A NEW restaurant and bar has opened in Dorchester promising 'the best tapas in town'.

Corto Maltese, in Princes Street, opened on Saturday (May 28) - and there are jobs up for grabs.

The restaurant's owner Sara Fernandes said she wanted to open the venue in early 2020, but had to hold off due to the pandemic.

Sara Fernandes said: "It's great to finally open after a delay of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It now feels like the right to open."

Ms Fernandes said Corto Maltese, which has a Mediterranean interior design, will offer a variety of tapas in the form of Spanish cuisine as well as alcohol options, including sangria.

She said: "There doesn't seem to be much tapas options in Dorchester and across the area, so we want to provide the best in town.

"I've worked across Europe including Italy, Germany and the Netherlands - so I also want to provide great tapas cuisine with a few inspirations from across the continent.

"There will be a variety of options, and I hope to change up the menu weekly."

Ms Fernandes revealed where the name of the restaurant came from.

"The name derives from a series of adventure and fantasy comics about a character of the same name," she said.

Corto Maltese is a'cult' character of the best of the European graphic novel genre, but also a veritable 20th century literary legend. He is a traveller, an ironic sailor who combines Mediterranean looks and character traits with Anglo-Saxon culture.

Ms Fernandes added: "I wanted to name the restaurant after the character as it represents a mixture of cultures.

"The fact that I've had to wait to open the place also shows a story of resilience - and now we can start to look at hiring staff.

"There are three part-time jobs up for grabs, working in the restaurant area and at the bar."

Corto Maltese will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from noon to 3pm and then from 5pm until 1am.

"The reason why we have a two-hour gap in the afternoon is because I'm from Portugal and our culture enjoys siestas," said Ms Fernandes.