Tim Allen's Michelin star restaurant re-opens

Tim Allen’s Michelin-starred restaurant sō-lō, in Aughton, Lancashire, has undergone a three-month £100K transformation and re-opens on Friday 7^th November.

Tim first opened the restaurant (his first truly ‘solo’ venture) in November 2021, in the midst of Covid restrictions, but soon impressed critics and food-loving visitors with his culinary expertise and relaxed, quality dining experience – earning him a much-deserved Michelin star after just a year.

Putting Tim under the spotlight, a week before re-opening, he chats about what to expect from the new look sō-lō.

“We’re gaining a table of two in one room and have added a Chef’s Table. The change is incremental; the whole point of the refurbishment was improving the guest experience and environment.

“We certainly look a bit different. It’s crisp, more modern but still has that sō-lō vibe, if anything, it’s amplified it and we’re really pleased about that. For example, we’ve finally been able to put in a bespoke lighting scheme for each table, which we couldn’t afford to do until now.”

Tim was pretty hands on with the re-design in 2021, doing much of the work himself and this time he couldn’t resist some ‘wall moving’ and some ‘ripping out’ before the re-furb proper began and the trades came in.  “Everything has just gone up a notch or two, everywhere has been painted, the ceilings and walls are new, the lighting is new it’s just a lot sharper but I think we’ve really got the balance right.”

Perhaps, most significantly, the kitchen has completely changed. “You can walk in and out of the kitchen from the front and there’s now a Chef’s Table.”

For those in the know sō-lō isn’t huge so the addition of a Chef’s Table in the modest kitchen is quite a leap and one that’s going to be very special – seating just two people in the heart of the action!

“We’re never going to be driven by huge numbers, we’re just not that place and don’t have the square footage. I’ve run much bigger places before and am not against doing that again, but this is the space we have.  With this step up we’ve got something really exciting to work with over the next three to five years.”

When Tim first opened sō-lō it was a bit of a risk “Things were very uncertain, it was a gamble.  We were very vigilant and frugal. What we spent on sō-lō was far less than many spend on creating a restaurant.  It’s still a lot of responsibility and financial outlay, irrespective of the fact that we are stand-alone – we have to meet those demands and repayments and that’s part of our sensibility.”

He readily acknowledges that it’s getting harder and harder to trade in this current environment, but believes that sō-lō provides great value for the standard of food served in his restaurant and Michelin agrees, listing sō-lō amongst the best value places for lunch in the UK.

“We work extremely hard at what we do. It’s interesting to see what sells and doesn’t sell, and price point is definitely a ‘thing’. I appreciate that we aren’t the cheapest place to eat, but we provide incredible value considering the quality product we use. Above all, you’ve got to be consistent and that’s the same for any good restaurant.

“When somewhere is ‘personal’ like sō-lō is, people acknowledge and understand that commitment to excellence.  They can see how hard we’re working.”

Speaking of the food, will there be changes there too? “The food is the food, the environment will just show off what we do better.  Do we have to make carte blanche changes to the food? No. There will be some evolutions and that will initially be on the Chef’s Table experience; we’ll see what the feedback is from that. I listen to what the customer is telling us more than anything else, it’s so important and that’s how we’ve progressed the place so quickly.”

With the first week of the re-opening all but sold out and a busy Christmas round the corner any further changes to menus, including new mid-week dining options, will come in January onwards.

“We’re not in any rush.  We’re not going anywhere and don’t want to do things at 70%, rather than do it properly. We’ll phase in each little change and communicate it as we’re doing them.  There won’t be anything major, I just want to be more flexible. Perhaps a small a la carte menu in the week, as not everyone wants to be told what they’re going to eat – they want choice.”

Reflecting on the success and surprises of the last four years, Tim is proud to talk of the sustainability developments both in and outside the building “There have been quite a lot of sustainability changes. The fact that we’re able to grow veg and flowers is lovely;  it’s not twelve months of the year thing but we’re getting a good seven or eight months out of it.

As Tim’s early ambitions were to become a Forestry Ranger or Environmental Scientist, he relishes getting hands-on with the recycling and growing.

“All the green waste from the kitchen, table flowers and some brown waste goes in the 4-bay composters, which is recycled and mulched into the veg beds at the start of spring.  The flowers are grown both for the tables and as edibles.  The way we operate inside too we don’t use any single plastic stuff.  It’s all about being more conscious so we start by looking at what’s best to work with on our doorstep, we get that and then we start looking out further. It’s even down to how we get our produce; our strawberries, tomatoes, courgettes all come from the same area so that only happens on one collection cycle.  It’s about being aware of how you operate. Over time we’ve increased the growing space at the back of the restaurant by 4 or 5 times – we just walk outside, cut it, use it, there’s no better way of cooking is there?”

For Tim, who hails originally from Huddersfield, he’s also been touched by the welcome and warmth of the community around him.

“The more we’ve become grounded in the area, we’ve got to know more and more local people who are real food enthusiasts. I mean some of the growers we now work with have been passed on to me by our regulars!  This area is a such a great growing larder and getting out there and finding people with such great pride and passion for growing stuff – they go to the lengths that we go to in the kitchen with what they grow – has been one of the most pleasant surprises. I knew that good food was grown here but not to the degree we now see, working so closely with our local growers.

“We’ve also been really well supported, the people are lovely and really fair, giving you opportunities where they can.  There’s a good mix too, a wide demographic, people from all walks of life including lots of trades people who we’ve got to know. Our kids are really settled in school, we’ve got good friend groups, what more is there to say – we just really enjoy living here.”

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Tim Allen is a Taste Lancashire Ambassador supporting and championing Lancashire producers and the county’s hospitality sector.

sō-lō

17 Town Green Lane, Aughton, L39 6SE

Tel: 01695 302170

restaurantsolo.co.uk