A new restaurant and wine bar combining Japanese-influenced food with natural wines opens today (Wednesday 21 February) in a townhouse on the Deal seafront in Kent – with yoga and treatments also available upstairs.

The Blue Pelican is the latest venture from Chris Hicks and Alex Bagner, husband-and-wife team behind The Rose boutique hotel and restaurant nearby.

It features a dining room with sea views, a chef’s counter and a first-floor private dining room seating 10, with cuisine modelled on Japanese izakayas. The couple say: “Inspired by Japanese culture, we’re thrilled to showcase Kent’s coastal produce in a new way.” 

Head chef Luke Green, who ran the kitchen at the Rose, spent five years in Tokyo, and his opening menu includes housemate tofu, raw seabass, smoked eel, pork katsu, and grilled squid served with pork, barley and chanterelles.

Drinks include sake served hot or cold, Japanese whisky, and cocktails flavoured with coastal herbs and seaweed, alongside low-intervention English and European wines. Guests can sit in the cellar or in the courtyard for drinks.

Alex is a former editor at Wallpaper* and commissioned artist Tom Maryniak to rework Hokusai’s famous print as ‘The Great Wave off Deal’ (see pic above) for The Blue Pelican, which also has a hand-painted floor.