Cedar Court to open new restaurant at flagship Harrogate Hotel

Yorkshire Hotel group Cedar Court has announced it has invested £500,000 into creating a brand-new restaurant, Amber’s, at its flagship Harrogate hotel.

The hotel, which has been undergoing an extensive refurbishment programme over the last 12 months, is aiming to create a high-quality dining experience through its menu, service and décor.

As part of the hotel group’s wider strategy to invest into the region and elevate their current dining offering, the investment follows further renovations to the ground floor of the hotel, including updating the lounge, bar, and other public areas.

The restaurant will serve traditional British dishes with contemporary presentation using high-quality ingredients “from the best of Yorkshire and the British Isles”.

The company has been working on the design and planning for the restaurant since last summer with award-winning Yorkshire-based Studio Two Interiors, who have worked on hospitality projects including Lucia’s Wine Bar and Grill, Cut and Craft and Six by Nico. 

The concept and design of the restaurant is inspired by progressive thinker and pioneering scientist Lady Amber Fitzwilliam, who was a long-time resident at Cedar Court, formerly known as The Queens Hotel in the 1900s. The transformation of the space started earlier this year with plans to open in April 2024.

A private dining and entertaining venue, the Imaginarium is also set to be launched alongside the restaurant with capacity for up to 28 people. The newly known Queens Suite will be a refreshed banqueting space for dinners, events, and weddings to celebrate in style with a capacity of 250 covers.

Cedar Court Harrogate also plans to recruit new talent to diversify and increase the team’s skillset, whilst nurturing their current hospitality team through training and development to grow and step up to the challenge of meeting increasing customer expectations and demand.

Managing director, Wayne Topley, chairman of Leeds Hotels and Venues Association, Committee Member of the institute of hospitality, leads the hotel group.

He said: “Since I joined Cedar Court five years ago, I wanted to put a special dining concept into Cedar Court Harrogate, over the last twelve months we have been working with the superstars of the local food and beverage, design and development scene as well as taking on board the ideas from our own Cedar Court team, who are as excited about this development as I am. The significant investment underlies our belief in Harrogate as a real Yorkshire gem, a first-choice dining destination for visitors and local residents alike.

“The story of ‘Amber’s’ will really encompass the history of the Harrogate hospitality offering and lifestyles in the early 1900’s and links with the history of the building we occupy which originally opened as the Queens Hotel back in 1687 and was the oldest hotel in Harrogate. Amber’s will be a very elegant dining experience, with stylish and traditional design features giving this part of the hotel a new lease of life and energy and new offering this part of Harrogate.”