The team behind Brasserie Blanc has announced two Cheshire openings on Monday June 27th 2016. Brasserie Blanc will open in Knutsford and, on the same day, The Oakwood, the latest addition to the growing White Brasserie pub group, will open in Alderley Edge.
Brasserie Blanc French bar & restaurant will open on Regent Street in Knutsford in the historic Royal George building. The restaurant, which is part of a group overseen by renowned chef Raymond Blanc, will bring affordable French food to the town and boasts a skilled chef team who prepare everything in-house using the freshest seasonal ingredients in their dishes.
Following a major refurbishment guests will be treated to a stylish but welcoming venue with a relaxing bar space, a communal ‘kitchen table’ and spaces to suit all occasions from Sunday brunch to light lunches and celebration dinners. The restaurant will be open seven days a week from 9am until 10pm, Monday through to Thursday; 9am until 10.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays and from 9am until 9pm on Sundays, welcoming diners and non-diners alike with local beers, cocktails and an extensive wine list of French and new World wines.
Dishes on the summer menu include: classic cheese soufflé, chilli & ginger squid, potted Cromer crab, grilled cod ‘au citron’ and a range of Cornish free-range steaks. Desserts are all home-made and include summer berry Savarin and a mouthwatering chocolate and almond torte.
Raymond Blanc said: “I am very excited to be opening in this beautiful town with so much history. I hope very much that people will enjoy what we have to offer here – the food is simple and honest, it’s the food I love to serve to my friends and family, delicious and homely but with that extra something special”.
Eight miles away and opening on the same day (Monday 27th June) will be a beautiful country pub and brasserie on Brooke Lane, Alderley Edge. Part of the growing White Brasserie pub group, The Oakwood will be warm and welcoming with a unique combination of a traditional pub and French Brasserie, with a very English twist.
The pubs are run by a sister company to Brasserie Blanc and although Raymond is not directly involved he takes a great interest in their progress.
The Oakwood has been designed to a high specification, which will create a many-textured feel through furniture and fittings. Rich wooden flooring throughout gives a sense of space and comfort, a huge open bar with weathered zinc top will be a focal point and will invite diners and drinkers to pull up a stool and relax over a pint or a chilled glass of wine. The colour scheme borrows from the countryside with a Farrow & Ball palette of soft greens, dusky pinks and blues.
Guests can choose a space to suit the mood or occasion: quiet booths in the panelled snug, low tables for coffee or drinks in the bar or tables for two, four six or more in the main Brasserie zone.
The outside space has been greatly enhanced with French courtyard planting and a huge vine covered pergola to whisk you away (in mind if not in body) to deepest Provence.
The pub will be open from 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday and from 12 till 10pm on Sundays, and will offer diners a varied menu of classic French dishes – moules, beouf Bourguignon, lemon tart as well as English pub classics such as gammon, duck egg and chips or a seasonal pie of the week. Steaks are big on the menu and all are from pasture-reared free-range English cattle. The wine list is extensive with an additional ‘Fine Wine’ menu featuring exceptional vintages and more unusual wines and Champagnes.
Mark Derry, Chief Executive of Brasserie Blanc said: “The White Brasserie company Is committed to creating pubs that feel like an integral part of their local community and that offer guests a beautiful environment in which to relax and enjoy sensational, home-cooked food.”
Both new venues serve freshly prepared vegetarian dishes, offer allergen menus and have a colorful and healthy children’s menu as well as offering half portions of a la carte dishes for older children. The Oakwood is dog friendly and welcomes four-legged friends in the bar and outside spaces.
Brasserie Blanc, Royal George Buildings, Regent Street, Knutsford, Cheshire, WA16 6GR, knutsford@brasserieblanc.com
The Oakwood, Brook Lane, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK9 7RU, Oakwood.alderley@whitebrasserie.com
DRINKS ENTHUSIAST 