PORTISHEAD wine enthusiasts Mike Yeatman and his wife Chris are preparing to open a new tapas restaurant in Portishead.

The opening of the Venga Tapas Bar and Restaurant will be the culmination of months of hard work for the couple.

In August, they opened a bed and breakfast facility on the first and second floors of 24 High Street, where they have now transformed a former ground floor café to offer informal dining for an authentic Mediterranean experience.

The opening of Venga is the realisation of a dream that Mike and Chris have had for a number of years.

The idea was first conceived during the couple’s overseas travels and they have drawn on many influences for the menu including Barcelona, Madrid and Granada.

Mike said: “Chris and I have travelled extensively and Venga draws on many influences but the single lightning bolt was Barcelona last year. An evening out with friends led us to some really great tapas bars where Pinchos, a traditional snack in northern Spain, was the main order of the night.

“The bars were piled high with prepared tapas and the buzz was great with some people bustling in for 20 minutes while others stayed the whole night.

“We knew then that we wanted to bring that to Portishead.”