04/09/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/09/2021 03:55
Customers returning to Whitstable's East Kent, which reopens its doors on Monday (April 12) for outdoor drinking and dining, will notice several changes at this iconic venue, both inside and out.
Licensee Natalie Wickham, who took over the Oxford Street pub back in July 2018 alongside husband Andrew, has taken advantage of the most recent Covid-19 lockdown period to add a new outdoor pizza kitchen, complete with a wood-burning oven.
Inside the Shepherd Neame-owned pub, a separate cocktail bar has also been added.
'It's been a very busy lockdown period for us,' said Natalie. 'We decided to make the most of the time by putting the next stage of our plan for the East Kent into place, which means expanding what we are able to offer customers.'
The decision to add a designated pizza kitchen, which has been built as an extension to the rear of the pub, was taken in part to increase customer choice and in part to take some of the pressure off the existing kitchen.
'I suppose you could say we've become victims of our own success,' explained Natalie. 'It's a small kitchen in the pub itself and we are producing a huge amount of freshly cooked food from it. We were unable to make the kitchen bigger, so the introduction of the pizza kitchen outside means we now have two cooking areas.
'The look and the smell of the pizza oven is great, and the pizza itself tastes amazing too. We've gone down an authentically Italian route, and in all there are 12 different pizzas on the menu.'
Another new addition is a dedicated cocktail bar, which has been built from scratch by Natalie's husband Andrew.