Hotly-anticipated Kettering dinosaur restaurant to open in June

A dinosaur hatches from its shell at Jurassic Grill NNL-190425-211303005

The Northants Telegraph was invited in for a sneak preview of the amazing Jurassic Grill restaurant to see some of the roar-some design features that will thrill families looking for a wild dining experience.

Inside the former Chimichanga unit in Market Place will be a huge, smoke-filled volcano and some 30 life-like dinosaurs under a rainforest canopy.

Owners Joe Mordawska and Natalie Matts have revealed that they are intending the restaurant to be cashless, and to save on waste and waiting time, food will be available to be ordered in advance of arrival.

Some of Jurassic Grill's new fixtures NNL-190425-211323005

The booking system will allow for two sittings per night - 6pm to 8pm and 8pm to 10pm.

And there will be an exciting secret interactive twist that will be revealed in the next few weeks.

Joe said: “We’ll be opening in the middle of June.

“We reckon we’ve spent about £100,000 on the conversion so far because we want to get it absolutely right.

One of the lifelike dinosaurs at the new Jurassic Grill in Kettering NNL-190425-211253005

“There are real fossils on display - including real mammoth ribs,

“And children will be able to handle some real dinosaur bones including an Iguanodon femur and a fossilised 142 million-year-old tree.

“The downstairs is almost complete now so we’ll be finishing off the upstairs in the next few weeks so we can get ready for the opening.”

The restaurant’s website will be launched next month. And yesterday (Thursday, April 25) a name sign carved from Jurassic limestone was installed on the outside of the building.

Mel and John Finnemore from Finnemore Stonemasons putting the new limestone up at Jurassic Grill yesterday NNL-190425-211243005

There will be a launch event for local business owners to see inside the unique diner and Joe is hoping to team up with some of Kettering’s other independent restaurants to offer a loyalty card to local people.

The restaurant will serve a variety of grilled and smoked meats with themed dishes. Its menu will change regularly with steaks, pulled pork and smoked meats as well as a ‘raptor meat bucket’, fossilised burgers, giant ribs more than a foot long and themed desserts.

It is hoped up to 30 staff will be employed at the restaurant.

Joe and Nat also run the Little Country Smokehouse in Cransley and Bugtopia the Zoo at Rutland Water.