Coppa Club in Bell Street has become quite the hub and meeting place in Henley, from family get togethers and business meetings, to coffee with mates and cocktails with friends. It’s doors have been closed but alot been going on behind the scenes as we catch up with new General Manager, Damien Huges.

Firstly, could you give us a little bit of background about yourself.

I started my hospitality career in 2002 in my native Sheffield purely by accident but soon found a passion for the industry that’s never left me. I came Down South in 2011, moving to Hertfordshire after being headhunted by Oakman Inns. Between then and now, I’ve operated food-led country pubs and market town bar/bistros in various counties. I moved to Oxfordshire in 2013 where I ran the Old Post Office in Wallingford for three years before taking on the Perch in Binsey, Oxford for another four years. After a brief stint opening the Polecat in Prestwood, Bucks, I’m delighted to be back in my adopted county of Oxfordshire. I’m a Pub Quiz nerd, love 50s and 60s music and have a real passion for Rugby Union Football.

What brings you to Henley & Coppa Club?

Coppa Club is genuinely a really fantastic employer and an outfit that I really wanted to work with. Their approach to fresh, quality food and drink delivered with high levels of technical service really chimes with my own approach to hospitality. It’s smart and sharp, but delivered in a really approachable, human manner without any pretention – exactly the kind of outfit that I want to work for. As for Henley in particular, it’s simple: I really began to miss the Oxford restaurant scene!

We understand that you were appointed your new role during lockdown. How strange was that?

A bit different, I must admit! As I write, I still haven’t properly met my team and am still communicating via email and whatsapp. Not ideal. The challenge is that everything is just so fluid and uncertain in terms of when we will be able to operate and in what guise. Until we get a little more clarity, there isn’t much for me to tell them other than to look after themselves and that I look forward to meeting them properly when everything has relaxed a little. Naturally, I’m less than delighted with this but I just want them to concentrate on themselves for a bit while we put in some groundwork behind the scenes. I’ll be making plenty of demands upon their time soon enough, I can promise you.

How will Coppa Club have changed when you re-open the doors?

Tough to say, really. A lot will depend upon Boris & his chums. We’ll still be a warm, comfortable, friendly place to come and enjoy freshly-cooked Mediterranean food, absolutely cracking cocktails and piping hot coffee – a proper community hub.

Will there be a new menu?

Yes! We recognise that the menu has been in situ for a little while now and will be introducing new dishes when we return.

What other plans do you have for Coppa Club?

I don’t really plan on re-inventing the wheel. I just want to get under the skin of the local community, get to know you all and provide a place where people can relax and have a little fun. Re-focussing on the basics will be critical early on as the team dust off several weeks’ worth of cobwebs! Naturally, there are a couple of local bodies in Henley that I’m keen to chat to and I have a few other ideas rattling around but I’d like to keep those close to my chest until I have a more direct experience of the restaurant.

What are Coppa Club doing/or do to be friendlier to our planet?

It goes without saying that we take our responsibility towards proper waste management seriously, ensuring that no waste go to landfill, and we minimise plastic wherever possible. We’re members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association who are helping us make long-term improvements.   Our current ‘sustainability statement’ can be read here:  https://www.coppaclub.co.uk/sustainability/

When do you think you’ll be re-opening the doors?

I’d love to be able to answer this one with any certainty. It depends on our wonderful British public. I guess the answer is “as soon as bloomin’ possible!”

Working in a restaurant must mean you love your food. What is the best meal you’ve ever had anywhere?

Easy! My mam’s lasagne served with a warm baguette lathered in far too much salted butter. Her recipe is about as authentically Italian as sashimi or bratwurst but it takes me right back and she still cooks it for me whenever I visit. I spend the majority of my disposable income on food & drink and I’ve been hugely fortunate to dine at some incredible venues over the years (in 2018 I booked a holiday in Menton entirely so that I could eat at Mirazur. Thoroughly reocmmended…) but there’s nothing quite like a childhood favourite, is there?

What is your guilty food pleasure?

Honestly? Chips and curry sauce served in a cardboard carton and eaten standing up in freezing cold weather with a wooden fork. I absolutely recognise that this is about as elegant as a breeze block and not a very “restaurant-y” answer but it’s something that I only ever eat when I find time to attend a Six Nations match. If I’m eating chips and curry sauce, it means that I’m having a very good weekend indeed….

Are you a wine, beer or spirits man?

Variety is the spice of life! I enjoy real ale in the main (and have the physique to prove it), but also love a Haut Medoc reds, Gavi di gavi, a Negroni or a blooming great glass of scotch – preferably a 15yr Dalmore.

Doughnuts? Jammy, iced or a hole in the middle?

Jammy if there’s no custard available!

What would we always find in your fridge?

Far too much cheese – the smellier the better!

How would you sum up Henley in one sentence?

A town with character, history and pride.

More about Coppa Club

“Our menu focuses on thoughtful, unfussy, European food from small plates and snacks to grilled mains, sourdough pizzas and healthy salads. There’s a wide selection of weekend brunch dishes and the bar serves carefully-chosen wines, beers and classic cocktails as well as new creations.”

Where: 49-51 Bell Street, Henley-on-Thames RG9 2BG

Tel: 01491 525879

Web: www.coppaclub.co.uk/henley-on-thames