Sadness at final serving for Fat Rascal

Owner Steve Hopkins closed the restaurant with a heavy heart, but now has other plans for it.

‘I would love to say what plans I have for the future, but I can’t. It’s been my baby for seven years, and I’ll miss it on a scale that can’t be measured,’ he said.

‘I’ve watched some children come here from when they were tiny. For some kids it’s become part of their Saturday routine. It’s been their go-to.

‘It was a really tough decision, but the best one.’

Greg Rey has been a regular customer of Fat Rascal for about three years, so much so that he had his own special put on the menu.

‘The first time I came here, I ordered two separate dishes and of course they came on two separate dishes. I really enjoyed it so for the next few visits I ordered it again.

‘After a few occasions Steve came up to me and said there was a special addition to the menu, and right on the bottom-right corner was “Greg’s Special”. So I’ve ordered it every time since.’

He said that his six-year-old daughter Amaya also orders a mini version of Greg’s Special.

‘I’m gutted that today is its final day. I’ve started practising how to make the pancakes myself,’ he said.

Natalie Bramhall and Sarah Bloomfield had been visiting the island to watch Dorking play Guernsey in rugby, and were staying in a nearby hotel.

‘We weren’t aware that today is the last day, we’re gutted, it’s a lovely concept in here,’ said Mrs Bloomfield, who runs her own pub in the UK.

The last day of trading was also the seven-year anniversary of the opening of the craft bar and kitchen.

On Wednesday it is staging a big sale of furniture, glassware, branded t-shirts, hoodies and ‘all sorts of things’, Mr Hopkins said.

Fat Rascal staff would be temporarily moved to its sister restaurant, Good Rebel at Admiral Park.

It was hoped that a new business venture in Lefebvre Street would reopen in late summer, with the same staff returning from Good Rebel.