Rousseau House Restaurant & Lounge

The Owners and the Restaurant

In 1949 as a student at Manchester University, in England, Ken Kershaw still vividly remembers his excitement and pleasure at eating in a Chinese restaurant, the first he had ever seen. Having been raised on good plain English food, this was a whole new sphere of knowledge and influence for him. Ken has remained delighted with the enormous range of foods available around the world, and has spent many happy hours in the kitchen.

Ken had never seriously thought of opening a restaurant until his sons were grown, and 2 of them indeed had chosen careers in the hospitality industry. It then seemed inevitable, and when a suitable property in Ancaster became available it was finally purchased in 1997. This property would become known as Rousseau House Restaurant.

The whole family was involved in some way with developing the restaurant, but Andrew Kershaw, his middle son, led the many demanding months of restoration of the building with painstaking attention to detail, and is now the manager of the whole operation. Matthew, the youngest son worked as sous chef for a year when the restaurant opened, Ken helps in the kitchen, and his wife, Ellen, monitors the finances.

Throughout the development of the restaurant layout, everything possible was done to keep to the style of the original house. (The refinishing of the red pine woodwork, the use of William Morris wallpapers, and the wall decorations using historic maps and prints of the period.) Everything was chosen to provide a comfortable ambience for the total enjoyment of fine food and wine in an outstanding period setting.

The entrance lobby incorporates some of the original red pine doors with the original dressed limestone wall left exposed. Heavy original adzed floor supports have been incorporated into the lobby ceiling and around the entrance to the bar and lounge.

The bar and lounge are both dedicated to the tapas & lunch menus, and furnished with hand-crafted tables made from some of the original red pine floorboards, together with additional antique pieces. In the lounge is the original magnificent fireplace, still with its complete and elaborate mantle and surrounding red pine mouldings. The tapas menu provides tasty smaller portions that can be ordered one by one throughout a lunch or evenings entertainment. The lunch menu is also available on the main floor and upstairs where reservations can be made. Reservations are not normally taken for the lounge, where tables are taken on a first come first served basis. On Friday evening there is live music in the bar area with a most enjoyable and informal relaxed atmosphere.

Upstairs the formal décor is dominated by William Morris wallpapers where his famous "Chrysanthemum" and "Honeysuckle"designs have been used. The whole of the area has been opened up to create a magnificent dining area surrounded with superb pine casement windows and providing seating for up to 60 guests. 18th and early 19th century fruit prints provide additional decoration. The Honeysuckle room leads off at the back of the main dining room with the dressed stone wall and huge pine roof plate visible above.

The menus change every six months, and Chef Michael Newton designs these changes drawing from classical recipes from around the world. As a result, his menus can contain elements from France, Italy, Japan and Thailand, for example, at the same time.

We aim to provide friendly formal and efficient service to our guests. Reservations are recommended for the upstairs dining room, and usually essential at the weekends. The ground floor and patio are wheel-chair accessible. An a la carte brunch menu is offered on Sunday, available both on the patio in the summer as well as inside.

The flagstone patio extends around the sides and front of the house and is partly shaded by mature trees. The patio will seat 60. Miniature roses, a grand window box and hanging flower baskets complete the beautiful setting. The informal seating and table arrangements allow small or large groups of guests to be easily and quickly accommodated.

We have taken the step to make the whole restaurant completely non-smoking, although in the summer, the patio provides some relief for the smokers.

Our reviewers to date have been generous.
"Years ago Ken Kershaw had a vision to establish a restaurant that would reflect his own love of fine food and the art of dining"

"The restoration of the historic Rousseau House on Wilson Street in Ancaster, once the home of local artist Frank Panabaker, was done with lavish attention to detail."

"Service is friendly, charmingly formal, but never suffocating; this is a welcome demonstration of a difficult art."

Come and enjoy! And take note, we are not just a fine dining restaurant, you may drop by for a drink at the bar in the pub-like atmosphere, and could be tempted by a delicious snack from the lounge menu.

Source : official website