Bristol restaurant Root to open second site in Somerset

13-Oct-2022 - Last updated on 13-Oct-2022 at 16:04 GMT

Related tags Root Bristol Josh eggleton Restaurant Chef Rob Howell

Root, Josh Eggleton's vegetable-focused small plates restaurant, is to launch a second site in Wells, Somerset, which will be led by head chef Rob Howell and his wife Meg.

While no opening date has been set, Root's second iteration will be located on Sadler Street and 'celebrate Somerset’s finest produce' sourced from the surrounding farms, market gardens and dairies.

Howell, who begun his career in Wells and has led the kitchen at the original Root since it launched at Bristol’s Cargo shipping container development in 2017, will serve a frequently changing menu of small sharing dishes with a strong emphasis on using seasonal ingredients.

While vegetables will remain the focus, there will also be a few meat and fish options.

In a statement, Rob and Meg said: "Root Bristol has and continues to be a popular and busy restaurant, with our loyal and hardworking team being vital to its success.

"We are proud of what we have achieved and after five years, it felt like an opportune moment to create a second restaurant, with Rob’s career ambition being to contribute to the community in the way of food and hospitality."

Owners Eggleton and Luke Hasell will continue to support and guide Rob and Meg with the opening of this second Root site, as well as overseeing operations at the Bristol restaurant.

Root Bristol is expected to shut at some point in the future following the announcement earlier in the summer that Cargo is to be removed and replaced with a 12-storey building, but no timeframe has been set for the development's closure.

It is also understood that the restaurant will be invited to have a permanent home in the new building.