Globetrotting Welsh chef Jamie Tully has put down his roots in the Mid Wales Victoria spa town of Llandrindod Wells where he has launched a new American-style dining experience.
Tully has swapped cooking for the rich and famous on superyachts to launch Tully’s Sports Diner at the Hampton Hotel and has been rewarded with a very busy restaurant and takeaway trade.
Open from Wednesday to Sunday, the restaurant serves a range of burgers, ‘big dogs’, chicken wings, quesadillas, Cubanos, meatballs, garlic chicken skewers, sticky lamb ribs, nachos and skirt steak, together with a range of sides and desserts.
“The food is flavour obsessed, ingredient led and cooked with passion,” said Tully. “We offer an elegant yet casual restaurant emphasising natural, sustainable food and craft exquisite dishes using the best British produce from dedicated farmers and producers.”
The 100-seater restaurant is available for exclusive hire for birthdays, baby showers, hen parties, special family gatherings, private dining or corporate events, with tailored menus and drinks packages created for group bookings.
To raise awareness of Tully’s Sports Diner, Jamie has joined MWT Cymru, the independent organisation representing more than 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Southern Eryri (Snowdonia).
He has also opted to feature the diner in MWT Cymru’s Bedroom Browser next year, which is distributed to over 6,000 accommodation rooms across Mid Wales and has taken up a new social media package for members.
MWT Cymru will run a dedicated campaign for Jamie aimed at attracting more visitors to Tully’s Sports Diner.
“We are obviously trying to attract as many people as possible to the restaurant, so joining MWT Cymru is an obvious way to extend our outreach,” added Jamie. “They are very supportive.”
Zoe Hawkins, MWT Cymru’s chief executive, said she was delighted to welcome Tully’s Sports Diner into membership. “We are constantly developing ways to drive more traffic to support places to eat across Mid Wales,” she explained.
“We are also reintroducing a menu exchange initiative, which will allow accommodation businesses to easily access and share menus from local providers. This encourages greater business-to-business co-operation and helps visitors discover fantastic places to eat nearby, benefiting both the accommodation providers and the restaurants.”
Tully has developed the American-style diner and sports bar concept, having identified a gap in the Mid Wales market for a different and affordable dining experience.
“The biggest thing I missed from my travels and work in the USA was a proper, food-led, bar and a place where you can watch all the American and global sports events on tv,” he said.
Having previously held executive chef roles at Caer Beris Manor, Builth Wells and Chartists 1770 at The Trewythen, Llanidloes since returning form his culinary travels, Jamie was keen to launch his own venture.
He employs three full and three part-time staff and would like to expand his businesses in the future by possibly opening another American style diner and sports bar and even a pop-up restaurant.
“With all the current pressure on the hospitality industry, people may think that I couldn’t have picked a worse time to open a new restaurant,” added Jamie, “but we are very busy.
“People will know my fine dining background which raises their expectations. However, a lot of people can’t afford to spend £150 on a fine dining meal but can afford to spend £20 per person on a quality main meal and side.
“That’s why I launched my reasonably priced American diner concept which suits people whether they want to go out for a special occasion or just a quick meal.
“It has been a big learning curve for me to come from a fine dining kitchen to the much faster pace of a busy diner which is something I hadn’t experienced for a while.
“I am delighted that positive Tripadvisor reviews have elevated the restaurant to number two in the area within a month of opening.”
Jamie also runs a busy private dining service for customers across England and Wales and supplies healthy, ready-made meals for customers in a 20-mile radius from Tully’s Unit 13 in Llandrindod Wells.
