James Sommerin to open new restaurant, Home, on August 18th

Chef James Sommerin is set to open a new restaurant in Penarth, south wales, where his previous restaurant was located before it closed in july 2020.

The 25-cover restaurant, Home, will open for four exclusive nights in July prior to the official launch on August 18th, serving an eight-course tasting menu for £90 a head.

Located in the same city as the Sommerin family's eponymous Michelin-starred restaurant of six years, which they were left with no choice but to close last year after failing to reach an agreement with their landlord, the site will be the continuation of that vision.

Cooking alongside his daughter and Great British Menu 2020 contestant Georgia, food will be served by his wife and business partner Louise and their two other daughters in a highly-immersive setting. With the windows blacked out, guests will have to ring the bell to be granted access.

The chef told Penarth Nub News that the new restaurant would, in some ways, "reflect the same ethos behind what we had on the Esplanade, but on steroids." 

He added that it was "immense" to be back in Penarth cooking. 

"We never left Penarth,” he said. “It’s our home. We had a lot of bad vibes when our hand was forced and we had to close on the seafront. But it’s immense to be back in Penarth cooking.

“We built up such a rapport with so many people and I love to be a part of this community. We have big plans to develop this business further.”

The chef had opened Restaurant James Sommerin with his wife and business partner Louise in 2014, after more than ten years cooking at the Michelin-starred The Whitebrook, earning a Michelin star in the 2017 Guide and retaining it until it closed.

In April of this year, the chef and his wife launched The Shed in Barry with the backing of investors, a 30-cover restaurant centred on the city's industrial heritage.