We are still here....coming out of the storm in search of good weather. What a blessing to be in a position to re-open. French Living has certainly taken its fair share of hits these last few years with months of scaffolding followed swiftly by a fire, so we've sort of built up a steely resistance to a bit of adversity. Although this particular crisis is exceptionally challenging, even for tough nut French Living!
We are really excited to welcome you back, but it's not going to be the same as before, so here's the heads-up to what you can expect.
First the good bits. We have worked tirelessly to make the most of the emptiness by polishing floors, painting, repairing, deep cleaning - we look even sharper than the first day we opened. It's very much been an opportunity to declare "out with the old, in with the new" while maintaining our quirky distinctive French-ness. No we haven't thrown out Stef - in fact our team is exactly the same.
Now for the odd bits.
You won't be able to simply stroll into the restaurant and claim your favourite table. Waiting outside, cleaning hands and being seated by a member of staff will be the new norm for a while. Staying seated and not wandering around will also be a new expectation. In some ways this will not be so unusual because we have always operated a full table service, but having the plates placed at the end of the table rather than in front of you, will feel really strange to both customer and staff.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning will be taking place all around you, from hand washing, disinfecting menus and chairs, door knobs and surfaces.
The restaurant will not feel as cosy as before because we have removed a large number of tables, although for some of our critics who disliked the intimacy of our space, this will be a huge positive.
As with all things in life, there is a positive to every negative. We are certainly striving to find all the positives we possibly can in this difficult situation.
Please join us in rising to the new challenge, keeping us all safe, while enjoying the tastes, sounds and feelings of our very special French haven.
We have started taking bookings again for when we re-open on 4th July.
or
info@frenchliving.co.uk