A little taste of France has arrived on Rye High Street, as local business-owner Oliver Kinsley and his family prepare to officially open their new French-inspired bistro.
For the past couple of weeks, Rye Bistro has welcomed customers for a soft opening, ahead of its full launch in September. Just days earlier, the space had been home to a popular Mexican restaurant, but Oliver and his family worked quickly to get their new venture ready.
The idea: a French-inspired neighbourhood bistro serving a regularly changing menu of fresh, locally sourced food in a relaxed and welcoming setting.
“Our ultimate vision is to be just a really good French-style bistro restaurant,” said Kinsley.
“We were thinking, what does Rye not have for food? There’s lovely Japanese, British, Thai, Italian and Indian. We thought, where’s the gap? And a bistro was one of those obvious options.”
For Oliver, now 26, the restaurant represents the next step in a hospitality career that began when he was just 15. Starting out as a pot washer, he went on to work as a bartender before moving into management and, eventually, owning hospitality businesses of his own, such as The Grapevines in Rye and Tenterden, alongside Peter Ockenden.
Having spent much of his working life in Rye’s hospitality industry, Oliver had long been interested in opening a restaurant in the town.
After around 18 months of discussions, the opportunity finally arose to secure the High Street premises above The Grapevine on a 15-year lease and bring the idea to life.
The new restaurant is very much a family affair, with Oliver working alongside his parents, Dawn and Gary, to establish the bistro.
His dad Gary is also responsible for the large paintings now adorning the restaurant walls, copies of French impressionist masterpieces. Collected while he lived in France more than 20 years ago, they had been sitting in his garage ever since.
“We finally found a use for them,” laughed Oliver.
With Rye restaurant prices creeping upwards, the family is also keeping a close eye on affordability while sourcing ingredients from local fisheries, butchers and suppliers wherever possible.
“We just want to offer good value for money food. We have no intention of overpricing the food,” Oliver said.
The small, flexible menu currently includes bistro favourites from steaks and salmon to salads, burgers and croque monsieurs, accompanied by a carefully selected wine list.
Head Chef Chris leads the kitchen team, with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, regularly changing specials and homemade desserts.
As the family run Rye Bistro prepares for its official opening, Oliver, Gary and Dawn hope to create a relaxed neighbourhood restaurant that appeals to locals and visitors alike – offering a little corner of France, right here in Rye.
Image Credits: Stephen Crocker .