Something is rising at West Bay – and it isn’t the tide.

After five months of work, the former Riverside Restaurant is set to reopen.

The restaurant was bought by the team behind pizza chain The Stable, Swim and The Bull Hotel back in May.

It will open today under a new identity – Rise.

After selling the final share of The Stable restaurants, Nikki and Richard Cooper, Andy Briggs and new addition to the team, Kyle Clarke, opened Swim in Lyme Regis.

The huge success of Swim encouraged them to open their sister venue just down the coast at the Riverside.

The revamp of Rise gives panoramic views over West Bay and the river Brit. The bar and open kitchen have been rejigged to allow for a bustling and buzzy environment, with a huge wrap around bar serving up independent craft beers, cocktails and coffees.

The menu features many favourites from Swim but also has an emphasis on fish, for which the Riverside had an excellent reputation for decades.

Nikki said: “It feels great to come back to Bridport. It’s where it all began for us in 2006 when we bought The Bull Hotel. The guys at Fat Leaf, Chris Stubbs and Son, and too many others to mention, have done an outstanding job with this mammoth huge building project.

“We’ll be selling delicious and very affordable food and ‘drinking bites’ for those who just want a cocktail or craft beer with a snack. It’s how people like it now, casual friendly service, with no pretensions. We’re are also bringing our burger and cocktail night over from Lyme, which has gone down a storm with our Wednesday night Lyme locals.”

Rise aims to be ‘undeniably cool, comfortable and very stylish’, creating a space for customers to work and socialise from breakfast till late. Sofas and booths offer plenty of seating which looks directly out onto the water, boats and swans.

Andy said: “It was agreed to be a light touch, but we got a little carried away and have practically rebuilt the building. It’s going to be a cozy winter spot as we’ve installed a log burner, and better still in the summer as we take full advantage of the garden with a raised deck practically over the water with a high glass balustrade sheltering customers from the winds. It’s hugely humbling to have Christmas bookings rolling in before we’ve even opened the doors.”

Richard added: “Following in Arthur Watson and Neil Chilcotts’ footsteps will be a hard act to follow. The Riverside has enjoyed a phenomenal reputation for decades and we hope that we can maintain this.”

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