A POPULAR Italian restaurant is now open at a new site with a large indoor and outdoor space.

Luigi’s Al Fresco has opened its second site at The Griffin in Main Road, Danbury.

The Griffin is a 16th-century pub with a large patio area in the heart of the village.

Following almost four years of success at the Limes Guest House, in Market Hill, Maldon, the business' owners decided to expand.

Due to plans being refused to make use of the outside area, they started searching for a site with a large outdoor area.

Emily Scarpino, who owns Luigi’s in Maldon and at The Griffin alongside her partner Enzo and Giovanni said: “Not being able to use the outdoor area in Maldon made us look for another location and that’s what made us find The Griffin.

“We wanted to be as close to Maldon as possible and it is an amazing venue with a good outdoor and indoor space.

“We had to do a lot of work to give it a bit of character. We painted and refreshed the inside ourselves, which took over a week and we’ve been very busy since we opened.

“The work took a little longer than expected so everyone was waiting and as soon as the opening date was announced we were fully booked."

In celebration of the opening, the restaurant will host a DJ over the weekend and bosses expect to attract young people and regular customers.

“We have some really big dining rooms, wooden beams and three fireplaces so the winter will be nice a cosy," added Emily.

“The patio is really big and we also have a detached private function room.

“We do some pub classics as well but they all have a little Italian twist.”

The Maldon site is currently closed for refurbishment but the business owners plan to keep it open alongside their new site.

Miss Scarpino said: “We will be keeping it open as that’s what made it all happen, it's our first baby so we don’t want to let it go.

“In a way, it turned out to be a good thing having to rethink the Maldon site.

“We are very pleased with the venue.”