In an email seen by Restaurant, The Telegraph critic, who lives locally, outlined plans to reopen The White Hart as a “chic hotel and fine Italian restaurant”.
The White Hart is understood to have closed last week following an apparently unsuccessful relaunch in 2023.
Sitwell said he had been considering launching his own hospitality business for some time, having written about food and drink for the past 25 years. He also runs the popular Sitwell Supper Club, where chefs cook in a converted cow shed at his family home.
“I’m now turning the idea into reality with an exciting opportunity in our wonderful local town of Wiveliscombe. I now plan to acquire the building and see it rise again. We have ambitious and exciting plans for The White Hart and I wanted to provide you with an early opportunity to invest and join us on this journey,” writes Sitwell in an email to prospective backers.
The critic is working on the project with Somerset pub operators Jon and Millie Coward, who run six pubs in the county, including The Bear Inn in Wiveliscombe, The Martlet Inn in Langford Budville and the recently launched Carew Arms in Crowcombe.
The restaurant will be called Casa Wivey (a nod to the venue’s location) and will serve a wide-ranging menu of classic Italian dishes, such as pizza, cacio e pepe, pork chop Milanese, tiramisu and gelato.
The wine list will focus on Italian wines, while the bar will specialise in negronis and prosecco.
According to Sitwell, the restaurant will cater for families with early evening suppers as well as offering more formal evening dining, relaxed weekend meals and family-style Sunday lunches.
The hotel will relaunch as a smart 16-bedroom property, with each en-suite room individually designed.
Sitwell’s email also included details of investment opportunities. He is aiming to raise £250,000 from around 20 smaller investors and a further £1m from a medium-sized investor via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
Investor perks will include discounts on food and drink (for example, 15% off), priority invitations to events, room booking discounts for friends and family, welcome packs in guest rooms, a VIP reservations line, access to a fine wine cellar, and complimentary wine tastings.
Sitwell, one of the UK’s best-known restaurant critics and the former editor of Waitrose Food Illustrated (now Waitrose Food), adds: “I believe there is a real need and a keen appetite for such an establishment — a convivial, comfortable place of great service, fabulous food and drink, and one that can provide a much-needed aspect of hospitality to the area. Not to mention providing local employment and investment in the supply of local ingredients.”
Sitwell is putting his money where his mouth is having spent the past five years critiquing restaurants, and is known for his frank views. In his latest review, he described Tom Kerridge’s recently relaunched The Chalk pub in Chelsea as ‘a baffling, head-scratching, misfitting, misfiring calamity’.
Dining and Cooking