Popular Windsor cafe to launch evening tapas and wine bar next month

A popular café in Windsor will soon be unveiling a new nighttime offering following an extensive refurbishment.

Father and son, Richard and Ross Millar, have run the eponymous Millar’s Eatery on St Leonards Road for more than eight years.

They founded the café in 2018 after discussing their lifelong dream while backpacking in Asia and deciding to make it a reality.

Drawing inspiration from Richard’s 36-year career working in the IT industry around the world, and Ross’s chef experience working in hospitality, the pair run two cafes in Windsor and Marlow.

They always intended to extend their current daytime brunch and lunch offering after moving 100 metres down St Leonards Road to their new premises in 2023.

After being granted a premises licence earlier this year, Millars Eatery has undergone months of renovation to change the downstairs storage area into a functional restaurant and wine bar.

“We intend to make a very relaxed tapas bar with a nice selection of traditional Spanish food, a selection of fine wines and beers. Quite a relaxed environment,” Richard told the Express.

“We always had the potential to make a bigger restaurant, and the downstairs is very different in its fit out and feel from the upstairs, which is quite a laid-back brunch type place.

“The intention is that if Windsor proves to be successful, then we take it over to Marlow as well.”

The extra downstairs seating is currently accommodating the overspill of customers on busy weekends until the new tapas menu launches at the end of April.

“I don't think the vibe will change hugely,” said Richard.

“Our intention has always been to be a nice, friendly, relaxed environment where people can come and enjoy themselves. It’s not stuffy.

“We like people to be smiling and have a happy time. What’s different is the timing and the food offering, as opposed to an eclectic brunch menu.

“I would hope that people see it as being Millar's. We're not trying to be something we're not.”

After nearly a decade on St Leonards Road, Millars Eatery is ‘very much part of the community’, and Richard said they used to know 70 per cent of visitors ‘in the old days’.

“Over the years we've built a strong reputation, and as a consequence we get a lot of new faces and increasingly more tourists,” he said.

“We have a very large loyal customer base, who we still see regularly. For me, it’s almost like being part of a village as opposed to being part of the edge of Windsor.”

Richard retrained as a chef after taking early retirement in his fifties, and said with hindsight, it was a blessing his 36-year-old son went into business with him.

“He’s young and fit, and he's got great energy and great motivation, so we work well as a team,” said Richard.

“Ross is head of all the food elements, so he runs both kitchens. He’s the engine room behind the business.”

Tapas is a relaxed way to eat and a nice way to enjoy time without being too formal, added Richard.

“Sometimes formal restaurants, I love them dearly myself, but they can be an event as opposed to being part of your day-to-day life,” he added.

“We've been told by the people who are customers today that they're looking forward to it, so let's hope we can provide what they want, and everybody's happy.”

Richard acknowledged the physical challenge of adding 36 more working hours to their week, but the team is excited about broadening their offering and attracting new customers.

“Downstairs has been described as a peaceful, quiet environment, whereas upstairs can be quite lively and boisterous,” he said.

“The other intention is for private functions or parties, or to offer it for company meetings during the day.

“Upstairs is stripped back bare wooden tables and antique chairs, whereas downstairs we've had a seating area around the entire walls, there's walnut furniture and walnut flooring.

“It’s posher but not wishing to be anything other than Millars.”