An east end restaurant is highest rated in St George’s on travel site TripAdvisor after just a year in business.

Tempest, in the former Carriage House premises in St George’s, came top in St George’s and sits in third spot Island-wide on the influential website, the world’s largest tourism site.

Restaurant manager Paolo Odoli said: “It’s gone really well. We opened last year just after Cup Match and we have gone from strength to strength.

“And since we’ve opened we maintained a regular trade, so it’s so far, so good.”

Tempest — run by the same team that operates the successful Mad Hatters in Hamilton — held a wine-tasting dinner last Thursday to celebrate its first anniversary, with more than 400 wine glasses on hand for the crowds that packed out the restaurant.

Mr Odoli, also a Lieutenant in the Bermuda Regiment, said: “We were very pleased to be recognised on TripAdvisor and that kind of thing certainly helps.”

When the restaurant first opened, Mr Odoli said the new venture was also a vote of confidence in the Olde Towne, where businesses have struggled in recent years due to the downturn in the economy.

Tempest, which specialises in French bistro-style food with an emphasis on fresh ingredients, now employs around a dozen people, with the kitchen led by respected chef Chris La Placa, formerly of Mad Hatters.

Mr Odoli said: “For us, it’s been busier than we anticipated and we’re no longer thinking of it as a busy restaurant in St George’s, just as a busy restaurant in Bermuda.”

And he added that Tempest was attracting both residents and tourists — part of the original aim when it opened.

Mr Odoli said: “People are travelling from Somerset to eat with us and we’ve also had support from resorts like Grotto Bay, Tucker’s Point and the St George’s Club.”

The brick-built building on Water Street, which has views over the harbour, is itself a tourist attraction.

It was once owned by the British military and used as warehousing.

The building was later occupied by the Carriage House restaurant, which operated for nearly 30 years until it closed in 2009 and then by the short-lived Polaris at the Carriage House.