A FINE dining Italian restaurant in Weymouth is celebrating as it approaches its first anniversary.

Al Molo, on the Pier Bandstand on the seafront, was launched in March last year and over the past 12 months, has been delighting its customers with its high end Italian food.

It is jointly-owned by award-winning chef Giuseppe Vannucci and Tim Newton, and the duo said that opening a restaurant on the seafront had always been a dream of theirs. Giuseppe, who moved to Weymouth after working in London for a number of years, said that the first year had gone brilliantly for the new restaurant.

Giueseppe said: “It’s gone very, very well.

“It was very busy in the summer and like all of the businesses in the town, January and February have been a bit quiet, but it hasn’t been too bad, we are just waiting for it to pick up now.”

The restaurant has a high-end menu boasting a variety of dishes including steak, veal, handmade pasta, sumptuous seabass and delicious deserts, with a retro decoration and sea views. The restaurant prides itself of using the best ingredients all produced by local suppliers.

Giuseppe said he was really enjoying having a restaurant in Weymouth, adding: “It’s far more relaxing than having one in London and I enjoy working closely with the local people and our customers.

“That is massive for us. Because London is so massive you cannot build a relationship with customers whereas you can here and that’s very important.

“We also use local suppliers here, and although they can sometimes be more expensive, you can really tell the difference with the quality of the food and the customers can really tell that.”

The firm has now set its sights on an even bigger and better second year.