Two new restaurants will open at a £75m leisure complex early next year, filling units which have sat empty since 2018.

The Gastronomist - a reservation-only venue dubbed the ‘ultimate dinner party experience’ - was set to join Ashford's Elwick Place before Christmas along with family-friendly pizza and pasta restaurant Unita 4.

The second coronavirus lockdown put paid to that, but work is continuing on both units, with bosses now planning to welcome the first diners in 2021.

Signs have already gone up at the prominent Elwick Road spot and contractors have been working inside both units this week.

The Gastronomist will be run by Jokin Ortega, who has previously managed a tapas bar in Soho, London.

It will go underneath the 58-room Travelodge hotel, next to Afro-Caribbean restaurant Dansaki, which is yet to open.

Featuring an open-plan kitchen with a two-metre charcoal and gas grill, the site will have room for 25 diners, with space for up to 40 people when social distancing rules are relaxed.

An “elevated dining experience” is promised, with oysters, wild bass and asparagus set to feature on the menu.

Unita 4, meanwhile, will have room for 60 diners at full capacity, taking up a unit underneath the six-screen Picturehouse cinema, which temporarily closed last month.

To be run by Italian chef Damiano Vecchio, pasta and pizza dishes at a “very reasonable price” are set to feature, with a ‘workshop room’ allowing bosses to put on pasta-making classes.

Mr Vecchio - who previously ran a cafe in East Dulwich, South London - may add outdoor seating in the summer months.

Marketing consultant Ainara Mateu, who has been working with site owner Ashford Borough Council to fill the units, says the new names will be welcome additions to the complex.

“We have been working hard for two years to get where we are – it doesn’t spring up from nothing,” she said.

“With the current situation being so challenging, this is good news.

“The tenants were keen to deliver before Christmas, however the lockdown has obviously had an impact.

“There is currently not much clarity on how we will come out of this lockdown so they have postponed the opening until the new year.

“We are very dependent on what happens after lockdown, but there is a lot of positivity that things will improve - they will be big parts of the community and they are keen to open soon.”

Ms Mateu says The Gastronomist will feature “seasonal local produce with additions from further afield”.

“Everything will have to be pre-booked - it will be for private hire and ticketed evenings,” she said.

“I wouldn’t call it fine dining, but it will be a gastronomic experience around tasting many quality local ingredients.

“It will be very intimate and will be an interactive space where diners can see things being prepared and ask questions of the chef.

“It is something very different; the idea is any food or wine lover can come and enjoy it - it will be a little destination.”

'From families to people going to the cinema, it will cover the whole spectrum...'

Ms Mateu says while The Gastronomist will be “very grown up”, Unita 4 will cater for everyone, opening at about 11am and closing at midnight.

“It will be great for families,” she said.

“It will cater for all different audiences – from families to people going to the cinema, it will cover the whole spectrum.

“The idea is that, after supper time, it will become more of a bar, but not a nightclub venue.

“There are not many places to go out in Ashford just for a drink so that is the idea.

“They’re also looking at family-orientated pasta-making classes during the day – children will be very welcome.”

Last month, KentOnline revealed how Macknade, which was the first food and drink tenant to join the complex, is to expand.

The family-run business will take on the former Ashford International Model Railway Education Centre (AIMREC) spot next to its existing site.

More Elwick Place announcements are expected in the coming months, including a new home for bespoke celebration cake maker Blé Couture Cakes, which was previously based in Faversham Road, Kennington.

During an ABC cabinet meeting in September, council leader Gerry Clarkson (Con) confirmed progress is being made on the long-empty units.

“The areas are filling up, but we do have to give some attractive discounts to them to get them in to start with, as they did with Canary Wharf,” he said.

“The big development there was empty for a year, but they gave people free rent for a year and now you couldn’t get in there if you tried - it’s like a complete new city there now.”

For more details on the new arrivals, visit www.thegastronomistclub.com or www.unita4.com

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