Ormer to relaunch as Samphire

Tuesday 27 March 2018

One of Jersey's top restaurants, Ormer, is changing its name to Samphire.

Head Chef Lee Smith will remain at the helm with a new menu which he says is more in keeping with the way people want to eat out and socialise.

It follows Shaun Rankin's departure from the restaurant after four years at the Don Street-based establishment which he launched following a career at the helm of Bohemia. Ormer’s owners confirmed in November that the Michelin-starred chef had been removed from the Board of Directors.

The Don Street restaurant has refreshed its décor and offers a bar and relaxed eating environment on its ground floor, private dining room and bar on the first floor and a third bar on The Don roof terrace. Next door, what was a deli is being transformed into Street, a modern informal eating and meeting place, similar to restaurants serving tapas.

Lee Smith said: "There is a whole movement towards a more relaxed style of dining. The key is to cook simple food really well. We have an abundance of really good ingredients in Jersey and what we want to do is take these and create dishes that are unfussy and yet are worthy of our excellent reputation and our Michelin Star. Great food does not have to be over-complicated - you should just let the ingredients do the talking." 

"Eating out should be a pleasurable, relaxing experience, whether it's dropping in for a quick snack while you catch up on emails, if you're visiting the Island and want to try our great produce, meeting friends or colleagues for a quick lunchtime bite or celebrating a major event with friends and family. The new combination of different eating and meeting possibilities under one roof creates a unique offering in the Island." 

Chula Whelan, CEO of SRNB Holdings, the owner of Samphire, commented: "Samphire is evolving to embrace the growing trend towards food and service excellence in an informal, relaxed environment. Absolutely we want to maintain our Michelin-starred reputation, but we intend to do that by moving with the times and offering a thoroughly modern dining experience."