THE former manager of a West Wight pub has teamed up again with leading Island chef, Robert Thompson, at his restaurant in Newport.

Adrian Evans, 35, left the King's Head, Yarmouth, at the start of the year when the pub closed.

Now he is front of house manager at Thompson's having worked with Robert at The Hambrough Hotel, Ventnor.

Adrian said: "I first came to Yarmouth in 2002 to work at The George Hotel as a summer job and stayed there for ten years after eventually becoming restaurant manager.

"I then worked with Robert at The Hambrough and loved my time with him there.

"I returned to Yarmouth and had two-and-a-half years at The Wheatsheaf with Shaun and Kathryn Rayner and then took over as manager of the King's Head two years ago until it closed.

"I'd kept in touch with Robert over the years and we would regularly meet up.

"It just happened he needed someone at his restaurant, so this opportunity came at the right time for both of us.

"It's a different challenge and it will free up Robert to spend more time in the kitchen where he can be more creative.

"We're looking at doing different things here. With a lot of our dishes we have a wine which will complement them and we want to introduce some special craft beers from individual breweries to go along with a meal.

"It's all part of the dining experience and hopefully I can add some bright ideas to the business. I already feel as if I'm part of the family here."

Robert added: "Adrian has been on the Island for a long time and knows a huge amount of people.

"We are already seeing more people from the West Wight popping in for a meal.

"He will bring us some different ideas as we are constantly looking to progress here.

"We give all our customers a comment card at the end of a meal and go through them once a week to see if there is something extra we can do to improve our service."