Popular Belfast eatery, City Picnic is set to open its doors once against amidst a £500,000 investment, creating 35 new jobs in the process. As the last city centre tenant to reopen following the Primark Bank Buildings fire, City Picnic has undergone a major revamp and menu refresh since its closure in August 2018. Fronted by business partners Gavin Gregg and Arthur McAnerney, the Castle Street restaurant is poised to take Belfast by storm with its renewed commitment to speedy service and quality food.
Located on Castle Street, this marks the first major revamp of City Picnic since it first hit the Belfast food scene in 2011. Working with Northern Ireland based interior and fitout company, Terry Design – the space has been given a new lease of life, incorporating a mixture of quirky Nordic design elements with a urban chic finish. The space has been entirely reconfigured to ensure efficiency is at the forefront of City Picnic going forward whilst not comprising on aesthetics. An ‘outside in’ vibe has been created for the large unit featuring a wide range of plants, mixed with vibrant lighting and textures, resulting in a completely unique look for this new city-centre addition. The overhauled food selection encompasses breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring a wide range of burgers, pizzas, salads, wraps and much more. City Picnic will offer a fast-food style service with the food sourced from natural and fresh ingredients from local providers.
With over 30 years’ cheffing experience working in restaurants all over the globe, co-founder Gavin Gregg expressed his anticipation for the people of Belfast to indulge in their rejuvenated menu. Gavin said, ‘We are delighted to finally be reopening City Picnic, having utilised our time after the fire to research and develop our menu to cater to the needs of the people of Belfast and beyond. Belfast has seen an influx of new restaurants in recent years, but we wanted to offer up something unique. Our new focus is on swift service without sacrificing the flavour and quality of the food on offer. Our customers could order a wrap, a burger or even a pizza and be presented with their order moments later. There are so many tantalising and mouth-watering choices on the new menu that I know customers will love.’
Sharing Gavin’s excitement, Arthur added, ‘Having to close the doors due to the Primark fire was a very difficult time for the business. We operated from a temporary catering trailer in Royal Avenue last year however we always knew we were going to eventually reopen in our original home. We spent time perfecting the menu, experimenting with innovative new food combinations and testing new recipes. We studied our space and assessed how we can best use the vast unit, making it a culinary hub in the city centre. So, whilst it wasn’t ideal to have to close the unit, we are excited about this new chapter for City Picnic. We are confident our customers, old and new, will love the revamp and will thoroughly enjoy the new menu.’
Operating seven days a week from 10am until 10pm, City Picnic will seamlessly switch from breakfast to lunch to dinner throughout the day without closing to customers. The menu will include offerings for all dietary requirements including gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan as well as a distinctive drinks menu with a variety of craft beers, wine and cocktails. City Picnic will open to the public on Wednesday 4th December at 10am. For more information on City Picnic visit www.facebook.com/citypicnic