A Noble endeavour

A partnership between two former members of Michael Deane’s restaurant staff has led to the opening of Holywood’s newest eatery…

Saul McConnell – well-known to many in his most recent role as front-of-house manager in Deanes at Queens – has teamed up with chef, Pearson Morris to open Noble, a stylish new eatery on Church Road, Holywood.

The new 30-seater restaurant, which opened earlier this month, operates from Wednesday to Sunday in premises that were formerly home to Bistro Iona.

Noble is offering a quality dining experience presented in an intimate and comfortable setting. A three-strong team of chefs, led by Pearson, offers five starters, five mains and five desserts, with a series of specials which change regularly.

And pricewise, the new venue should be accessible to most diners. The Sunday lunch menu offers three courses for £23 and through the week, customers can have a two-course lunch for £15 and three-courses for £20. A glass of wine starts at £5.

“We wanted to create a restaurant that we would want to dine in ourselves,” Saul (30), told LCN recently. “Somewhere that offered quality food and wine, sensible prices and really friendly service.”

“We feel that we’ve achieved that here in terms of the design and in the ambience and atmosphere that we’ve created, which is relaxed and casual. Add to that some nice wine and great presentation and the whole experience is there for people.”

Pearson, who has spent the last six years in the kitchens at Deane’s Howard Street restaurants, comes from Holywood and was already planning the Church Road venture when he spoke with Saul:

“It was a very easy conversation to have,” recalls Pearson. “We both knew what the other wanted to do.”

For his part, Saul says that managing a place of his own has been a “passion” that he has nurtured for years:

“I think anyone who works in the restaurant trade wants to have their own place, it’s a natural progression,” he comments. “But it’s also been the hardest thing that I have done in my life. Those first few weeks while we got the restaurant open brought the biggest pressure I have ever felt.”

Since then, however, the strong response to Noble has been encouraging for both the new partners. The restaurant is fully booked on Saturday evenings throughout October and Saul reports business since opening has been well above the level that the pair had anticipated.

“Naturally, when we started out, we had our own business plan in place with certain expectations, but things have turned out much better for us than we had hoped. We have been super-busy since opening.”

Saul, who comes originally from Moira, met Pearson during seven years spent with the Michael Deane group.

His career in the trade began in his early 20s, when he took a part-time job at The Four Trees in Moira while studying architecture at university in Belfast. Eventually, Saul opted for a full time career in hospitality.

He received a telephone call from Michael Deane’s head office and accepted the offer of a management position within the Deane’s group, most recently working as front-of-house manager in Deane’s at Queen’s.

“The whole idea of going it alone was just something that I always had at the back of my mind,” he says. “It’s a drive I had, it was a passion and I found out that Pearson was the same, so we decided to give it a go together.”

The new restaurant’s comfortable interior was designed by Saul’s mother, Jenny McConnell:

“We had a good idea what we were after, we wanted the place to be modern but more Nordic in its style, not minimalist,” explains Saul. “I like to be comfortable wherever I am and minimalism can be very severe. It can make you feel ill at ease. In Noble, we have a very relaxed dining style, there’s no formality here. We have a system in place and we’re very professional, but we are relaxed too.”

All of the restaurant’s marketing to date has been done via social media and Pop-Up events.

“People are telling us that they love it,” says Saul. “They think it’s a great addition to the hospitality scene here in Holywood. Some have said that they like the very soothing atmosphere in the restaurant and one customer told us that we wouldn’t be out of place in Hackney.”

Saul admits that the experience he and Pearson gained throughout their time with the Michael Deane group is invaluable to them in their new venture:

“Michael Deane’s restaurants operate at the highest level, people have certain expectations and we are used to implementing those standards, so we bring that with us to this new business. The people who come in here won’t be expecting anything less,” he says.

Pearson too, believes that the time he spent with Deane’s at Howard Street played a vital role in developing his culinary skills, although he has particular praise for EIPIC’s Michelin-starred chef, Danni Barry, with whom he worked for two years:

“The time that I spent with Danni was the most formative for me,” he says. “The things that she was able to show me about how you behave in the kitchen, how you treat the food, who you choose as your suppliers, these are all very important. And while business acumen is an important skill to have, it’s how you treat people and how you work with the food that really matters.”

“We’re now focused on building a successful restaurant business here,” says Saul. “We’re closed Monday and Tuesday, which suits the level of business here at present. Consistency is a big thing and we want to be very consistent. Both Pearson and I are here all the time and when people come in, it’s like coming into our own homes and we’re the ones that will be looking after you.

Pearson says that for the present, the pair won’t be making any big commitments in terms of growth:

“The truth is that we have come this far without any bigger ideas about what we want to do,” he adds. “We don’t have plans for two, three or six more restaurants. I don’t think that’s what we are about. Our ambition is to make this restaurant a success and what follows on after that will be up to us…We’re just happy to be doing this now and enjoying it. And it takes up all of our time, I don’t think we could find the time for anywhere else!”