Acton & Sons

I attended the official opening of Acton & Sons this evening. It was a grand affair which gave me the opportunity to meet The Godfather of the restaurant industry in Belfast, Mr Tom Davis, and his family. There was entertainment, a selection of small plated snacks and drinks,more later. 

I was kindly Invited by Chris of Love PR. Acton & Sons is the new incarnation of Olios. It's an all day restaurant and bar. It's the brainchild of the team that founded Skandia, Neill's Hill and Papa Joes. Mr Davis Snr opened Skandia in 1969 and I remembered the Skandia on Howard Street from 1989 and recalled eating there. His son Johnathan runs Neill's Hill in Ballyhackamore (in 1998 was Aldens) and other son Andrew runs Papa Joes in Bangor. Both were present tonight along with Mrs Davis whom Tom met in Acton Hotel and Catering School.

The kitchen is run by Executive chef Cath Gradwell and Head chef Brian Caldwell, who launched the new menu and let us sample some of the dishes this evening.

Clockwise from the bottle was hake served with potatoes, chick peas in an Indonesian sauce, then creamy chorizo chicken topped with sweet potato strings (my favourite), then there was seared tuna and next was Cajun beef (I didn't try as I don't eat beef, but I heard it was good) lastly was battered squid topped with sweet and sour sauce.

Mr Tom Davis was such a pleasure to talk to, very learned and down to earth and has a real depth of knowledge and understanding  for the restaurant business in Belfast. His two sons are true "chips of the old block" and have a superb handle on the restaurant industry in Northern Ireland. I am truly confident that the pedigree behind Acton and Sons will propel it well. I would thoroughly recommend this as s goto destination for good quality food in impeccable surroundings served by competent and attentive staff.

Trip down memory lane

I've been invited to the opening of Acton and Sons Thursday,so excited as I can remember the old Skandia. Below is an article from today's Belfast Telegraph:

Culinary trip down memory lane as Skandia's new eatery brings us a taste of the 70s

The old Skandia (pictured) menu will live on in the Davis family’s Acton & Sons restaurant in Belfast3

The old Skandia (pictured) menu will live on in the Davis family’s Acton & Sons restaurant in Belfast

Diners are to get a taste of the Belfast of yesteryear as the Skandia menu makes a nostalgic comeback.

Almost half a century after the first Skandia restaurant opened its doors in the city, the family that introduced Pavlova desserts to Northern Ireland are looking to the past to inspire their business future.

The Davis family have had a long and successful tenure in the food business, having set up the groundbreaking Skandia group of restaurants in 1969. 

They have now transformed their Olio Restaurant premises on Brunswick Street into a new laid back brasserie, Acton & Sons. 

The city centre restaurant has undergone an extensive £100,000 transformation, adding to the thriving hospitality area of Belfast's Linen Quarter.The 100-seat restaurant will serve throughout the day, seven days a week, to shoppers, office workers and theatre-goers, and employ 20 full and part-time staff.Now with a new dark wood interior, relaxing ambience and simple but high quality food at very reasonable prices, Acton & Sons is taking the family's philosophy to the next level - but they haven't forgotten their roots.

Tom Davis founded Skandia at the beginning of the Troubles in College Square.

His sons Jonathan and Andrew now run their own restaurant businesses - Neill's Hill and Papa Joe's respectively.

"Our family has long held a restaurant premises in this area and we're placing our family's heritage at the heart of this new venture," Jonathan said. 

"On the walls you'll find some of the original menus dating back to the late 1960s and from the kitchen you can expect firm favourites alongside fresh fish and signature dishes of roast fillet of hake, tomato, chorizo and white bean stew and Guinness and honey glazed pork fillet, champ cake, celery and apple salad.

"The name Acton & Sons derives from the Acton Hotel and Catering School in London where my father attended and subsequently met my mother and the rest, as they say, is history."

Customers can avail from the menu with dessert specialities including their famous pavlova with strawberries, white peaches and dairy cream or hot pineapple fritters with dairy cream. 

Appetisers also feature the Skandia hors d'oeuvre, frosted fruit juices and a grapefruit cocktail. 

The brothers will oversee the running of Acton & Sons alongside executive chef Cath Gradwell and head chef Brian Caldwell.

When Jonathan first opened his east Belfast restaurant, formerly Aldens, in 1998, many thought a restaurant offering such high quality food would struggle outside the city centre. 

But he proved them wrong as the critically-acclaimed restaurant and a fiercely loyal clientele helped sustain over a decade of success.