The former Henry Potts pub will officially open as the city's newest seafood restaurant next week. 

The Sandbar sits on the lower ground floor of Chester's Watergate House on Watergate Street.

Behind the new venture is the owner of Chester Market's Sandbar Seafood Shack, Martin Taylor. Having arrived at the old market in 2020, Taylor combines years of knowledge in top restaurant kitchens with his travels from around the world.

Backed by industry legend Jerry Brunning and specialising in "great seafood", the restaurant is set to open on Tuesday 5 August.

Serving a range of meat and vegetarian dishes, the Sandbar will use ingredients selected from local farms "for quality and taste".

The Sandbar sits on the lower ground floor of Chester's Watergate House (Nub News)

The menu has been described as offering "something for everyone", including an "epic Sunday Roast". 

Describing Watergate Street's newest eatery, it said: "Since The Sandbar Seafood Shack opened in 2020 we've been bringing the best seafood to Chester and the Sandbar Restaurant takes that experience to the next level. 

advertisement

"From the day's market landings we'll be grilling whole fish and filleting it at the table, shucking oysters at the bar, dishing up seafood platters for sharing and of course making the ultimate fish & chips. 

"The Menu will change daily with seasonal availability. At the Sandbar, tomorrow's fish is in the sea today."

The former basement pub opened in June 2022, before closing in July last year - with pub boss Jeremy Brunning citing more people working-from-home and "ridiculous electricity bills" as the culprits behind the low trade output. 

The Henry Potts pub opened in June 2022 and closed two years later (Image via: Christie & Co, Pubs & Restaurants)

Taking to Instagram to announce the closure in 2024, he said: "It's a beautiful pub, like a cosy little underground hideaway with excellent staff and the best quality food and drink. However, it's simply not doing enough trade. 

"If you saw the numbers they'd look like a lot, but in today's economic environment, with ridiculous electricity bills and a host of other inflationary costs, it needs to be busier to be viable."

Branding the city "a bit of a ghost town", he explained that the numbers of customers entering the doors weren't enough to keep the pub running. 

You can book a table or find out more about The Sandbar here.

advertisement