All diners on deck in £1.5m Britannia refit

Published on Saturday 21 February 2009 12:47

THE Royal Yacht Britannia, docked in Leith, is to open a glass-enclosed restaurant next month as part of a £1.5m revamp of its upper deck.

The Trust which owns the yacht funded the project, the biggest undertaken since it berthed at Leith in 1998. The new-look deck was designed by local agency 442 Design.

Executive chef Michael Soeder, who already cooks for corporate guests in the yacht's state apartments, will also be responsible for the food served in the Royal Deck Restaurant.

He has worked at some of the UK's top establishments, including the Ritz, Oloroso in Edinburgh and Chardon d'Or in Glasgow.

Once the Royal Deck Restaurant opens in the middle of March, the yacht will be able to host corporate events for up to 176 guests spread between the new area and the state apartments.

Bob Downie, chief executive of the Royal Yacht Britannia, hopes the addition of the venue's first restaurant for visitors will improve the experience they have while on-board.

He said: "The yacht is already an important asset for Scotland."

He admitted the recession had had an impact on corporate business, with the number of bookings in the last quarter of 2008 down 15% on the same period the previous year.

However, he said the number of day visitors was slightly up and he expects the Royal Deck Restaurant to boost numbers.

The yacht, built on the Clyde in 1953 by John Brown & Co, sailed the world as a home for the royal family for 44 years before being transformed into a tourist attraction.

Downie is speaking about customer service at the "Coming to Scotland – Uniting to be the best" conference being run as part of Scottish Tourism Week from March 2 to 9.