Minute on the clock: Roy Brett, chef patron, Ondine Oyster & Grill, Edinburgh

The chef patron of Edinburgh’s Ondine Oyster & Grill speaks to Emma Lake about being open for 15 years and why he can never rest on his reputation

You’re celebrating 15 years of Ondine this year – how do you reflect on the time?

My hair has changed, but I’ve loved it. It’s been the hardest thing I’ve ever done – the most demanding thing – but definitely the most rewarding. I’ve seen many chefs and front of house come and go – people who have excelled and are now doing incredible things on their own. I would say the people development is one of the best parts: seeing those who have come through the ranks go off and do their own thing and then pop back in for a chat.

A fair amount has changed. When we opened 15 years ago there weren’t many oysters being served in this city, but now there are maybe 30 or 40 restaurants with oysters on the menu. People are more aware of what makes them feel good, of nutrition and wellbeing and all the benefits of seafood, and there’s real demand. When you have a perfectly cooked lobster in its shell, I don’t think it gets much better than that.

More recently you’ve had challenges to contend with, not least having the restaurant covered in scaffolding. How are you coping?

We’ve been under works at the restaurant for the last three years, so it’s been covered in scaffolding for a considerable amount of time. Every time we feel that we’re about to get the green light and it’s going to get taken down, they find another problem. As you can imagine, coming through Covid and then having your restaurant covered with scaffolding and plastic hasn’t been the best, but we’ve worked really hard to keep it in people’s minds.

We’ve built up a clientele over the last 15 years, and they’ve been extremely loyal to us and really supportive. They still keep coming to the restaurant in numbers, which is a real reassurance.

What do you enjoy about running the restaurant?

I still get a huge buzz out of working with a team, just working with them on a day-to-day basis, and their enthusiasm and willingness to work and to learn. I think a big part of success is presence. In Edinburgh it’s a really important part of being a restaurateur – people want to see you and know you're around the business.

I’ve seen some great chefs come up here and not see it through simply for the fact that they weren’t in the kitchen. It’s not to say you’ve got to be there every single hour, every single day, but it’s a case of being in your business and understanding the service, the dynamics of the team. It’s important to be there for them.

How do you continue to evolve?

You can’t sit still. I think it can be quite easy just to sit back and rely on the classics, the ones that people keep coming back for, which are important, but I think we’re aware of trying to keep ourselves fresh. We’re always looking at the plates that we use, the uniforms, the crockery, the cutlery, the wine list. I think if you sit still at any point, that’s when you really run into trouble.

Recently we’ve brought a lot more open-flame cooking to the menus. We’ve always been quite a simplistic restaurant, relying on season and quality, so with this we just kept looking at sourcing the best produce we can possibly buy and letting it do the talking.

Where do you go from here?

We’re just about to appoint a new executive chef for the business, a decision I made because I still want to grow. I’ve also got a partnership with a fish market at the harbour in Newhaven, and I want to spend more time with them on the development of the menu.

We’re also looking at another project next year and we’ve got a restaurant refurbishment planned in January. It’s going to be right through the restaurant, from the bar to the bathrooms, the private dining room, from the fabric on the chairs to the floor and the walls. After 15 years I think the restaurant deserves it.