Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to The Vines of Rochester Boutique Hotel and Restaurant! We are delighted to have opened our doors to you for the first time.

The Vines is a real passion project. Living close by, I used to walk past the property and had a vision in my mind’s eye about what it could become. We have gone through a five-year journey from finally looking at the property to reaching this point and are proud to say, it’s even better than the original vision. 

Just before we opened for the first time, I walked around the restaurant, taking it all in. I went into the kitchen and saw it alive with the team; all the kitchen staff were at their stations in their whites and excited to deliver. I then went to the front of house and watched the team waiting to welcome the guests, an expectant hum in the air. It was a magical moment, to know all that hard work had brought us here. This tired old building was coming to life for the first time.

When we opened the doors, it was as though everything had aligned. There was the vision my family had and what we wanted to deliver; the euphoria of the team understanding this and getting fully on board with us in this vision; and then, finally, the guests, truly appreciating what we are trying to create here. Guests have told me that Rochester has waited so long for a venue like this.

The final piece of the puzzle has been the joy of watching the amazing food come out and hearing the feedback of how good it is. It’s really clear on every plate, the thoroughness, the attention to detail and the passion, that has gone into creating and delivering it. 

You may have a dashi broth with the hake, that has an Asian slant to it, on the same menu as a slow roasted beef cheek – completely different ends of the food culture spectrum – but every single plate of food will be prepared by Mikolaj and his team with the same attention to detail. 

We’ll be using this section of the website to update you on our news and menus, among other things. Please sign-up to our newsletter for news of offers, and more. 

If you are discovering us for the first time, we look forward to welcoming you through our doors. To everyone else, thank-you for supporting us in getting to this point and being part of our journey so far - we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Rebecca, Mikolaj and the rest of the team