Love Fish Bar and Restaurant at The Promenade, Leysdown given makeover by new owner
05:00, 07 April 2023
The new owner of a seaside pub-turned fish and chip eatery believes "jazzing it up" will allow it to reel in even more custom.
Love Fish Bar and Restaurant, on The Promenade in Leysdown, kept its name but changed hands last month.
New boss Zara Claridge says recent changes will allow the popular venue formerly the Talk of the Town pub on the Isle of Sheppey, to discover its potential even further.
The 48-year-old said: "We opened in March, and so far we feel we are turning it into a really lovely restaurant.
"It's a great size and in an equally good location here, and that's made it a dream to open.
"Where previously it was virtually all takeaway food for customers, we thought it would be great to add table service and make it feel like a proper restaurant so the guests can be looked after even better than before.
With that has come an indoor seating area and an expanded menu offering to include new delicacies and even cocktails.
She added: "So we have designed some new menu ideas because we felt it was a little bit limited, so we have spiced that up and added to it.
"The old menu had food like cod, sausage and pies, whereas now we have wraps, breakfasts and added chicken and deluxe burgers, so there's a lot more variety and colour now, so that's made it fun jazzing it up.
"It means of course each waiter now has a tablet and can speak with the customers when taking orders as well.
"So it's looked great seeing all our food come out on plates for example, and that shows how we're trying to change things here - we've even added some Turkish cuisine, too."
And it's not just food that Ms Claridge, who also manages A La Turka and Grapevine Bar in Herne Bay, intends on changing.
In the future, gigs are also on the horizon for the establishment.
Ms Claridge explained: "We open at 10am every day, and at weekends we're closing a lot later depending on how we're getting on.
"We believe we're going to do really well, and that's why we have also planned some music events outside soon in our stage area at weekends, so people can switch off and relax - obviously in the summer it will be opening at 9am hopefully until late.
"So I'm quite happy with how it's going so far, and when the weather starts warming up soon we are also going to change it up outside with the large seating area we have to get table service there also.
"The locals have also been supportive as well and are still using the bar which was already quite new anyway.
"That's made it feel like a pub and a restaurant, which, on the seafront, has been really nice with our new cocktails also coming as we speak."
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