Peterborough city centre restaurant to add to late night offering

Nick Rutta, chef patron at Embe, in Cowgate, is looking to extend the opening hours and broaden the appeal of the Afro-Caribbean specialist.

An application has gone in to the city council’s licensing department to cover music and dancing through to 3am, and Nick says it will just allow him to offer something different.

The first floor of the venue is scarcely used but he believes staying open later will add to the appeal for larger bookings.

And he has already tested the water with open mic nights which have proved popular.

“Upstairs is open but we don’t make much use of it,” he said.

“With a little bar and some sofas people could come and sit and have a drink and relax, listening to music. That could be before they eat or after, or they could just come and have a drink and chill out.

“There is a market for that in Peterborough. We have recently started the open mic night upstairs once a month on a Sunday and that is attracting people.

“I would like to make it a laid back place, maybe get some jazz musicians in too.”

Nick, who opened in Cowgate two years ago but has been serving up his standout signature dishes such as jerk chicken, jambalaya and curried mutton in the city for more than a decade, added: “Upstairs is also a great space for parties, but closing at 11pm does not help, we need the longer hours we are asking for. People having a party want to go on a little later.”