After a whirlwind renovation period, the old Ascots Restaurant at the Royal Palms Hotel has reopened, under new management and a new name.

Take Five Ltd launched Palomino on Rosemont Avenue, Pembroke, this month.

“At this moment, this is the most upscale restaurant we have,” said TFL managing director, Holger Eiselt, who also runs Devil’s Isle Cafe, Village Pantry and the Buzz chain. “There are always thoughts of expanding further.”

He took over the space after a conversation with Royal Palms owner Nicholas Weare. “He comes into Buzz all the time,” Mr Eiselt said.

Kaitlyn O’Hara designed Palomino’s interior with a vintage luxury feel.

“I had just four weeks,” Ms O’Hara said. “At first, I was not sure what I was going to do there. Then the manager of Royal Palms told me there used to be a stable where the restaurant was.”

Given that the previous restaurant had been named after a famous British horse race, she continued with the equine theme.

At the heart of Palomino’s dining area is a life-size wooden horse imported from Indonesia.

Ms O’Hara was nervous about the sculpture surviving the trip across the world. As soon as the container arrived, she was in it, checking on her equine beauty. “It was the centre of everything,” she said.

Meanwhile, Damjan Damjanoski, TFL general manager of food and beverages, was exploring Ascot’s wine and spirits collection with mounting excitement.

“Some of the bottles are very rare,” he said. “Normally, you would have to go to auction to purchase them. Some of the inventory you cannot find any more.”

Mr Damjanoski was thrilled to find a 2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache.

“It is very difficult to get that presentation any more,” he said.

There were also cognacs produced in the 1800s. Palomino has used some of these special vintages to make a signature cocktail, Royal Boutique, which sells for $425.

Mr Damjanoski’s dream is to have Palomino’s bar listed among the top 50 in the world.

Looking for the perfect chef to create a menu for the restaurant, Mr Eiselt called an old friend, Gerry Adams, former executive chef at Tucker’s Point. He has lived in Dublin, Ireland, for the past three years.

He was in Bermuda, designing Palomino’s menu within two weeks. He is now the corporate executive chef, and Wesley Aline, is executive chef.

“We have opened a fine dining restaurant with a very cool, relaxed feel,” he said. “The menu has incorporated Bermuda's first ceviche bar, which is exciting.”

He said a Palomino horse is full of muscle and grace. “It has been fun working that muscle and grace into the menu,” he said. “We have a lot of strong dishes, but they are elegantly done.”

On its first night, the restaurant hosted a welcome dinner for the Digital Finance Forum.

“There was a lot of pressure to get things done for that,” Mr Eiselt said. “We did it.”

He said hotel guests are particularly enjoying the new restaurant, and Ascots regulars are coming back.

Theresa Harney-Zuill, manager of the Royal Palms Hotel, said: “We are proud of the incredible reputation that Ascots built with both locals and guests during our long and rewarding partnership.

“We are equally excited to launch these new dining concepts at the hotel as we continually evolve our amenities for our guests and our loyal local clientele.”

She said substantial investments in the property will now be matched with the new and exciting Palomino Restaurant, plus a new wine club and bar called Canters and a café called Junipers.

“We look forward to a mutually successful partnership with TFL,” she said.

TFL retained Ascots staff. To get the new restaurant up and working, they collaborated with a number of contractors including Selectron, Archway Construction, Keen, and H&H Plumbing.