New restaurant for the Waterfront

IPSWICH Waterfront is today in line for a plush new restaurant after it emerged negotiations to lease a 5,000 sq ft site are close to being finalised.

The site, spread across the first and second floor of Neptune Marina, has been unsold since the building - which features more than 100 apartments - was completed in 2005.

But Simon Jackaman of Christie & Co in Ipswich said he is confident that a deal could be struck as early as next week.

He said: “We have already let the ground floor out at Neptune Quay to Coffee Link but there are still two floors directly above that with 5,000 sq ft of restaurant space.

“The restaurant is in a prime location and has a beautiful view over the marina.

“We are in discussions with a local operator for that particular unit.

“They are currently doing finance costings and working out how much it will cost to fit the place out.

“Hopefully they will come back to us in the next week.”

Once open, the Neptune Marina restaurant will take the total number of restaurants on the Waterfront to five.

A sixth is currently being built in front of Orwell Quay and has already attracted interest from, among other parties, two celebrity chefs.

Mr Jackaman, who is also marketing that restaurant, declined to reveal the identity of the star chef who is keen on setting up in Ipswich but said he could confirm it is not Gordon Ramsey, Delia Smith or Jamie Oliver.

He did however say that one of the chefs is a “household name”.

He said: “The building is not finished yet and some people may want to wait to see what it will look like before making an offer.

“We expect there will be significant interest over the next six months because it is such an impressive building and stands alone on the Waterfront.”

Which celebrity chef would you like to see in Ipswich? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.