1884 Restaurants offer fine wines and the best view for In With A Bang

Deborah Spicer and some of her team in the alfresco area at 1884 Wine & Tapas Bar.

TWO award-winning restaurants that went head to head in the Mail’s business awards are in pole position to see in the City of Culture year from their prime locations at the side of Hull Marina.

Both 1884 Dock Street Kitchen – winner of the Mail’s inaugural tourism and hospitality award – and runner-up 1884 Wine & Tapas Bar will be serving the special City of Culture wines as they welcome guests to In With A Bang on Sunday 1 January.

In addition, 1884 Wine & Tapas Bar will make the most of its unique alfresco area to create an exclusive VIP viewing area for diners who have already snapped up all the tables at the restaurant.

The 1884 group began the revitalisation of the marina area in 2010 with the opening of The Wilson gastrobar next to Humber Quays. 1884 Dock Street Kitchen brought fine dining to the marina in 2012 and has since collected countless best restaurant awards and also attracted national media coverage, most recently in The Times.

1884 Wine & Tapas Bar opened in spring 2015 and this year won the remarkable restaurant prize in the Remarkable East Yorkshire Tourism Awards (REYTAs) – an honour which went to Dock Street Kitchen last year.

With 25,000 ticket holders heading to the marina on New Year’s Day to enjoy the City of Culture fireworks, both restaurants plan to kickstart their own activities for 2017.

James Birch, general manager of 1884 Dock Street Kitchen, said: “We’ve built a national profile in the four years since we opened and we recognise that City of Culture will help us expand on that.

“Earlier this year we hosted the launch of the Amy Johnson Festival and we will be looking for other opportunities to support cultural projects during 2017 and beyond. New Year’s Day will be a spectacular starting point and we’ll be open and very busy.

“We’ll be supporting City of Culture by adding their official commemorative wines produced by House of Townend to the extensive selection that we offer, and we’ll be organising a tasting evening early in the New Year, with our chefs creating a special menu to pair the food with the wine.”

1884 Wine & Tapas Bar is also looking to break with convention by adding the French City of Culture wines to a cellar which is stocked exclusively with Spanish products. Wine & Tapas will start by offering the wines on New Year’s Day, and guests will be able to enjoy them in the enclosed outdoor area.

Deborah Spicer, general manager of 1884 Wine & Tapas Bar, said: “1884 Restaurants was investing in the Marina area even before City of Culture appeared on the radar and we’ll get involved as much as we can.

“We won’t be serving meals in the alfresco area but we’ve given it a nice festive feel so our guests will be able to enjoy a drink in there and watch the entertainment of In With A Bang without getting caught up in the huge crowds.

“I remember during the summer when a very nervous visitor from Merseyside came in for lunch before going off to take part in Sea of Hull. Everything seemed a long way off at the time but now here we are at the heart of the action, and we’ll be planning some special events of our own in the year to come.”

To check late availability at the restaurants visit www.1884dockstreetkitchen.co.uk tel 01482 222260 and www.1884wineandtapasbar.co.uk tel 01482 216306.