A heated private dining pod, bathed in light against the backdrop of a cool winter’s evening.
Taypark House Hotel will install the first dining domes in Dundee at the end of this month.
Each of the pods can hold up to eight people and are available for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or dinner.
The Perth Road hotel will have three pods installed on November 29 and is planning a special tasting menu to mark the occasion.
Dining domes first in Dundee
Co-owner Glenn Roach said: “We’re the first in Dundee to offer the dining domes. They look stunning and are great for special occasions.
“Also, there are many people still worried about coronavirus – it’s not going away.
“These are perfect for people who want their own private space – they are heated and ventilated with an air purifier.
“I went into one on a trip to London and absolutely loved it.”
The pods can be booked for an additional fee of £20 for breakfast, £30 for lunch or afternoon tea and £45 for dinner.
New owners mark first year at Taypark House Hotel
The announcement comes as Glenn and business partner William Salve celebrate one year as the hotel’s owners.
Glenn previously was head chef at Rocca Restaurant at the Macdonald Rusacks Hotel in St Andrews while William was the hotel’s food and beverage manager.
Despite the tough trading conditions, the new owners even made a small profit.
Glenn said this is due to their work ethic and working even harder when the hotel had to close at the start of the year due to Covid-19 rules.
He said: “It was seven days a week coming up with ideas – 14 hour days every single day even in lockdown.
“We did almost 300 afternoon tea boxes for Mother’s Day and boxes on Hogmanay and Christmas Eve.
“We could have gone home and done nothing but that wouldn’t have helped the business or our mental state. It was important to keep busy.”
Future plans for Taypark House Hotel
Their plans in the next year include a refurbishment of eight bedrooms after upgrading two this year.
There are also 30 wedding bookings for 2022.
Glenn said: “We’ve still got a lot of work to change people’s perceptions. A lot of people still don’t know there are new owners.
“We want people to judge what we do now rather than the past.
“We just want to create a place that’s accessible for all – good food, good drink, good ambience.
“It’s great to see the weddings have come back to strongly as well.”
As the hospitality industry struggles for staff, Greig said recruitment has not been a major problem.
Part of the hotel’s ethos is that “a happy workplace makes happy customers”.
He said he tries to be as flexible as possible with his 25 staff.
“It helps that me and Willie are on the floor and we make sure to listen to our staff.
“Hospitality staff having a Saturday night off shouldn’t be a big problem so we are trying to get to a good work-life balance.”
