Nip & Cluck restaurant concept opens in Whitstable
Workers League partners with Merman for new Whitstable venue
A fresh new restaurant concept will be opening its doors in Whitstable this weekend - Friday February 24th.
Nip & Cluck (@nipandcluck) is the latest concept of prominent chef and fire cooking enthusiast, Jim Thomlinson, and will be situated on the ground floor of The Workers League (@workersleague) in Albert Street following a series of successful pop-ups with his Merman (@the_merman_uk) brand at the venue during late 2022.
Nip & Cluck will offer Jim’s spin on the humble chicken shop with a wood-fired and seaside twist. While the menu will primarily focus on a range of high-welfare, locally-sourced fire-cooked chickens - served as whole, halves and bone out legs etc - the new project will stay true to Jim’s signature seafood style with flame-grilled local lobster served whole, half and as claws and tails, but also (subject to availability and season), other ‘nippy’ fruits of the sea such as crab, crayfish and langoustines will pop up periodically on the specials board.
Style will be fast-casual with plenty of space for walk-ups Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with lunch service on Friday and Saturday and a reservation-only fire-cooked roast service on Sundays.
Jim says: “There’s not anything else in Whitstable that does anything like this. Nip & Cluck is like street-food but in a nice, comfy environment. Key focuses for the restaurant will be locally-sourced high-welfare chickens, sustainably-sourced lobsters and a range of home-made sauces and condiments with varying levels of spice.
“As well and Chicken and Lobster, we’re going to have a load of different sides like chicken fat mashed potato, smoked chicken gravy, and flame-grilled sweetcorn with peppercorn. Vegan and vegetarian options will also be plentiful.
“I’m all about keeping our sourcing footprint tight, and championing some of the amazing produce in and around Kent, and I have to know that animals have been farmed naturally and ethically and fruit and veg are sustainably produced with minimum intervention. There are some wonderful independent producers all around us – Kent is not called ‘The Garden of England’ for nothing!”
Mat Kemp, inventor and Creative Director of The Workers League adds: “I first bumped into JIm in Shoredtich at Prawnograhy and was mightily impressed not only by the food he was cooking, but also that he was the only one cooking crustacea in a sea of burgers, hotdogs and BBQ.
“So I was delighted when he agreed to bring his Merman concept to The Workers League in Whitstable for a series of pop-ups at the end of 2022. Out of a cloud of sweet woodsmoke a partnership was born. I’m a big fan of Jim’s cooking and there’s a massive synergy around live-fire, ethos and flavour that couldn’t be ignored, so launching Nip & Cluck here in Whitstable was inevitable.”
DETAILS:
Nip & Cluck is based at The Workers League, 1 Albert street, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1HP
Opening Hours (From February 24th)
Thursday 1800-2200
Friday 1230-2200
Saturday 1230-2200
Sunday 1230-1900 (reservations only)
