Brasserie with secret garden completes transformation of Chester B&B

The Know Group’s Chester Townhouse Hotel recently welcomed 1699 Brasserie, completing the transformation of the former Bridge Street B&B.

The brasserie takes its name from the year it was built, and the Georgian townhouse in which it’s situated is steeped in history.

Bridge Street is one of only four original streets built inside Roman Chester, and during the siege of the city in 1645, King Charles I stayed the night only a few doors away.

Now, the celebrated site has been converted into a boutique hotel, and the recent opening of the 1699 Brasserie has cemented its status as a cornerstone of Chester’s hospitality scene.

With an interior designed by Patricia Hewlett, the restaurant is a sleek, modern affair with tradition at its heart, as head chef, Carl Powell, explained: “Having grown up locally, I was keen to make local Cheshire produce the core focus of this menu – we’re incredibly lucky in this area to have some of the very best right on our doorstep.

“Our aim was to keep the menu British-led and very traditional, but put a fresh, contemporary twist on things to make the dishes a little lighter and more current.”

Carl and executive chef Jamie Leon both trained in the area, cutting their teeth together at The Chester Pelican and local institution Rowton Hall.

With dozens of AA rosettes between them, they’re looking forward to bringing accessible fine dining to Chester.

Jamie said: “A large part of The Know Group’s ethos is ‘approachable luxury’, and we hope we’ve been able to reflect that here at the Brasserie.

Townhouse Hotel

“We want to bring fine dining to the people of Chester in a way that isn’t intimidating or pretentious.”

The jewel in the crown of the brasserie is its secret garden, accessed through a gate down a small alleyway adjacent to the hotel.

Quirky features such as this are part of the Townhouse’s charm, marrying character with upscale luxury in a way which is uniquely ‘Chester’.

The Townhouse says its success over the past year has been testament to the effectiveness of that approach, with the hotel recently celebrating its first birthday.

Steven Hesketh, chief executive of Liverpool-based The Know Group, said: “We wanted to ensure we had the perfect team in place before officially launching the 1699 Brasserie, and now with Carl as head chef, and Jamie offering support as group executive chef, we have just that.

“Both have vast experience working in restaurants and hotels across Chester, and a solid understanding of how competitive the Chester restaurant market is.

“The hotel has performed beyond our expectations since we acquired it last year, and we hope that the brasserie can now take that momentum and run with it.”