Mark Hix to open the Oyster & Fish House in former Hix site

Restaurateur, chef and food writer Mark Hix has announced he will open the Oyster & Fish House on 27 July in the Lyme Regis site that was formerly Hix Oyster & Fish House.

The new restaurant will be very similar to its predecessor, serving seasonal local produce alongside seafood caught in Lyme Bay and along the Dorset coast. The menu will feature old Hix favourites such as house-smoked salmon, Fish House pie, Dorset oysters and whole fish caught locally and served simply on the bone.

Hix Oyster & Fish House ceased trading in April when all Hix restaurants were put into administration. Hix said he was “devastated” by the decision.

He added: "The Fish House has always been a very important restaurant to me and was the second restaurant I opened in 2008.

“Now it’s time to look to the future and new beginnings. I am looking forward to opening a fish and seafood restaurant again, despite the challenges all restaurateurs are facing at the moment.”

The new restaurant will be open seven days a week and be available for private hire and weddings, once regulations allow for larger gatherings.

The chef said he had been “overwhelmed by the support of locals” and previous customers and was looking forward to welcoming them all to the restaurant when the doors open later this month.

He concluded: “This restaurant means a lot to me. It’s like going back to the good old days – no investors, just me and my team.”

In December last year Hix closed flagship restaurant Hix Soho in Brewer Street after a decade in business due to increasing rent costs. His Mayfair restaurant in Brown's hotel had closed in two years earlier after the 10-year contract ended.