It may be a gastro pub but...

When Jackie Nairn and Lia Vittone took over a popular local boozer and decided to turn it into a gastro pub they knew they needed to keep the locals happy.

Before the pub opened after its refurbishment, the pair decided to trial it by inviting local residents - through a door drop - to take advantage of discounts of 10% on drinks and 40% on food.

'It was just to test the water really,' says Nairn, but it was also an astute piece of PR, given the Chimney House's residential location in the Port Hall area of Brighton.

Many would have opted for the safety of the lunchtime office trade afforded by a city-centre location, but Nairn says: 'We wanted to be out of the centre because we wanted to build trade that's not just people dropping in, but by building a reputation and having our own regulars. There are so many houses around here that there must be a market, and there aren't many more pubs in the area.'

Value-for-money is a key part of the strategy. 'We're hoping people will come regularly,' says Nairn, 'so, if you're slightly cheaper than people are expecting, they might come every week, rather than once a month. We've got several people coming in during the week for dinner and on Sunday for lunch.

'We're making a bit of money through volume, rather than bringing in people who are walking past and stinging them for £12, and they never come back.'

Putting bums on seats

Although she doesn't disclose the exact target GP, she will say that a small amount has been sacrificed from the industry norm in order to put bums on seats.

As the former operations manager for all of the restaurants in Tate galleries across the country, Nairn knows a thing or two about handling volumes of customers.

'Obviously in an art gallery you're serving a wider range of people but as far as the operational side goes its not that different. It's still about giving the public something they want and will come back for, and making a bit of money at the same time.'

Nairn and Vittone (a graphic designer by trade) took on what used to be the Marquess of Exeter and turned it into the Chimney House in the summer.

Nairn had previous pub trade experience as a manager with Scottish & Newcastle.

'This is quite new to me in that it's 10 years since I pulled a pint or changed a keg,' she says. 'And it's the first time I've put my own money into it.

'We just decided it was time to do something of our own. Originally we thought of a very informal restaurant, but as we developed the idea we realised it was more of a pub environment that we were leaning towards. You can still do all the good-quality food and service in a pub environment.'

Although retaining many of its original features, the pub was completely refurbished for its re-opening, with wooden floors and leather arm- chairs brought in to the bar area, and the old kitchen replaced by a modern, open one.

The menu is on blackboards, only because it's in a constant state of flux.

Nairn says: 'We are changing the menu each week, and during the week two or three things will change too.'

Everything is freshly prepared on the premises by two chefs who have also come from the Tate (see box). The menu is deliberately slimline, so that everything can be as fresh as possible, with just four starters, and four mains at any one time.

Vittone says: 'You just can't have that big a menu in a small place and supply that level of quality. We wanted it to be simple, but you can cover all directions with just four dishes: red meat, white meat, fish and vegetarian.'

Organic produce is an option

When we visited, the starters included baked free-range hen's eggs and celeriac at £2.75 and pan-fried squid with black pudding and chive mash at £4.75 (or as a main at £8.50).

Mains included organic rack of lamb with Dauphinoise potatoes and green beans at £13.50 and roasted pork chop, braised cabbage, carrots and apple compate at £8.50.

Organic produce is regarded as an option rather than an article of faith, says Nairn.

'When you go organic you have to charge more, because it costs you more. For the next few months we'll be picking the odd thing that's organic.

'What we want to do eventually is to get round local farms in Sussex and source things direct, but that's still to come.

'It still may not be organic but at least it will be local and we can know exactly how it's been treated.'

Just one more way the Chimney House is trying to keep the locals happy.

Wine made simple

The Tate connection continues with the wine list, which was put together by consultant and writer Hamish Anderson, whose Tate list was an award winner. 'It seemed ridiculous not to ask him to help,' says Nairn.

He adds: 'I wanted a very simple list with five reds, five whites, a Champagne and a couple of roses. I wanted four of each by the glass and by the carafe (50cl).

Both house wines are organics from Santa Rosa in Argentina, at £2.95 per glass, £6.95 per carafe or £11.75 for a bottle.

The remainder is a modern-looking mix of sought-out wines from France, Spain, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

'It's a wine list for gastro pub, not just a pub,' says Nairn, 'but they're all good value, not too expensive, not too complex. There's nothing that will scare people away.'

The size of the list is helping to make it accessible, she adds.

'People are buying wines they might not usually buy, because it's not a big list and it's easy to read.'

Open kitchen, open mind

Chefs Daniel Gibbons and Vivienne Clark both worked at the Tate with Nairn. Gibbons says it wasn't hard to make the decision to move into pubs. 'It was really the chance to work for ourselves,' he says. 'Anything that goes on in the kitchen reflects directly on us. To have people come up to us and say 'thank you chef' is very nice.' Having an open kitchen puts the chefs in tune with customers, he adds. 'They can come over and tell us if there's something they don't like, or that's not their taste.'

As far as the food goes, the style is dramatically different from the Tate. 'It's (the raw materials) pretty much the same, but we've just got to simplify,' says Gibbons, 'working in a London restaurant you might be on the sauce section and someone else might do the vegetables, but here you've got to do it all yourself, so you have to make it easier.' But he feels there's also the chance to put more individuality in dishes.