A popular Whitehaven restaurant will close its doors after 17 years of service at the end of this month.

Zest Restaurant, on Low Road, is shutting down to allow its owners to focus on running Zest Harbourside on West Strand, Whitehaven.

The restaurant, ran by Emma and Ricky Andalcio, will serve its last meals on Saturday, January 28.

There will be no job losses as all staff members will be given roles in the harbourside restaurant.

"We wish to thank all of our customers past and present who we have been lucky enough to meet and serve," said a statement on the restaurant's Facebook page.

"We would like you to know that it has been an absolute pleasure and thank you for making the restaurant a success for us and the team.

"As we enter our 17th year of business, we have decided it is the right time to consolidate our efforts on our Harbourside restaurant.

"Since our refurbishment of Zest Harbourside, the business has continued to go from strength to strength and we feel we are able to accommodate all of our customer needs at Zest Harbourside."

Mr and Mrs Andalcio met while working in the restaurant industry in London.

They left the capital to set up their own business in Emma's home town, Whitehaven, in 2000.

Ricky is a regular reporter on the BBC's The One Show where he leads Ricky's A to Z of UK food.

He drives, cycles and walks across the UK, putting together an A-Z list of his favourite foods.

And he was previously part of a competition called Beat the Pro, which saw challengers head to one of his kitchens and cook one of their own signature dishes while he prepared his take on the meal.

In 2001, then Prime Minister Tony Blair dined in the restaurant.

Zest Harbourside, a bar-cafe, opened in November 2002.

The statement said: "Our passion to run a dedicated, customer service focused restaurant strongly remains and we are excited to develop Zest Harbourside further. Hopefully this will make us able to deliver the best customer experience that we can with further choice and more exciting developments for the future.

"Special thanks goes out towards all members of our team, who are like family to us, and those from the past who have worked so very hard to make Zest a success, your efforts are very much appreciated as always."