The Bank Cafe and Restaurant in Huntly is launching a new fine dining menu which the team hopes will bring more custom to the town.
The restaurant, which was taken over by Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Ltd in 2021, is adapting their menu to create “more of a city type offering”.
Hospitality manager at Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Ltd, Krzysztof Dudkowski, told The Press and Journal: “Here in Huntly, we do not have the luxury of being in a city centre like Aberdeen, benefitting from a lot of passing trade.
“The majority of our customers are people who are local. They are our best ambassadors, so we do our very best to look after them.
“But we also want to make sure that our offering is attractive so that people know that it’s worth stopping by in Huntly.”
‘We would love to think that we can play a part in [Huntly’s] rejuvenation’
The new offering at The Bank Café and Restaurant could help bring more people back into Huntly, says Krzysztof.
“If you come to Huntly it’s an absolutely lovely town,” he continues.
“But it is a town that requires some form of rejuvenation. It requires more life and energy being put into it.
“If you go around Huntly square which is the centre of the town, there are quite a few commercial properties that are sitting empty.
“There is not a great amount of activity happening in the town centre.
“So having a really thriving, interesting pub could get people talking about it.
“People might think let’s travel to Huntly, let’s see what’s happening there.”
And this in turn, says Krzysztof, will help other businesses.
“If we can do that, the footfall increases, there are more people coming to town and everyone can benefit from that,” he says.
“We would love to think that we can play a part in [Huntly’s] rejuvenation.
“If we are successful, it helps other businesses in Huntly be successful.”
The team have been able to utilise feedback from their regular customers to get an idea of what Huntly wants.
“Simply asking the locals what it is they want introduced or changed, helps us,” he says.
“Because if we can do things that the community wants, it helps us to be successful and offer them something that the area has perhaps been lacking for a wee while.”
What is changing at The Bank, Huntly?
The new offering, which is launching in the coming weeks, will bring a fine dining menu to The Bank Café and Restaurant.
“We are going to try to bring a little bit more of a city type offering,” explains Krzysztof.
“For example, steak frites.
“One of those classics, done very well, great value for money and full of flavour.”
The same menu is currently on offer for both lunch and dinner at the Huntly restaurant.
But in the next few weeks, Head chef is Milozs Wyrwicz is introducing a new menu for dinner new.
“We are going to be focusing on fine dining for the dinner menu,” adds Krzysztof.
“Because our chefs can definitely deliver that, and that’s exactly what Huntly and the local area needs.”
“People are very used to what they can expect at The Bank,” he continues.
“We have our classics, our burgers, our fish and chips. And they know that the quality is going to be outstanding.
“So we’re careful with changing or replacing those dishes. But things that we feel we can be a bit more adventurous with, we add or change them.
“In the coming weeks, we are going to be introducing even more changes to the menu, especially considering seasonality and the abundance of beautiful Scottish ingredients that are coming in.”
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