Case study · Restaurants & cafés
The Buoy and Oyster, Margate
Specifically, Buoy and Oyster Margate — A cramped galley kitchen opened up into a seafront theatre kitchen and bar, delivered entirely in-house in 5 weeks.
Client
The Buoy and Oyster
Location
Margate, Kent
Project value
£100k+
Build time
5 weeks
The brief
From a cramped galley to an open theatre kitchen
Additionally, The Buoy and Oyster is a well-regarded seafront restaurant in Margate, overlooking the sandy beach. Furthermore, Owners Simon and Nadine wanted to move to a more open, casual dining experience, with a theatre kitchen and relaxed bench-and-stool seating right by the cooking line.
Moreover, The existing galley-style kitchen was cramped and left no room for the open concept they had in mind. Also, Delivering it meant reworking the layout of the whole front of house, not just the kitchen, while keeping the restaurant's seafront character intact.
What we did
A full in-house turnkey conversion
Reworking the layout
Specifically, we removed the old bar wall backing onto the kitchen to free up cooking space, relocated the bar into an underused soft-furnished area, and turned the former bar space into a larger prep and servery area finished with Altro slip-resistant flooring and a mix of tiled and UPVC hygienic cladding.
Bespoke bars from our own workshop
Additionally, two new bar carcasses were built at our Folkestone workshop, transported to Margate and installed, finished with a stylish zinc worktop, alongside bespoke stainless steel fabrication and a new suspended ceiling.
Extraction, induction and power
Furthermore, a new commercial extraction canopy was installed over the full cooking and dishwashing line, with an energy-efficient Control Induction cooking suite at the heart of the theatre kitchen. In particular, the electrical supply was upgraded in coordination with UK Power Networks, including street works to bring additional power into the building.
In particular, The whole fit-out was completed in five weeks, entirely in-house with our own team, from kitchen design to bar installation, with no subcontractors involved and full control over the programme throughout.
Equipment specified
Specified for an open, energy-efficient kitchen
- Control Induction cooking suite
- Rational combi ovens
- Fri Fri frying
- Adande and Williams refrigeration
- Maidaid warewashing
- D&D equipment
- EPAS systems
Gallery
Inside the Buoy and Oyster conversion
The outcome
A theatre kitchen that lifted footfall
Notably, The finished kitchen and bar area boosted footfall and drew very positive customer reviews, with diners responding well to the open theatre-kitchen concept. Therefore, Owners Simon and Nadine were thrilled with the result, which gave the restaurant a more vibrant and inviting atmosphere on the Margate seafront.
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