A new restaurant is set to rise from Exmouth’s award-winning Les Saveurs in Tower Street.

The new establishment – now simply called Saveur – will be opening shortly.

Offering a wider menu than previously, it will retain fish and seafood as an important element.

Saveur has been launched by Nigel Wright and Kerry Dow, formerly of The Rose and Thistle at Rockbourne on the outskirts of the New Forest. The pair helped the 16th-century thatched pub to become one of the top restaurants in the area, highly-rated on TripAdvisor.

“We’d done well at the Rose and Thistle and it had been very successful,” said Kerry.

“We decided to sell up, take a gap year, and travel the world and get some new experiences, obviously a bit of culinary stuff for Nigel - and we had a great time.

“While we were away, we decided that Devon would be an interesting place to come back to.”

The pair say they were ‘very excited’ when they heard that the ‘well-renowned’ Les Saveurs had come on the market.

The restaurant’s excellent reputation was forged by head chef Olivier Guyard-Mulkerrin’s superb cooking. Established in 2007, Les Saveurs was awarded two AA rosettes, recommendations in the Michelin Guide, the Good Food Guide and the Trencherman’s Guide, plus winning Channel 5’s Marco Pierre White’s Kitchen Wars, two Exmouth Business Awards and Best Chef of the Year in Devon Life.

Saveur’s new owners say they are both passionate about food, and Nigel ‘hopes to continue in the footsteps of former chef Olivier, but putting his own twist on the menu with a modern European twist’.

They are featuring fish and seafood on their menu, and will continue to use Olivier’s local suppliers.

“We’ll be using Exmouth mussels, which I think is a no-brainer,” said Kerry. “I think it’s important to keep it local. Looking at Olivier’s menu, he had a few fish dishes.

“I think Nigel is going to have quite a seafood leaning, but not 100 per cent seafood.”

More details: saveursrestaurant.com