BUILDING on its success in the north of the county, a second branch of a popular tapas bar has opened its doors in the South Lakeland area.

Bar eS, which has had a venue in Keswick since the summer of 2014, is now offering its small sharing dishes, relaxed ambience and craft beers in Ambleside.

Zara Barau, one of the three co-owners of the tapas bar, said that the trio had worked hard to refurbish the new location which opened at the beginning of March.

“We thought Ambleside is a similar sort of town to Keswick and we thought we could replicate what we’ve done before,” she said.

“It’s been very successful in Keswick. We’re very high up on TripAdvisor and we feel we can do a good job in Ambleside and bring something a little bit different to Ambleside as well – it’s a relaxed bar rather than a traditional pub.”

On the Mexican and Spanish inspired menu diners will find morsels such as the popular prawn dish Gambas Pil Pil, spare ribs, chicken wings and salt and pepper squid.

“Spicy food actually goes really well with hoppy craft beers which is something that we like to encourage – craft beer and spicy food,” Zara, who works behind the scenes in the kitchen and also lives in Ambleside, explained.

“We’ve really developed the menu so that we feel that we’ve made it something that people really like.

“The feedback we’ve had from students - it’s quite popular actually..

“It’s sharing food. It’s not just the food, it’s a a nice experience. It’s sharing with your friends, that sort of thing – small tapas dishes.”

Craft beer is also an essential part of the bar and the range on offer at Bar eS in Ambleside includes Flying Dog, Brooklyn and a variety of Belgian beers.

“We have got two dedicated taps for BrewDog at the moment which is quite rare I believe in Cumbria,” Zara said.

The new restaurant, which Zara runs with partners Mark Swider and Steve Stables, has employed around seven new members of staff.

Zara added that they were actively looking to recruit more staff members, to work in both the bar’s kitchen and front of house.

For more information email info@esbarambleside.co.uk or phone Mark or Zara on 015394 22282.