Team behind fire hit Cornwall hotel launch pop-up restaurant

By Yasemin Craggs Mersinoglu

The team behind the fire-hit Old Coastguard hotel in Mousehole is to launch a pop-up restaurant and bar in neighbouring Penzance until the property can reopen early in 2020.

Restorative work is underway after a fire broke out at the hotel, owned by Eatdrinksleep, in June causing extensive smoke damage despite the quick actions of firefighters preventing the spread of flames. The 14-bedroom hotel was full at the time of the blaze with all 28 guests evacuated safely.

The Vault Kitchen, which opens tomorrow (Friday) in an old bank building in Chapel Street, will be run by the Old Coastguard team including head chef Jamie Porter, a former senior sous chef at Rick Stein's Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, who joined just a week before the fire.

Edmund Inkin, who owns Eatsleepdrink with brother Charles, said: “It’s been a tough period for the team since the fire and they’ve grabbed the opportunity to resurrect The Vault from a dire state.

“Although we’ll only be here until the Old Coastguard re-opens, it’s good for us all to do something a bit different.”

The menu will be driven by seafood from nearby Newlyn and is based mainly on smaller sharing plates with dishes such as crispy sardines and fresh sashimi.

The wine list is derived from the Old Coastguard’s, which helped Eatdrinksleep win the 2019 IWC Restaurant Wine List of the Year award.

Charles added: “It’s great to be here in Penzance, my local town and one that increasingly has plenty going for it.

“We want this to be a spot where people can just drop in at any time of the day, for coffee with a friend or your Mac, for a quick lunch, for a drink after work or even just for a pee. And hopefully we’ll do things in the EDS way: dogs welcome, happy service, great product knowledge.”

The Vault Kitchen will be open for breakfast from 9am and serve a full menu from midday to 9pm.

Edmund said some rebuilding was required on the margins of the Old Coastguard hotel, but the bulk of the pre-opening work was in the construction of a new utility area.

Eatsleepdrink also owns the Felin Fach Griffin in Brecon and the Gurnards Head in St Ives.