Certain details in this article have been corrected.
Rising star Harriet Mansell has announced her intention in the New Year to reformat her highly rated Lyme Regis restaurant Robin Wylde. She plans to reposition the business with the addition of a bakery to the existing restaurant space.
The eight-course tasting menu celebrated in our soon-to-be-released Best UK Restaurants will no longer be available daily, but on a regular ad-hoc basis as advertised on the restaurant’s social media. There are also plans to take Robin Wylde “on tour”.
The new bakery will sell wholesale as well as retail, and supply Harriet’s nearby second venue, the wine bar Lilac. The bakery will maintain her approach of using locally foraged ingredients, producing pastries such as woodruff palmiers, nettle and wildflower pinwheels and gorse and winter citrus Danishes.
Having worked stages at Noma in Copenhagen and Hedone in London, Harriet came to prominence with a series of pop-ups and an appearance on Great British Menu. The 18-cover Robin Wylde, her debut restaurant, earns rave reviews and a maximum food rating of 5 from the Harden’s guide, which describes it as “utterly delightful”.
Three months ago, Harriet warned that a combination of rising utility bills and VAT meant the restaurant was no longer viable. “We’re not breaking even and costs are only going in one direction so, to me, it’s clear that more help is needed for everyone in the industry. At the rate that things are going my business will go under this winter”.
When she raised her concerns with her local Tory MP, Chris Loder, he replied: “My priority is helping local people and businesses where they are facing a considerable rise in energy prices which are presenting as existential threats imminently rather than the ‘high-end’ category”.
Harriet said: “He missed the point in quite a staggering way. Utilities have shot up chronically and it’s not just the restaurant – we support some fantastic local producers and if we struggle then they struggle: these things have massive knock-on effects.“
The Robin Wylde bakery will be open Fridays from 10am-4pm. On Saturday baked goods will be sold from Lilac from 9.30-4pm.
CORRECTION
An earlier version of this article said that the restaurant would close at the end of the year to resume operations in March which is not correct. Robin Wylde will operate as is until January, then via its new bakery add-on with the tasting menu available on an ad hoc basis.
