White Hart to reopen its doors on July 4 with new dining concept

The White Hart at Lydgate is ready to re-open its doors this weekend, introducing a new dining concept for coming out of Covid.

The Brass Monkey Brasserie takes up residence in the Oak Room and Pavilion, which are normally used for weddings.  The menu will incorporate elements of the normal White Hart, alongside new dishes to suit all tastes and ages. Inspiration has come from owner Charles Brierley’s travels around India, Nepal and Tibet, with dishes such Punjabi lamb kofta, South Indian crab cakes and Gorkha chicken and cardamom curry.

There is also a new pizza section on the menu, which will also be available for those eating in the main pub to enjoy.

The rear garden now has 20 tables spread out to provide a mix of individual ‘Bubbles’ and ‘Two Household Bubbles’ and the pub will shortly be launching its new app for customers to download and use to order drinks and pizzas in the pub and garden areas.

Throughout lockdown, the community came together and helped The White Hart to raise funds to pay for food that the pub’s volunteer team of chefs prepared for isolating NHS staff staying in their guest rooms for free, alongside meals for AgeUK to distribute to the vulnerable in Oldham and Oldham ICU.  Over 20 volunteers cooked, cleaned and welcomed guests at all hours of the day, with a total of over 7,000 free meals prepared and distributed locally.

Charles Brierley said: “While we’ve been closed to members of the public during lockdown, the White Hart has still been incredibly active, supporting key workers staying with us and creating thousands of meals for the local community and NHS.

“We’ve also spent a lot of time deciding how best to reopen the pub, to provide people with the space required, while still offering a great menu and service. With over 70 weddings booked for The Pavilion and Oak Room rescheduled, it made absolute sense to utilise the fantastic amount of space we have available and we’re really looking forward to introducing people to The Brass Monkey Brasserie. It has a little bit of everything, with dishes our regular customers love, sitting alongside new dishes inspired by my travels over the years.

“When the sun shines, we have plenty of tables in the beer garden for people to enjoy some al fresco dining and for those who want to eat in the pub, we have a lot of space and a fantastic pizza menu. The next few months will be a learning curve for everyone in the hospitality sector as we get used to this new normal but we’re very much looking forward to welcoming people back and hope they enjoy some of the changes we’ve made since they last visited us.”