New farm-to-table restaurant and wine bar launches in Chichester

Farmyard, which will open on soft-launch from the 16th January, will be set on the first floor of buzzy new food hall The Ghost At The Feast, which opened on North Street in December.

On the menu diners can expect to see organic steaks sourced from Goodwood alongside freshly-landed Selsey fish and lots of creative plant-based dishes. Options will change regularly and there will be ever-changing blackboard specials.

Highlights from the sample launch menu include Ox Cheek Croquettes with Smoked Mayo; Funtington Pork Belly with Celeriac Remoulade and Apple; and Hispi Cabbage with Miso, Celeriac, Chilli and Hazelnut. A rotating range of steak options will include Goodwood rib-eye as well as speciality Sussex Wagyu beef from Trenchmore Farm near Horsham. Add-ons and sides will include Roasted Bone Marrow as well as salads, blue cheese sauce and truffle aioli.

Oysters will be a constant feature, as will local Sussex charcuterie and homemade bread served with butter that is churned on-site. Other menu features include weekly Sunday roasts using the same quality produce and a lunch offer every weekday where diners can enjoy three small plates and a glass of wine for £18.50, all-in.

This will all be paired with a wide-ranging wine list of natural, biodynamic and organic wines, which are made without using excess chemicals and artificial additives. Natural wines - which are becoming increasingly popular in London and big cities, as well as around Europe - are much more sustainable to produce and often characterised as more vibrant in flavour. Arguably, they also produce less of a hangover.

Particular highlights on the Farmyard wine list are a range of naturally sparkling Pet Nats and a wide selection of skin-contact orange wines. All the wines being served have been hand-selected by owners Kate and Ben O’Norum, who say that the list will be split between wines which are wild and wacky and those which are crisp, clean and classic - though still naturally made.

Downstairs, Kate will also be making her own wine on-site. In a tucked-away micro-winery on the ground floor of the food hall are tanks of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and skin contact Chardonnay in progress, as well as bottles of sparkling wine undergoing secondary fermentation. They will all make their way on to the restaurant wine list in due course, and there are plans to open up the winery for tastings and events too.

All the wines and a selection of snacks and small plates from the restaurant - including oysters - will be available to customers at The Ghost At The Feast, to enjoy as part of the selection of street food offerings, while the full menu is for those dining in the restaurant. Unlike the rest of the food hall, reservations can be made in the restaurant, although space will also be kept for walk-ins. Bookings are available on the website www.farmyardchichester.com from the 19th January.

The restaurant is the second Farmyard, following the launch of the original in St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex back in 2018. The menu in Chichester will share the same ethos as the first, but uses produce and suppliers from the local area to create its own dishes rather than replicating the offering there.