Restaurant Rustico is set to open in new premises next year.

The long-established Italian favourite is expected to open up its doors at a new location at Brightside guest apartments in Flatts by the end of January.

Odilio Angeli, owner of Dining Bermuda, which owns Rustico and two other restaurants, said: “We’re getting close.

“Once we get occupancy we tell exactly when we will be open. I think we’re about three weeks away.”

Mr Angeli said that building work on the restaurant was complete and all that remained was to get the necessary Government clearance to operate.

He added: “This has been in the works for a couple of years, but work started at the end of August, beginning of September.”

The current Rustico, a few hundred yards away, will continue to operate as normal until the new restaurant is up and running.

Mr Angeli said that the new restaurant would be slightly bigger, although he aimed to retain the ambience of the original.

He added: “The idea was to keep the same atmosphere. It’s hard to envision something when it’s just a couple of empty rooms but I’m very pleased.

“It’s even better than I thought it would be.”

The new restaurant will offer uninterrupted views over Flatts Inlet, while the old restaurant sat opposite the village gas station.

Mr Angeli said that the new site also had car parking space for 18 cars — a major improvement on the old site, where parking was a problem.

He added: “In the future, we will have outdoor dining as well — that will work well in the summer.

“The parking is much improved and the location is perfect. Parking was always a problem, but now I think we’ve solved that.”

Rustico is the senior member of Dining Bermuda, which also includes Gulfstream, housed in the former Tio Pepe on South Shore Road, and The Dining Room, at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, both Southampton.

The group also ran the Flying Fish on Pitts Bay Road, Pembroke, which closed last year.