Sold! ​Fine dining coming to Louth with new Auction House restaurant

​Gareth and Lucy Bartram, along with help from their daughters Ivy, 8, Frances, 5, and Penny, 2, will be opening the Restaurant Auction House this spring, located in the Cornmarket, which promises to bring fine dining to the town as well as more than a dozen new jobs.

Gareth has been a chef for more than 20 years after falling in love with cooking after being taught by his mum as a teenager.

"I love the feeling of giving something to someone and them to really enjoy it, cooking has always been a passion of mine,” he said.

Gareth has spent the last nine years as chef at Winteringham Fields near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire's only Michelin Star restaurant, and six of those has seen him heading up the kitchen, and when the opportunity came up for him to open up his own restaurant, he jumped at the chance.

Gareth said: “We’ve been looking at premises for the past 18 months, we wanted to take our time and find the right place.

"We were looking in places near Grimsby and Cleethorpes but nothing stood out, so we looked at places further afield and then we stumbled upon the Auction House here and it was a great building with such character - it was perfect.”

This quaint character will be a key component for the Restaurant Auction House, with many of its original wall panellings and walls being kept in their original state.

"We want to offer relaxing and comfortable dining with a great atmosphere and nice music that people will know to allow people to have great conversation, as well as fine dining,” Gareth said.

"We also want to bring fine dining to Louth and make it special, but also not cut some people out with it being too expensive - we want to find that balance,” Lucy added.

Restaurant Auction House’s menus promise a range of food, from snacks and small plates to a full set-price, five or six dish fine dining experience to showcase Gareth’s culinary talents.

The opening of the restaurant will also see the creation of full and part-time jobs throughout the restaurant, from kitchen staff to Front of House and more, and Gareth said they will also offer training to better the career of any staff member who wants it.

"We want to invest in people, and give them the opportunities we’ve been given, we’ve been very well looked after and as long as people have got the right motivation, we’re happy to provide them with those opportunities.”

Restaurant Auction House is set to open later in the spring, and will be open Wednesday to Saturday from 12noon to 2pm for lunch and then 6pm to 8pm for dinner.

To keep up to date with Restaurant Auction House’s news, find their Facebook page at ‘Restaurant Auction House’.