A well-travelled food lover has returned to his home county of Essex and launched a new restaurant in what was once a Guinness bottling factory.
Andreas Mina has opened the new eatery - called East Coast 5 - close to the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze.
He wanted to embrace sustainability and to harness different cultural cuisines in his dishes after living, working, and travelling across Asia for a number of years - and aims to attract both local residents and tourists.
The restaurant also offers a number of planet-friendly vegan and vegetarian options and includes local produce.
“My passion for great food started at a young age, having worked in several of my family’s restaurants growing up - I was always exposed to a varied and interesting cuisine," he said.
"After returning home after living, working, and traveling across Asia, I knew that I wanted to bring a fusion of all the delicious produce and well-crafted menus that I had experienced back to Essex.”
Andreas moved to Frinton from Cyprus with his family when he was five, and grew up in Frinton-on-Sea. He went to St Philomena preparatory school then St Josephs's College in Ipswich and was educated at its secondary school and sixth form. After school he moved to London, working at prestigious venues like Soho House and Scotts in Mayfair.
Now 31, he lives in Clacton-on-Sea. He said he loves the area and wants to put Walton back on the map as a place for delicious dining. His family owns four restaurants in the area, including Avenue Bistro in Frinton-on-Sea. East Coast 5 is the fifth one and the first to be solely operated and run by Andreas.
It took more than 18 months of hard work and dedication to get the restaurant project off the ground, he said. He has worked closely with head chef Matt Allan to create a range of big and small dishes to create "a fusion of Asian-Pacific cuisine and our own twist on British pub classics to Walton”, he said.
“I have always been passionate about the planet, so it was really important to me that everything on the menu was planet-friendly and sustainable. Even our recently-launched loyalty cards are made out of sustainable bamboo," he added.
“We’ve got a solid front-of-house team in place and we’ve been delighted with our customer's feedback so far. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve a number of weekly specials and will be hosting some entertaining events throughout the summer."
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