Devon bar owners unveil brand new restaurant venture
A new restaurant is opening up the options for South Molton diners looking for a place to eat.
The thin offerings of a place to spend an evening was the gap that inspired Claire Bracher and her partner, Paolo Colosimo, to take the plunge and open Dine27 , their new restaurant venture.
Positioned just a stone's throw from their successful bar, Bar27 , Dine27 brings a modern British menu to the area, helmed by a talented team of chefs.
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Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at what drove the pair to expand, their vision for the new space, and a chat with chef Joseph Stewart about what guests can expect.
When asked what sparked the idea for a restaurant so close to Bar27 , Claire explained it was born from a simple, unmet need.
"The bar has no facilities for hot food," she says. "We do serve platters, which have been quite successful, but people generally want a hot meal."
For Claire, the decision to open a restaurant wasn’t about competing with the handful of other dining spots in town, such as The Coaching Inn or Stumbles Bistro , but rather about giving residents more choices for an evening out.
"There's loads here for the daytime, lovely cafes and the hotel, but in the evenings, there’s not so much," she says.
Despite already running Bar27 , the duo felt confident about expanding, thanks in large part to the talent they found in chefs Rowan and Joe. “I’ve been lucky to have found Rowan and Joe, our highly qualified chefs,” Claire says.
The restaurant, with just 34 seats, is designed to feel intimate and inviting, offering a different but complementary experience to the bar. “We hope people will pop into the bar for a pre-drink before their meal and go there after for a post-meal drink,” adds Paolo, who hints that their grander aim is to liven up South Molton's rather limited nightlife.
Creating a distinctive menu for Dine27 was a process of collaboration and fine-tuning, drawing on local resources and seasonal ingredients. “We’re very keen to keep it as local as possible,” Claire ays, noting partnerships with nearby suppliers like Johnny May’s and Shapland and Searle for meat, Simmons Fruit Sales, and Dan the Fish Man from Appledore.
The restaurant will feature a seasonal menu, with regular updates to keep things fresh. “We’ll probably change it every two or three months,” Paolo explains, mentioning themed nights and seasonal vegetables as ways to keep things exciting.
Chef Joseph Stewart, a key player in crafting the menu, describes modern British cuisine as “bits nicked from everywhere else and put into the context of what we have around us.” The dishes are inspired by international flavours but grounded in local ingredients. For example, their glazed ox short rib showcases a quintessentially British cut of meat but with a fresh twist. “We are taking inspiration from everywhere around the globe,” Joseph says, explaining that they also draw from French, modern European, and Scandinavian techniques.
For Claire, creating the atmosphere at Dine27 was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process. Drawing on her experience setting up the bar, she found this time around to be much more relaxed.
“With the bar, it was literally right up to the wire,” Paolo says. “I was still doing bits of paint around places at 6pm, and we opened at 7.30pm.” By contrast, Dine27 had everything ready with days to spare. The decor reflects the style of Bar27 but with a bit more warmth and intimacy, encouraging guests to settle in for an evening.
Running two establishments simultaneously requires a bit of division of labour, and Claire is clear on how they manage the day-to-day. “Paolo has been an amazing support, helping me set it up and with all the technical stuff, but I’ll be more about the day-to-day and décor.”
As Claire is handling the aesthetic and operational details, Paolo remains in the background, supporting the technical and logistical aspects that ensure everything runs smoothly.
Opening a new restaurant is no small feat, especially in a challenging economy. Claire reflects on their decision to open Bar27 in the midst of a financial crisis, and she seems undaunted by the current financial landscape.
"We opened the bar in the middle of the biggest financial crisis the UK has seen, and we survived that," she says. Paolo adds that, while times are tough, there’s a sense of optimism.
Paolo says: “Inflation is coming down, and I think we’ll see interest rates do the same. I think it’s not something people come out to every week, but maybe once or twice a month, especially for Sunday lunch.”
For Joseph, the appeal of Dine27 lies in its unpretentious, quality offerings. Joseph says: “We’re trying to do something a little bit different, but it’s unpretentious, real food that we put a lot of love and care into.”
He hopes that diners looking for a warm, welcoming atmosphere will feel drawn to what Dine27 has to offer. “If you want something a little bit different from what you’d get in a pub and don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on a seven-course tasting menu, this is the place for you.”
With their bar established and a new restaurant now open, Claire and Paolo are cautiously optimistic about the future. “If you’d said to us three years ago that we’d have a bar and a restaurant, you’d have been laughed out of the room,” Paolo adds.
It wasn’t part of any grand plan, but the couple is hopeful that Dine27 will bring new life to South Molton’s nightlife and provide a boost to other local businesses. Claire remains committed to supporting South Molton’s community spirit and hopes the addition of Dine27 will help make the town a more vibrant place to live and visit. "I think generally people do support each other," she says.