Great design and space
The newly refurbished bar and restaurant ‘The Wooden Pestle’ at The Viking Hotel offers a new contemporary but cosy look and feel.
Thinking back to when the plans from the design company were unveiled, the excitement among the staff began to build! It was difficult to imagine how our previously well-loved but dated bar Restaurant was going to be transformed in such a dramatic fashion. The design suggested a space that would be like a top hotel that you would find in the centre of Dublin or London!
The old layout offered two separate spaces which in reality; were not aesthetically pretty or highly functional for modern dining. The new bar and restaurant creates individual seating areas while allowing for group dining comfortably. The textures and patterns of the furniture create that cosy and contemporary look and feel that seems to be at the heart of the design; the fireplaces at either end of the bar surrounded by antique style mirrors add beautifully to this. The bar was always going to be at the heart of the entire space.
Created by ‘Dunmore The Fitout Company’ based in Kilkenny, not too far from Waterford; their creation is very impressive. Housing all the necessities of a bar and allowing for a breakfast buffet area, Carvery and Salad Bar area; the brief was anything but simple!
New menu
‘The Wooden Pestle’ can cater for up to 200 guests, with this new volume brings new challenges for new tastes and budgets. The introduction of a new menu carefully considered is a must. The Wooden Pestle Bar and Restaurant boasts a menu that offers all the original favourites with a modern twist! The new menu offers sumptuous new combinations to our sandwich menu, and an evening menu with some old and some new dishes such as Pan-Fried Fillet of Seabass, Tiger Prawn & Thai Green Curry, Vegetable Spaghetti, Gourmet Burgers and so much more. The menu aims to look after all our regular customers while offering some new dishes to keep up to date with dining trends. Carvery Lunch is served from Monday to Friday from 12.30-3pm and on Sundays from 12.30-4pm. Offering all the usual favourites with a new twist! The new bar food menu is served from 12.30-9pm daily apart from Saturdays where it is served from 12.30-9pm.
Introduction of new offerings
Premium spirits, house cocktails and craft beers now have a home behind the new bar and restaurant. Bierra Moretti (Italian Lager), Appleman Cider, Rockshore and Carlsberg Unfiltered are amongst the new draughts that ‘The Wooden Pestle’ now offers. Craft beers, Premium gins and cocktails are the buzz words for a good night out and so are very much at home in ‘The Wooden Pestle’ at The Viking Hotel. The bar area itself has such a huge space that there is no doubt that it will prove a favourite of guests and locals. With live music every Saturday night and bank holiday Sunday evenings it is sure to be the new place to be!
Great staff
The Viking Hotel are lucky that they have a great team of people with many working in the hotel for a long number of years. The close-knit team replicate something of a family! When carrying out a refurbishment; patience and co-operation are needed in abundance. Some days during the renovations noise could have been an issue but instead of complaining; the team carried on as normal as possible. Guests who regularly stay in the hotel were shown the plans and informed of the progress and clearly began to also get excited about the new space they would soon be introduced to. The Viking Hotel Lobby was always a bustling place with many choosing to do a few hours work on their laptops while enjoying a coffee and light bite this space was still busy during the refurbishments due to the staff that did their utmost that these customers were disturbed as little as possible.
All in all, its fair to say that ‘The Wooden Pestle’ Bar and restaurant at The Viking Hotel has been an overwhelming success exceeding expectations of staff and evidently guests alike. Our next challenge is the transformation of our lobby area which will be carried out over three weeks. Armed with the knowledge of what was needed to create a great new bar & restaurant; the hope is that it will be an easier process and the results of the lobby match our brand-new bar!
We look forward to you seeing our new restaurant soon. Book your room in The Viking Hotel and sample our new space for yourself! Book online or call 056336933.
