Deborah Gillett and Claudio Vigilante recently joined forces to transform a popular dining spot (The Chancery Wine Bar) into a fresh yet charming restaurant called Fresco's.

And after a month of renovations, Fresco's quietly opened on March 10 with a new concept that boasts plenty of light and open space.

"It was a challenge to get everything done,'' Mr. Vigilante admitted. "We had to get it done because the demand for us to open was so huge. People were asking us every day when we were going to open.

He added: "We kept the wine-cellar feel and the brick motif, but the decor is a lot lighter.'' In addition to refurbishing the restaurant with new furniture and lighting, the owners have placed pictures by local artist Neil Conyers on the walls.

"We are thinking of show casing different artists,'' Mr. Vigilante said.

"All of the pictures will be for sale.'' And true to its name, Fresco's features an airy outdoor fresco by artist Nick Minugh.

The furnishings were not the only aspect to receive a complete overhaul, a new menu was created under the direction of well-known chef Olivier Ramos.

And the menu offers customers plenty of choice including several seafood, poultry and meat dishes.

"We tried to do a Mediterranean cuisine without being strictly ethnic,'' Mr.

Vigilante explained. "And we found Bermudian flavours go well with Mediterranean cuisine.'' Vegetarians will even find several dishes, like whole wheat fettuccine, aimed at pleasing their taste buds while catering to their dietary requirements.

And in a bid to make Fresco's the ideal lunch spot for the corporate crowd, screens displaying the latest business news have been set up.

"Lunchtimes we will have CNBC and Bloomberg on the screen for the power-lunches,'' Mr. Vigilante said. "This way business people will not miss a beat and will be able to keep track of what's going on in the business world.'' Despite launching new ideas, the owners said that they also wanted to retain the wine-bar concept for which their predecessor was known.

"We wanted to emphasise the wine bar atmosphere,'' said Mrs. Gillett.

"We will have a cruvinet, which is a proper way of storing open bottles of wine,'' Mr. Vigilante explained. "We will have a large selection of wine by the glass and we want to start weekly wine tastings.