WEST Dorset’s famous pizza and cider venture The Stable is set to expand following its success in the county.

The chain opened its first restaurant in Bridport in 2009 and has since expanded to Weymouth, as well as Bristol and Bath.

A new Poole restaurant will open before Christmas, and a waterfront site in Falmouth will be up and running early next year.

Owners Nikki and Richard Cooper, from Bridport, say The Stable’s success is down to the brand’s authentic, local ethos and simple, pared-back approach, which has captured the zeitgeist in casual modern dining.

Richard said: “We have adopted a relaxed canteen style model with The Stable; our customers sit on benches at long communal tables, we serve our handmade pizzas on breadboards with cutters. Friends can share plates and pay at the bar as they go. We also take care to find beautiful heritage buildings which we strip back to create unique characterful environments – the original restaurant is in a 16th century stable block with an upstairs hayloft.”

Another key aspect of The Stable’s popularity, said Nikki, is its ‘passion for good quality food and drink and its celebration of the West Country’s fantastic producers’.

She said: “Whether in Bridport or Bristol, we source top quality fresh ingredients from suppliers local to each specific restaurant.

“At the original Bridport Stable, pizza toppings include bacon from Denhay farm, the famous Dorset Naga chilli from West Bexington and cheese from Ford Farm in the Bride Valley – all produced within six miles of the restaurant.

“Pizzas are named after local icons; the smoked mackerel-topped ‘Joe Gundry’ after a legendary local netmaker and the vegetarian ‘Bucky Doo’ after the town square.”

The Stable’s changing menu of over 55 different varieties of cider from predominately boutique West Country cider-makers such as Bridge Farm, Burrow Hill and Ashridge is also a major factor of The Stable’s popularity, say Richard and Nikki.

Cider is currently enjoying a nationwide renaissance in the UK and The Stable is positioning itself as something of a ‘cathedral to cider’ offering tasting boards and guest ciders on the menu.

Richard added: “We are so excited to be a local success story taking our concept to a wider audience.

“We strongly believe in authenticity throughout all aspects of The Stable – our food, our drink, our staff and our restaurant environment – for this reason, we feel we are swimming against the tide of the faceless chains opening identikit restaurants.

“We’re sticking to the West Country for now but we do also have our sights on London and further afield, so watch this space.”