Restaurateur Will Ricker is to launch a new restaurant in Belsize Park, north London.

The creator of E&O and Eight Over Eight has bought the Belsize pub on Belsize Lane for an undisclosed sum and plans to transform it into a contemporary dining room serving modern Asian food.

Australian-born Ricker said he would continue to operate the pub as is until Christmas when it will shut for a four- to five-month refurbishment.

The new eaterie will launch in May or June next year with about 90 seats and an average spend of £36.

The acquisition means Ricker will now launch two new restaurants in 2006. The restaurateur bought a dilapidated inn in Westminster last August with plans to knock it down and build a multi-storey apartment block and ground-floor and basement steak restaurant.

The Westminster restaurant is scheduled to open sometime next October.

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