Pop up restaurant by The Coconut Tree coming soon!

Award-winning Sri Lankan bar & restaurant group The Coconut Tree has announced  an exciting community collaboration with St Paul’s Church. For three-months from April 12th they will operate a ‘pop up restaurant’ on the Church lawn next door to their flagship restaurant.

The temporary, 2,000 sq ft pop-up will seat up to sixty socially-distanced diners at a time and will be open Monday - Saturday 5 - 10pm, from the 12th April.

The street food pioneers will also extend the offer of 50% off for all ‘eat-in’ customers (Monday to Wednesday) until the end of January 2022 (the offer currently applies to click & collect takeaways; this offer will finish on 16th May).

Originally inspired to offer their own discount scheme after experiencing success with ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ last year, Brand Director Anna Garrod said that they are keen to use their reopening plans as an opportunity to put Sri Lankan cuisine firmly on the map.

Anna said, “During the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ offer last year, we saw a real surge in bookings; it gave us a new audience who saw it as an opportunity to try new things - and ‘go out for a Sri Lankan’! Now we want to introduce even more people to our unique dishes and laid back, island vibe, so will again offer 50% off for all eat-in bookings Monday - Wednesday.”

The Coconut Tree Operations Director Rodrigo Rashinthe continued, “We’re thrilled to announce our ‘pop up’ right here in St Pauls Cheltenham, where our brand began. The community spirit here has always been strong, and we are so grateful to our neighbours at St Paul’s Church, for the opportunity to serve our locally loved, island-inspired dishes in an outdoor setting.” 

St Paul’s Church vicar, Roger Widdecombe, said, “We love The Coconut Tree and what they’ve done for our community. We’re delighted to be able to host the ‘pop up’ in our grounds and look forward to welcoming more people into this fantastic part of town.”

Bookings for the ‘pop up on the lawn’ are now open.

During lockdown, two delicious new dishes have been developed for The Coconut Tree’s menu in time for their reopening:

• Mango Curry – Fresh young mangos are sliced and marinated in a rub of deep, warm Sri Lankan spices with garlic, cinnamon, ginger padan leaves, and a splash of  coconut vinegar. This is then slow cooked in rich coconut milk, giving a delicious, sweet & sour island vibe.

• String Hoppers or ‘Idiyappam’ - a traditional Sri Lankan specialty. Rice flour pancakes are popped into a press to form noodles; a perfect partner for all  dishes, and eaten ‘back home’ from dawn ‘til dusk. An alternative to the original Egg Hoppers (see below).  

The Coconut Tree in Cheltenham will reopen for indoor dining from the 17th May.

To view the up-to-date opening times and to book a table indoors or for the ‘pop up on the lawn’ please visit: www.thecoconut-tree.com/cheltenham.