Cavells – Mediterranean dining in a vintage train carriage

Cavells is a converted luggage van that sits on Folkestone Harbour at Platform 3.  Bernie and Emma serve delicious Mediterranean food all year round.  Known for being the family behind Folkestone Harbour’s iconic Big Greek Bus, the team have swapped modes of transport, but still have wheels, and serve favourites from their Greek Bus days as well as new specials.  The beauty of the new venue is that Cavells is open throughout the year.  In the summer, there’s a garden to enjoy live music, the sea and sun.  In chillier times, you can watch the ever-changing scenery from the comfort of the train carriage.  Folkelife caught up with Bernie and Emma to find out more about their next adventure.

Bernie: “The Big Greek Bus was a massive part of our lives.  We traded here on Folkestone Harbour with it for nine years, and then we’d been working from it for a year and a half before that.  There was a time when it would drive and we would take it to events, but sitting here, with the sea air and salt wash, it took its toll on the poor thing.”

Emma: “We said to the scrap guys, ‘If you can start it, you can have it!’ and they did get it started.  It didn’t move, but they did get it started.  It was emotional to see it leave the Arm but we also had been working on Cavells for a while, so we knew what was coming next, and were really excited about that.”

year round service

Bernie: “It was a hard decision to let the bus go, but we really had out-grown the space.  The kitchen wasn’t big enough for us to do all we wanted to.  Then, because it was purely take-away, it really wasn’t suitable to serve food all year round.  You would go from working at 100 miles per hour, to nothing for 6 months.  That’s hard!  And, we’re real foodies.  There’s not a day goes by where Emma doesn’t send me photos and recipes of things we need to try.  And that’s what it’s like when you really love food, you can’t stop thinking about it, and can’t stop getting excited over the next dish to try, or create for the menu.”

Emma: “So now we’re in our converted train carriage, with under-floor heating, and really looking forward to serving everyone all throughout the winter as well as the summer.  And what’s more, no more gyros wrapped in paper, we have fancy plates and knives and forks!  Yes, you get to eat in style here.  We’re casual, family dining; you can enjoy all the views, but with a lot more comfort!”

stifado and moussaka

Bernie: “We started off with a restaurant called ‘The Mezze House’ but that grew into the Greek Bus and now we’ve come out the other side with Cavells.  One customer told me the other day ‘It’s lovely, and a little more sophisticated!’  I didn’t say that, she did… but I think she’s right!  You can sit here and get a selection of mezze dishes to share.  These encompass Greek dishes but also those Eastern Mediterranean places we all go to now, and that broadens our menu.  For winter there will be Stifado – a traditional stew with beef and red wine, brandy and slow cooked to bring out those flavours.  Moussaka is coming back, and Baba Ganoush will be there.  

“Heather, our chef who works with Emma, has brought in lots of those spices and flavours to play with.  She appeared on the BBC 2 Andi Oliver’s Fabulous Feasts show.”

private bookings and parties

Emma: “We are a place where if you just want to come for some olives and a coffee then we’re here.  You can also book us out for private parties too. There are three zones to what we have; out front there’s the garden which has seating and space for live music.  Then we have the carriage itself which is laid out so you can see the view, and we can bring the tables together, or move them apart for smaller groups.  Mediterranean dining is all about being with family and it seems natural to get to know the people who are eating around you.  Then behind the carriage we have the station platform which is a very sheltered space. 

“If you’re coming here when it’s a little windy or rainy, it’s the door to enter by, because you can keep out of the elements.  But in the summer it’s a cool and shady place to be, which I think is really important.  I wouldn’t be the one sitting out in the sun, I’d want to be cool, and so we have this too.”

sophisticated casual dining

Bernie: “Oh, it did make me chuckle a little when our customer said we were sophisticated!  She then took a little sip of her wine and grinned.   Our wine list takes a tour around the Eastern Med areas that our menu comes from, so we’ve got some very nice wines to have with your meal.”

Emma: “We’re still getting people running up saying ‘Oh, the Bus has gone’ but we are still here, and we’re here all year round so you can enjoy us all the more!”