Nathan Outlaw: Outlaw House will let me do something slightly different
Nathan Outlaw feels his new restaurant project in Poole, Outlaw House, will allow him to “do something slightly different” to his previous ventures.
Michelin-starred chef Nathan has teamed up with Stellar Hospitality to open in Canford Cliffs, a stone’s throw away from the sandy beaches on the south coast in Dorset.
He hopes it will be the start of a bigger partnership, with further concepts of the same name opening up in other parts of the region later down the line.
But for now, all focus is on the inaugural Outlaw House, set to welcome guests from September.
“I'm really excited because it's going to give me a chance to do something slightly different to what I've done before,” Nathan told The Staff Canteen.
“My day-to-day role at Outlaw House will be to create the menu, come up with the recipes, train the chefs and basically be the face of what we're doing.
“Usually I'm much more hands-on, but the nice thing is that's what Stellar Hospitality want from me: that expertise.
“I'm not a spring chicken anymore, I'm nearly 50 now, so this is exciting for me because I can use all my experience over the last 30 years and put it into play where it's useful. I think it'll go well.”
Where is Outlaw House?
Outlaw House will be situated on the site which was formerly occupied by locally renowned seafood restaurant Loch Fyne restaurant and hotel, which closed in 2022.
Nathan arrives with a Michelin-starred reputation from his time in Cornwall, including earning two stars at the former Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, while he still holds a star at Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen.
He has recently been making a shift more towards brasserie style offerings, notably closing one-Michelin-starred Outlaw’s New Road and replacing it with Outlaw’s Guest House & Bistro.
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Discussing how his first venture outside of Cornwall came to be, Nathan explained: “It all started with Sal Brock (at Stellar).
“We've known each other for a long time. He's had a history with Rick Stein and Michael Caines on his own CV, in front of house.
“We just got talking about the south west, and about how we really appreciate and look up to places that can do brasserie-style food at a high level.
“We always thought, well, there's nothing really like that in the south west, and south west produce is, we considered, one of, if not the best, in the UK.
“We thought, why don't we try and do something with that in mind?
“I started thinking about the menus and how that could work, using the contacts that I've got.
“Then Sal looked at some operations, and along with his friends, who are also in the business with us, set about finding a site.
“We looked at a few sites - Exeter, Bristol, Bath. But the one that really stuck out was the one in Canford Cliffs, because it's an area that would obviously appreciate what we're aiming to do, and it also sits almost at the border of the south west - you're at the beginning of it there.
“The site itself had been closed for a while, and had been successful in the past.
“We had a look at it and it ticked all the boxes for what we wanted: a brasserie that could seat a hundred people, so it becomes that hustle and bustle environment, and a kitchen big enough to handle that.
“More importantly, we wanted to have rooms as well, because if you've got an operation with a few rooms, that helps with the seasonal side of it. You've got more chance of being busier in the winter than if you haven't got rooms.
“Our intention with Outlaw House is to do a few of them, not just the one. This is the first one.
“We're looking at sites all over really, which is exciting.”
The food scene in Dorset
While Cornwall and Devon has become renowned for hospitality accolades, Dorset has often struggled for the same recognition. For many years there have been no Michelin-starred restaurants in the county, for example.
- Read more: Signs of life for Dorset’s evolving culinary scene?
- Read more: James Golding joins The Larder House in Bournemouth
“That area of Dorset is fantastic for ingredients,” Nathan insisted.
“From the cooking point of view, it's really exciting, because I know there's a lot of good suppliers there.
“Seafood's great, which is really important to me. There are some great farms, some great cheesemakers, great breweries.
“That's all the stuff we need to make Outlaw House successful.
“Good friends of mine, like Mark Hix, have had a restaurant in Lyme Regis, and then you've got the Rockfish guys as well, who are good friends of mine too. I've seen what they've done in the past and eaten at their restaurants close to that area.
“But the Bournemouth area, I suppose, is more well known for the quality of chefs that come from there. Bournemouth and Poole has got quite the college.
“Hopefully we can round up a team from that, so there won't be a lack of chefs, which would be great, because we'll need a good team to kick off with.”
Fergus Coyle will run the kitchen
Leading the kitchen day-to-day will be Fergus Coyle, an experienced chef Nathan has known for many years.
“We worked together for Rick Stein back in 1998,” Nathan said.
“I left and went off and did what I did, but he remained with Rick for a long time.
“He's got so much experience of operating sites, but also operating multiple kitchens.
“From my point of view, that was a big part of what we were doing: making sure there's that person in place. Because I've known Fergus for such a long time, that's what's given me the confidence, and put my mind at rest, knowing the kitchens will be run like a well-oiled machine from day one.
“He's a really talented chef, one of those people who probably hasn't had the limelight he deserves in the past, and has worked his socks off his whole career.
“I think Fergus is perfect for this role, because I'll still be based in Port Isaac in Cornwall.
“I'll make sure I'm up at Outlaw House regularly, but on a day-to-day basis Fergus will be running it, and he's of the same mindset as I am. He loves produce, loves championing the south west, and he's a very level-headed chef, which is what you need in the kitchen in the modern world we're in.
“He's also worked with Sal for a long time as well, so between the three of us, operationally, it's a really strong start, a really strong team.”
The menu at Outlaw House
Nathan will lean into his reputation for seafood with the menu, but feels the project offers him the chance to be creative.
He said: “My personal view on food has always been about getting the best ingredients and then cooking them simply. Even when I had two Michelin stars, that's all I did.
“We want people to come more than once in a blue moon; we want people to use it as their local, to come in regularly. So the menu has to be accessible: plenty of meat, vegetarian, specials, and obviously a lot of fish, because that's my expertise.
“It's all about making sure it's generous as well. We just want to create a brasserie that's fun to be in, where you know your money is well spent, and it's generous and tasty.
“We've created a brasserie that we'd all like to be eating in, that we'd like to take our friends and families to.
“What's exciting is that there's no real rules, so we can serve a lobster alongside a fish pie if we want to.
“From a chef's point of view, from a creative point of view, that's very refreshing, because it means you don't have those blinkers you'd have in a fine dining restaurant.
“Ultimately the people who benefit are the customers, because you get good, fresh, well-sourced, well-cooked food.”
He added: “It's a really good site, we were very lucky with that, and it's in quite a prominent position in the Canford Cliffs and Sandbanks area.
“We're really excited to just open it up and get people in.
“Obviously if you read all the articles in the newspapers, everyone opening a restaurant in this day and age must be crazy.
“But for me, I think the older I get, the stronger I get at it, and I hope I know what I'm doing.
“This is the biggest place I'd have ever opened. It's really exciting.
“I really admire operations that plan on a hundred covers plus and then do it really, really well. Places like Hawksmoor, they just blow my mind when I go and dine there, I think they're fantastic.
“What I want to do is try and do something to that level, and if we get anywhere near that, I'll be very happy.”
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