Maverick chef Marc Wilkinson has reopened his extraordinary one-man restaurant Fraiche at a secret address near the Shropshire market town of Oswestry – and with only eight seats, it is even smaller than before.
To start with, while Marc develops the wine list, diners are invited to bring their own bottles with no corkage fee – making Fraiche the ultimate BYO venue. He will even offer advice on which wines might be suitable for the evening.
The original 12-seater Fraiche, in the Wirral village of Oxton across the Mersey from Liverpool, opened in 2004 to great acclaim. It was voted the UK’s top restaurant more than once in our annual Harden’s survey, most recently in 2020, with reporters hailing Marc as a “genius”.
A move had been on the cards for at least five years, with Marc saying he was looking larger premises – although it will come as no surprise to his many fans that he has opted to keep things small, given his desire to maintain complete creative control of every aspect of the restaurant, not only in the kitchen but in the interior design, lighting, soundtrack and more.
The new Fraiche is open for dinner three nights a week, from Thursday to Saturday, with bookings taken on the 1st of each month for the following month (although it might be worth enquiring about cancellations). There is also one double room for diners who want to stay, with the bonus of breakfast cooked the next morning by Marc.
He said: “The tasting menu will be priced at £120 per person and the experience is to take place in the converted ground floor of my home, alcoholic beverages will be on a bring-your-own basis while I will stock soft drinks and waters for those who would like to enjoy those here.”
“Confirmed bookings will be of course given details of the address and assistance with directions. This is to keep my information as secure as possible.“
The experience at the new Fraiche will be familiar to regular diners, featuring “a collection of multi courses making up the tasting menu, using the same high-quality ingredients with mostly all the same suppliers on board.”
Information and bookings are available at restaurantfraiche.com.
