readily available at the entrance. In addition, kitchen and front-of-house staff are required to wear masks and to wash their hands regularly. Tables and chairs are cleaned rigorously after every diner.”
Now John is feeling optimistic about the future. “People want to get out and about again,” he says. “We are confident that business will be good from now through the rest of the year.”