Harriet Mansell doubles up in Lyme Regis with low-intervention wine bar Lilac
Opening within a 400-year-old cellar space on Lyme’s famous Broad Street, Lilac will offer a selection of wines sourced from small-scale Dorset vineyards including the Furleigh Estate, Sharpham, Castlewood, Dunleavy, and Limeburn Hill.
An selection of international wines will also be served, alongside beers, ciders, meads, soft drinks and coffee, with a range of natural canned wines available for takeaway.
A continuously-changing menu of seasonal small plates will accompany the drinks, with a focus on vegetables, zero waste and sustainability.
Dishes set to feature include tempura sea vegetables with smoked roe, elderflower and mint; mackerel crudo with watercress oil and pine vinegar; and lobster on the fire with strawberry, rose and verbena.
Wherever possible, Mansell's team of chefs will use surplus ingredients from Robin Wylde to incorporate as part of the Lilac dishes, ensuring both destinations work in synergy to alleviate food waste.
Mansell first revealed her intentions to open a wine bar in the Dorset coastal town to BigHospitality last year just as she was preparing to launch Robin Wylde as a permanent restaurant, having previously established the tasting menu concept as a pop up.
"Lilac has been a long time in the planning, and with the lifting of lockdown restrictions and a general sense of optimism in the air, now feels like the perfect time to bring something completely new to Lyme," she says.
"The name Lilac not only evokes those hopeful connotations of springtime, but we like to think of it in terms of a Lilac haze; a special sort of atmosphere that comes when heading into an evening of frivolity, that feeling when you know something good is about to happen.
"We are so looking forward to growing the Robin Wylde family and to continue sharing in the incredible produce our local winemakers, growers, fishermen and farmers work tirelessly to produce all year round."
