FORTY jobs will be created when a national restaurant chain moves into Winchester.

Côte Brasserie is taking over from the former Moss Bros site in the High Street next to the Man on a Horse statue.

The refurbishment which is expected to cost close to £1 million will be complete for an opening by late January.

It is another boost for the Winchester restaurant scene coming just after Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall opened River Cottage and Rick Stein recently announced he was moving into the High Street premises vacated by Jamie Oliver.

The restaurant will seat around 130 customers serving traditional French cuisine, including crème caramel, Breton chicken and Châuteneuf-du-Pape.

Harald Samúelsson, joint managing director, said: “We are really looking forward to opening in town. We have long thought that Winchester would be a perfect setting for Côte as it fits with our ethos of offering high quality food and service at great value prices.”

The chain is also opening a new site in Dorchester – its first in Dorset.

Neil Masters, the interior designer for the Winchester project, said: “It has a very broad appeal. It’s a very established brand and they do what they do very, very well.

“It’s in a grade two listed building and we hope that will shine through. It will have beautiful parquet flooring, marble running throughout, just a very French brasserie theme.

“It’s what Winchester needs really,” he said.

Winchester already boasts the first Hotel du Vin, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and a Michelin-starred restaurant, The Black Rat.