L’Escargot seaside pop-up to relaunch and go permanent

The L’Escargot Sur-Mer pop-up, a seaside spin-off of the L’Escargot restaurant in London’s Soho, is to go permanent and will be reopening as the Suffolk in Aldeburgh this August.

Following a refurbishment of the historic building, the Suffolk will become home to a 60-cover restaurant named Sur-Mer, with a rooftop terrace overlooking the sea, a bar, 12 and 24-seater private dining rooms and six bedrooms, which will open in September.

The venue will be overseen by the L’Escargot Sur-Mer team, including front of house being headed up by owner George Pell (pictured), who will remain a partner in L’Escargot.

He said: “I’m incredibly excited to have the opportunity to bring the sense of life and purpose back to this great building and make it, once again, the heartbeat of Aldeburgh. For me, this is the realisation of a childhood dream to have a restaurant beside the sea and the fact we’re opening in Aldeburgh is such a treat, there is truly nowhere else like it on the planet. The Suffolk will be a place for the locals to enjoy - to treat as their own; to read the paper and have a glass of wine in but it should also be special enough to make people want to travel to enjoy a long leisurely lunch with a lobster and chips. The team and I can’t wait to welcome our first guests in August.”

The seafood-focused menu will be overseen by head chef James Jay, who will use producers including traditional smokehouse Pinneys of Orford, Fen Farm Dairy and Sutton Hoo chicken, as well as a handful of local day boats delivering fish and shellfish from the Suffolk coast.

On top of a selection of oysters from the British Isles, the menu will include dishes like lobster bisque with crab toast; razor clams with avruga and sorrel; barbecued monkfish tail with samphire butter; and whipped Baron Bigod served with game chips and onions.

Jay joined the team in March to run the Sur-Mer pop up at New Street Market in Woodbridge with Pell, and was head chef at the Anchor, also in Woodbridge, for 10 years prior.

The bar and rooftop terrace will have smaller plates designed for sharing including herring rollmops, lobster sliders, Emmett’s black ham and Baron Bigod croquettes and a selection of grilled flatbreads with toppings like brown shrimp and cod’s roe; mussel and anchovy with seaweed butter; and dry aged Suffolk Gold with scallions.

There will also be a separate Sunday lunch menu featuring sharing dishes like lobster Wellington, slow roasted Gressingham duck with plum sauce, and Sutton Hoo chicken stuffed with morels.

The wine list will feature mainly French wines starting at £24 for a bottle and £6 for a glass. The cocktail menu will serve a handful of classics including the Suffolk’s coastal martini in partnership with local distillery Fishers.

Suffolk based architect Charles Curry-Hyde has led on the restoration of the former inn, which dates to the 17th century. Interior designer Kate Fulford, also from Suffolk, intends to create a sophisticated but relaxed setting influenced by the building’s original details.