An Italian restaurant has quickly taken over a former Greek site in Farnham, with its owners claiming every weekend is fully booked through to Christmas.

Farnham’s restaurant scene has become increasingly saturated with Mediterranean cuisine, but only the most successful survive. Taking over from Downing Street Greek, the new Italian restaurant Belluno has made a rapid start.

Owner Alessio Kortaja said: “To be honest, we moved here because we really like Farnham and this is a good opportunity. This is my first business but my uncle has 25 years of work experience in the industry.

“We have had really good feedback so far and it is encouraging to see so many bookings before Christmas. All our food is fresh and authentic.”

The new Italian restaurant moved in quickly, snapping up the opportunity to relocate to Farnham following the Greek restaurant’s closure.

The previous owners struggled to cope with the impact of reduced footfall after infrastructure works closed Downing Street for a lengthy period.

Mr Kortaja believes further works in The Borough due to begin in January will not affect the business. He said: “We are optimistic as the roadworks here finished before we moved in. The next part of the roadworks happens in another part of the town and we think this will not affect us.”