Newly refurbished city centre restaurant re-opens for business
City Centre Manager John Harvey carried out an official ribbon-cutting ceremony to open ‘Lloyd’s Kitchen’ with Radio Exe joining in the celebrations.
Formerly known as Lloyd's Café and Bistro located in Catherine Street near Exeter Cathedral, the major refurbishment programme was designed by Ashburton-based architects, Woodford Architecture.
City Centre Manager John Harvey says: “The re-launch of Lloyd's is a great example of the investment we’re seeing across Exeter city centre. It’s a real boost for Exeter and a great sign of confidence in the city. I am delighted that Lloyd’s Kitchen has re-opened and the refit looks fantastic. It really brings a buzz to Catherine Street which is such a lovely part of the city centre.”
The new look restaurant is the brainchild of 26-year-old local businessman and owner Lloyd Gardner. Lloyd’s Kitchen, seating up to 50, offers a city-centre dining experience in conjunction with LTG’s piazza, an alternative alfresco café experience also owned by Lloyd, which overlooks the historical Roman ruins and a popular meeting place in the heart of the city.
Home-made bread and cakes sourced from Exeter-based The Real Food Store will be served throughout the day in the restaurant as well as freshly prepared breakfast and light lunches. In addition, Lloyd’s Kitchen launches a new ‘Business Express Lunch’ service catering for local professionals and busy workers with pre-orders guaranteeing a fast and reliable service.
A £1 donation will be made from each Business Express Lunch towards the restaurant’s designated charity of the year, ELF (Exeter Leukaemia Fund).
Lloyd’s Kitchen is now also open for dinner on Friday and Saturday evenings introducing a fresh menu from resident chef Michael Collins who uses local produce wherever possible and supported by an extensive wine list.
Lloyd Gardner, owner of Lloyds’s Kitchen says: “I am over the moon with the fabulous refit by Woodford Architecture and this is the start of a very exciting new era for us. We are still providing the same excellent service to our loyal customer base during the day with a new range of locally produced delicious home-made cakes and bread and our infamous Italian coffee.
"I am particularly excited about the weekend evening opening times and new dinner menu designed to meet the needs of a new clientele who want to enjoy a relaxing city centre dining experience. Although in a challenging and difficult economic climate, we are bucking the trend by investing in the business as even in a recession, Exeter has a real vibrancy and buoyancy attracting a new discerning customer-base.”
Photos by Tim Pestridge
