A NEW restaurant is to open in Colchester this week with the owner saying it will offer diners "proper seafood".

Teddy Cretu is opening his Trattoria Cavalli restaurant in Osborne Street.

It will replace Mama Rita’s, the previous restaurant to operate on the site before it closed down late last year.

It was back in November that Teddy and wife, Andrea, considered buying the premises, before they finalised buying the building outright the following month.

Since then, they have spent the best part of £10,000 cleaning and renovating the restaurant in preparation for its opening, with the entrance to Trattoria Cavalli, also receiving a makeover.

He said: “We’ve renovated it, cleaned it – on the outside we have changed the colour, so everything will be like new.

“I’ve invested £10,000, but I’m not done yet.

“My chef came from Romania last week – since Friday, he has been cleaning the kitchen.

“We’ve worked hard here to bring the place to a good position.”

The 31-year-old had already worked in catering for 12 years before he decided to come to Colchester and open a restaurant of his own with Andrea, 30.

Teddy says he is in no doubt of the quality of food which will be offered to customers.

“It will be proper seafood. It will be good food – this I can guarantee everyone," he said.

“If someone doesn’t like my food, I will tell them not to pay the bill."

The next tasks on the list ahead of the opening on Friday are to set up the website, paint the windows and start trialling food.

In the longer term, Teddy wants to open a chain of restaurants, with Colchester being the first of many.

“I’m confident and I have trusted my instincts all my life," he said.

“I’m thinking of opening another one in Brentwood, Chelmsford and then London – that’s my dream.”

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